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.
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