NW2 Clinic

In April, Porter and I attended a seminar to work on NW2 hides. Although I've read the rules over and over, I learned a lot of small details and cleared up how things are run.

I rarely do multiple hides with Porter and it shows. I'm horrible in my handling when it comes to preventing him from getting back tot he first hide he found. He's much quicker and stronger than I expect, although you'd think after a few times I'd learn, but not quite yet.

We avoided a lot of multiple hides earlier in our training since I wanted Porter to stay at source no matter what. I've seen other dogs find a hide but quickly move on in search of another. If their alert is subtle and their handler wasn't paying close enough attention the handler might miss that first hide. ome dogs might get back there and re-alert...others won't if they were not rewarded the first time. Plus I didn't want to get ahead of ourselves and focused mainly on NW1 strategies. But now I need to step up our training so we are prepared when a trial is close enough for us to enter. Currently all the NW2 trials that are on the books are several states away. Two friends are headed to Colorado next month for one.

At this seminar I elected to keep Porter on leash when we did interiors searches so I had more control over where he went and to prevent him from going back to the first hide over and over and over again. The first room was very small and packed with round lunch tables and chairs, so it wasn't easy to get out of his way. Once he found the first hide he did manage to make it back there once or twice more. I used the leash as well as blocking with my body to keep him from accessing that corner again. Unfortunately I realized that he wasn't finding odor on the side of the room he was on and to get to the fourth corner we had to pass the first hide very closely. It was tough, but I did it...hopefully without too much manhandling (doghandling?). He still found both hides in under 2 minutes.

The next room was larger with everything along the walls and Porter did very well. The second hide was inside a file cabinet but at first I thought he was showing a lot of interest in a small radio next to it. Luckily I waited him out until he committed and we got it correct.

The best part of the day was our exterior search. Porter was #7 on the running order, and all but one or two dogs before him peed (and one even pooped) on the course. Some of those dogs had a second turn before we went, and they peed again! Porter normally doesn't pee while searching, but just the week before when we were entertaining and out of town fellow certified nose work instructor, both of our males peed in the search area! I was floored.

So with all of that in mind I watched Porter like a hawk. He quickly started sniffing in the grass and I recognized it as his "I'm smelling pee" sniffing and moved him on. Later he beelined to a spot in the dirt where I could clearly see the dampness from another dog's pee, so I redirected elsewhere.

I was so proud he did not pee!! But...we did have trouble finding the last hide. I did not take the time to really look at the search area well or the way the wind was moving and we go stuck along a wall and some tall bushes where the wind was causing the odor to pool. Porter and I were circling and circling and instead of realizing he wasn't being productive and perhaps moving up wind, we kept at it. I need to tink strategy for when we get into a bind.

ORTs

On Saint Patrick's Day, Porter finished his last two ORTs...Odor Recognition Tests for anise and clove.

I volunteered to help in the morning when the dogs were running birch, so Porter had a long day. He was great chilling in the car for several hours. It was nice a cool that day so no worries of overheating, but I still covered the car with my cool shades just in case.

For his anise run, Porter actually left the odor box, but I had a feeling it was there based on his behavior, so I had him do a 360, checking a few other boxes along the way, and brought him back to pass that box of interest and this time he alerted.

He was much quicker with clove, which is interesting since we haven't worked that one as much. I was about to leave the room and was reminded to grab my score book from the judge. In my hesitation, Porter was able to reach the odor box again and alerted so I rewarded him and while trying to get my book dropped treats. Luckily there are no faults, just pass/no pass.

He won't need clove for a long time since it's only used in the third level of competition, but it was nice to just get this ORT out of the way and not need to worry about it later or travel a long way to get it done.

Julian

In February we packed up the kid and two dogs into our SUV and headed into the small town of Julian for a few days. I was shocked that we just barely fit everything in my car which again brings me to day dream about a larger vehicle. My goal for this trip was to find a dog friendly property with a large fenced in yard in a town likely to get some snow.

The placed I selected was a nice sized Victorian home (3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath) with 2 fulled fenced in acres. They also had a barn/garage with a foosball table, basketball hoop and a teen room.

