Porter's Dog Show Debut and Odor Recognition Test

Last Friday Porter and I traveled to Long Beach so he could take his Odor Recognition Test (ORT) for K9 Nose Work (http://www.nacsw.net/ or http://www.funnosework.com/). Before a dog can enter a trial he must pass his ORT for the target odors used in that trial. The first target odor is birch and it is the only odor in the first level of competition.

For his ORT, Porter entered a room with 12 identical boxes spread out at least 4 feet apart from each other. Within three minutes Porter must find the box which contains the odor and effectively communicate that to me so I can call "alert" and tell the judge exactly which box it is in.

Once a dog passes his ORT for Birch he can enter an NW1 trial, but passing an ORT does not mean your dog is trial ready yet. In a trial a dog must pass four different elements (a container search similar to the ORT, an interior search, an exterior search, and a vehicle search). You must be successful in each element to earn your dog's title.

Porter entered the room for the ORT like a sled dog. He couldn't wait to get inside so his leash walking manners went right out the door. Once were we at the start line I could tell Porter knew what his job was and he was ready to do it. He made a beeline towards the back corner of boxes, sniffed one, sniffed another, lingered, I almost called alert but wanted to be sure. He moved on to another box and then became distracted by some lint on the ground and some nearby chairs. I had him do a full circle to hit every box and he came back around and lingered on the same one, this time pushing it with his nose and then putting his paw on top of it.

Of course he was right, and he knew which one it was immediately after we started. I hesitated because he didn't look as sure as he does in practice, but I hear that is common. They are not as clear but you need to know your dog. Trust the nose. Since I had 3 minutes I thought it would be better to be sure. But it was a gamble, since some dogs after alerting and not being rewarding would just give up and not alert again since it didn't work the first time. I'll need to be careful not to mess up Porter's training by second guessing him.

That Friday was our first time in a competition like setting.

This Friday, today, Porter made his debut in the show ring. I stayed on the sidelines like an overeager and overly anxious stage mom and snapped hundreds of pictures.

Porter had only met his handler once, just this past Tuesday when we made the hour and a half drive to Riverside so she could bathe and groom him. But despite not knowing her, he worked well for her and looked amazing out there. I was able to to stand ringside without being too much of a distraction. He did look at me a few times, but didn't bolt or whine. He stacked for Kristina much better than he does for me! It's amazing what a skilled handler can do with a green dog. And if I had practiced with him more he would have been perfect. Gotta work on his stands!!

Porter ended up getting second in his class (12 - 18 month dogs). I was pleased with that. But I was more happy with him having a good time and not being stressed out. His tail was wagging almost the whole time. Such a happy boy! :)

Once back in San Diego, Porter has his post show fun.

Happy Birthday!

Porter turns one year old today. Sometimes it's amazing how fast it went and other times it seems like he's been a part of our family forever.

Some of my lofty training goals for him have not been met or even touched on. I have balance discs that have only seen the light of day twice. There's a chuck it since in the packaging. And Porter is no where near ready for a rally trial.

His daily life in the house is wonderful. He doesn't chew on inappropriate things; he doesn't counter surf; he doesn't maul us when we have food at the coffee table. That last one is pretty important in our household since we do a lot of eating on the couch. Porter still needs to be watched a bit; he's not like Indi where you can have food on the coffee table and leave the house for hours without it being touched. But he's doing amazing considering his age. If left for short time periods (a quick trip to the kitchen) our food has remained as we left it. He's a great couch potato and doesn't need miles of hikes daily to remain sane. I love having a dog who is always ready to work but also has an off switch in the house.

Porter is still crated at night and when we leave during the day. This is completely for Indi's wellbeing and not because I think Porter would get into trouble. With the size difference and Porter's bull in a China shop attitude it's just not safe for Indi to be curled up under the covers if Porter decided to leap on the bed in the middle of the night. One night we were too tired to crate him and he did fine. He slept on the floor until his normal wake up time and only then came up on the bed to wake us up. One of his new spots to hang out when I'm in bed is right by my nightstand, as close to me as he can get without being in the bed.

He still sleep on the bathroom floor right outside the shower when I'm in there and waits patiently by any door I've gone through until I return. He's a momma's boy and I find it adorable. Sometimes it's trying...he isn't happy being locked outside if I'm inside even if there's several other people outside (including my husband) to keep him company. He is very well mannered in the crate it the car unless he can see or hear me and then he demand barks.

Porter's grown has stagnated and he's now right about 62 pounds, which is right at his parent's adult weights. His feathering is minimal and just perfect for me. It's long enough to run your fingers through and to look beautiful but not so long and fluffy it mats or catches burs. Foxtails seem to slip right out and he dries off in no time.

I've been neglecting his recall so we'll be starting his whistle recall training this week. He's not ready for a rally trial but he has the moves mostly down. What we need to focus on is working in new locations so he can work well with all the distractions.


All in all it's been a great year. Porter has been a wonderful addition to our family. Sure, sometimes I want to strangle him, but I think that can often be said of teenaged boys.

Water Baby

Despite being a retriever, having parents who swim, being taken to the beach many times, and being obsessed with playing in water, Porter refuses to swim. Because of this fact, oh yeah, and I'm a little nuts, I signed Porter up for a doggie swim lesson.

Unfortunately there are no pictures since my memory card was full :(

The lesson started with Porter in a life jacket and Trish (the instructor) holding him on the second step. I walked half way down the edge of the pool with treats and called him. He just stood there at first. Then he tried to get out of the pool to come to me but Trish held on tight. Finally she guided him a little into the water and he swam towards me. He wanted nothing to do with the treats so after a couple of rounds I grabbed a plastic toy bumper Trish had. I started with treats since Porter typically prefers them over toys but that day something about that toy turn on a switch.

Once I had the toy he was even more enthusiastic about getting to me. After another few rounds we left the stairs and used the platform in the deep end. It's height adjustable so she lowered it so Porter could just barely stand on it while in the water. He was so into the toy and swimming by this point that he was take off from the platform before I even threw the bumper. He swam right to it, grabbed it, and wouldn't let go until he got to me.

I was really impressed! It was a great workout, too. He had just come from his agility lesson and then swam for 30 minutes but was begging for more. We had to drag him out of the water and he almost pulled me into the pool since he wanted in again.

I can't wait to get him back there and keep reinforcing that swimming is fun! I'm hoping this also improves his fetch! I better go buy a bumper to start practicing with, too.

Here are some pictures of his adventures with Kylie.