When we arrived it was a beautiful, brisk day and we were happy to find a small patch of snow still on the meadow. Porter was in heaven and started rolling around and rubbing his face in the snow.

Our friend and her dog, Theo, joined us and the two boys exhausted each other in battle.

Tulips were starting to emerge near this old wagon so I gathered the pups for a photo op.

Indi likes to run with the big dogs but since Porter is faster than her now she is often at his flank trying to take him down like a bison.

Snuggling with the snow.

Porter adores Theo.

The property was filled with Manzanita trees, my favorite!!

Porter barely moved all night after his first day of romping with Theo.

It was really fabulous to see the dogs have such a great time in on the large property. There were tons of oak and manzanita trees, flat meadows and small hills, a huge area of land to explore. The dogs were in heaven. I longed for a property like this so the dogs could have this much fun everyday!!

The last might of our trip we were lucky enough to have snow fall! By morning the snow was over a foot deep and so soft it felt like fluff. It was too dry to pack into snowballs, but that also meant I could wear sneakers and my socks didn't get wet! And it was too light and fluffy to sled in it. But the kid and dogs had a blast.

Porter and I practiced our nose work hides several times and the snow didn't slow him down one bit. It actually helps I've been told.

Ok, well Indi has a blast for about an hour and then she was over it.

Porter digging for gold. Black dog on a field of snow equals an impossible shot to expose properly! Ugh.

I better get a cookie for standing in this.

Derp, derp, look at me, a cute little snow bunny.

Typical Falt Coat pose after a long day.

It was such a great trip I know we'll be back.

With Bells On...

Here is Porter NW1 proudly displaying his ribbons. The first on the lef tis for earning his NW1 title, the red is for placing second overall in the trial, and the two purples are for placing second in exteriors and interiors.

After tiring Porter out by having him sprint after balls in the yard I bring out his boomer ball. He's obsessed with the bolt on one end and tries to nibble at it, but often is so tired from playing that he just hovers over it and ends up sliming the whole thing.

NW1!

Yesterday was Porter's first K9 Nose Work® trial.

Here are his results:
Container Search: 16.94 seconds - 5th place
Vehicle Search: 14.78 - 4th place
Exterior Search: 9.45 seconds - 2nd place
Interior Search: 9.52 seconds - 2nd place

He placed 2nd overall for the whole trial! I am very proud of my hard working boy. :) I was just hoping we would title, but would understand if we didn't since it was our first try, but to place! Sooo excited about that.

The strategy I had for the exterior hide worked well and helped him find it so quickly. But it was luck of the draw it was that close and along the wall I wanted him to search first.

For the majority of the trial I was very calm, which really surprised me. I thought I would be a nervous wreck. I slept well the night before when usually I am tossing and turning with my brain thinking about a million things in preparation the night before anything new and exciting. I didn't second guess Porter and delay in calling out an alert but just went with what he was showing me.

I had tunnel vision anytime it was our turn. I couldn't tell you how many people were at each element or even what the other side of the room looked like in the interior search. I was completely focus on only Porter.

He did have a snafu which stressed me out and made me worry we would be disqualified completely. He somehow managed to grab one of the hides and pull it out of it's hiding spot :/ And it wasn't like I was just standing there staring off while he was working on it for a long time. It was pretty instantaneous and even shocked the judge when I told her. I wonder if that's a first. Yikes.

Then, at the end of the day at the awards ceremony, they started calling people up who earned their title and half way through I realized they were going on alphabetical order and were well past my last name.  So I thought we blew it and that situation had kicked us out of the running. I didn't know they save the teams who placed for the end so imagine my surprise when they called us for 2nd place!!

Overall it was a really nice trial. The atmosphere was very calm and relaxed in the parking area where everyone stays. All the competitors were very aware of keeping the dogs an appropriate distance apart from each other. The volunteers were super nice and a calming influence when you approached an element. The judges were great and a couple of times even praised us when we finished an element.

We had 6 of us from San Diego entered in this trial. Five ran yesterday and one ran today (she volunteered yesterday so she was with us). We set up a nice little camp with tables and chairs and everyone brought food to share. It was wonderful being with people you knew and trained with. Unfortunately, two of our group missed one element and will need to try for their NW1 again, but I am confident they will succeed. Another member of our San Diego group was the one to bring home the blue ribbon! So look out Nose Work community, San Diego is bringing some heat!

I also saw a couple of people who were in my Las Vegas nose work instructor course. I met some friend's of Sue (who has Porter's brother), saw a lady I recently met at a clinic I took from Kim Buchanan, and met a founding CNWI who has a FCR! Porter was more than happy to try to put the moves on her female, Turner. I even got to snuggle a 3 month old FCR who's big sister was trialing. Their household dynamics were amazing similar to mine (reactive older dog...wanted a chill go with the flow second dog).

I had a lot of fun and can't wait to begin training for our next set of challenges. I really hope I can give back soon and volunteer at a trial. There's no way we could do this without a good volunteer base.

Pictures will be posted a little later!!

Rainy Day Activity

Yesterday was not only wet outside but my daughter was home sick from school. So needless to say, Porter was a bit under-stimulated. Nose work to the rescue!! Eight hides later and the edge was taken off.

One hide I did was just so I could observe how he works. I placed it on something hanging from the ceiling fan in the middle of the room, so about 5.5 feet up in the air. Higher than in a trial. It was interesting to see Porter circle the room several times, obviously catching odor but assuming it was from the shelves and items along the walls. Then his circling became tighter and he lifted his head. Quickly he realized it was up and was able to pinpoint the location. He did a great job tell him where it was even though he couldn't touch it. His eyes and nose looked right at it.

Nose Work Workshop

On Sunday Porter and I attended a small nose work workshop to help us prepare for our NW1 trial in January. Kim Buchanan (CNWI and trial judge) came down from LA to teach us a few things.

We started with a threshold exercise where the hide alternates from side to side each search. We want the dogs to learnt o slow down and search the threshold before moving on into the room. I was surprised that most of the dogs were tricked by lingering odor when the hide was placed on the other side of the doorway. Many even gave false alerts. Porter and I will work a lot of these kinds of hides this months since they are common placements in trial.

Corners were next. It was interesting to see how the dogs approached the corners. Of course Porter marched to his own drum and approached in a totally different way :) but he still found the hide without a problem.

Later we worked an exterior search and several dogs before Porter were distracted by pee spots. The good thing is we are starting to be able to read pee sniffing versus searching more now. With Porter, he lingers and holds his head still, compared to the constant movement when he's in odor. A dog who ran right before us ended up peeing in the search area, very close to the hide, so Porter's run was paired with food. This helped him focus on his search and not read the pee-mail or think of marking. He did great :)

A second exterior search was about 3-4 feet up on a flag pole. Porter dashed into the search area, past the pole, slightly out of bounds, caught odor, and chased it back to the pole. I was very proud.

After hearing so much about the Running Bunny exercise and watching video clips on it, Porter and I got a chance to play the game as well. But it is harder than it looks. I wanted to be quick with the rewards so after finding a hide and moving on I would reach into my bait bag to grab more treats. This focused Porter on me and caused him to pass a couple of hides. I'll need to work on either being sneakier when reloading or holding a lot more treats in my hand so they will last me the whole run. This is a good exercise and I will be adding it to my classes. It really helped one dog who is an aggressive alerter and is starting to scratch up cars.

We all brought a variety of objects from home and practiced our container searches. This is a little more advanced than we need for NW1 but is still great practice.

The first hide was in my daughter's boot laid on it's side with the opening facing the outside of the search area. You could see with this exercise how if the dog does not pass by the boot on the outside he could easily not catch the odor. So we need to be mindful of our dog's movement and be sure they get to all the corners and edges, especially if they have not found odor yet.

The end of our container searches added the additional difficulty of distractions. One box has leashes and dog toys, another dog food in a bag and a fast food wrapper, a third has expo markers, another was an empty dog treat container, and so on. Some dogs were interested in the boxes and even gave weak fasle alerts. Porter didn't seem to notice, even though I guided him past the food distraction a couple of times. I wanted to be sure he knew the box was there but just didn't care, and even though he didn't check it out, I still can't be sure he noticed it and dismissed it. But we won't work on this more until after we get our NW1 title.

The last two searches of the day were blind hides. One was an interior that contained a lot of chairs and corners. Porter and I didn't properly pass the threshold so we had to come back and do it again. In a trial the threshold will be clearly marked, so I shouldn't make that mistake again. But the good side is he dragging me off to the left quickly because that was where the hide was :) He wasn't the fastest dog on that search but I did properly call alert around 15 seconds.

Last was another container search (with the distractions still out). The hide was in the spout of a watering can. It was near the front, but all the dog (but one) blew right past it without noticing it at all. Once Porter came back around he found it but I do want to work on him catching the odor sooner. I do not think I was holding him at the start line as long as I usually do to give him a change to catch his bearings. So in trial, I'll need to remember to relax and count to 10 before releasing him.

Overall it was an awesome workshop and helped get some of my nerves out. Porter did amazing, both with his searches and with chilling during his down time. I think he's ready for competition. If we blow it, it'll be my fault. So I need to relax, take a breath, trust my dog, and above all, have fun!

Porter after a day of K9 Nose Work (R)

Mental and Physical Workout

Today was a big training day for Porter. We started the morning with our normal nose work practice group. We were able to get in 5 different hides in brand new locations. Since last week the other three dogs had issues with peeing on the search we tried to avoid areas that looked like potty spots for other dogs who frequent the park. The locations we found presented some fun and challenging searches.

First was a corridor of sorts. One side was the wall of a building and the other was a low concrete wall  with a railing. These walls were separated by 4 feet, half which was sidewalk and half grass. I thought that narrow corridor might do interesting things with the odor depending on how the wind was moving especially since one wall was lower than the other. I placed the hide about 4 feet up on a window frame.

Porter was up first and instantly got to work. He past the hide and on the way back was zigzagging backa and forth along the channel (maybe chasing the odor). It was neat to see him work the area and he found the hide relatively quickly.

Next was a corner and long stretch of wall. Near the corner were some metal boxes (electrical boxes maybe?) but there was a gap of about 3 inches between the box and the wall where odor might get trapped or flow behind. The hide was on the outside edge of the corner with the box next and then the actual corner. It was placed in a metal 90 degree joint on the ground and covered with a leaf. Porter rounded the edge and came to the corner. I thought he might cut it to continue down the long wall but he didn't! He entered that corner well enough to catch the odor ad quickly find the hide. The other dogs after him found it even sooner which I was surprised since I thought that hide would be trickier the longer the odor has to pool in the corner and behind the box.

Then we used a small alcove where the entrance to the building was located. One corner had a rain barrel, another a trashcan and two recycle bins, then the doors, the third corner, and a bench and planter along that last wall. The hide was placed in the door jam about 2.5 feet off the ground.

We think the odor was swirling in the third corner, lifting up the wall, as well as pooling at the bench based on the way some of the dogs were moving. For Porter, I think it was traveling up the doors since when he was in odor he first stood on his hind feet on the doors sniffing up and then slowly made his way down to the source.

The fourth hide was a walkway between the building and some low bushes. Along the wall were four huge concrete planters 4 feet high. The hide was placed on top of the 3rd planter in the back.

Porter instantly beeline for the first bush on the right and looked like he was reading pee-mail not hunting. So I nicely told him if he peed I would kill him :) He moved on but still did not look like he was searching. Suddenly he shoved his head into a bush and I thought he might be scavenging food the way he was acting. He pops his head out and has retrieved a hidden tennis ball. lol NW2 we are so not ready for you!!

I stow the ball and Porter gets right to work sourcing the hide with no problem.

Since he seemed interested in the ball I decided to try and use it for the last hide as his reward. This search had two hides so the first I would use food and the second I would throw the ball.

The search area included a chain link fence which rounded a corner. In that corner was some debris (wood pallet, large metal pieces, etc, but nothing dangerous) and it ended with a metal storage container. The first hide was in the joint at the corner of the chain link fence, nearby is a cinder block. The second was in the back corner tucked into a metal channel.

Porter passed the first hide but doubled back. He looked interest in the cinder block at first, so I made a mental note but then he moved on. This was the only search that was blind to me. When he alerted on the joint I was taken by surprise since in my head I was thinking it would be back in the cinder block and I assumed I would be able to see it if it were on the fence. It's hard to hide the odor on something like that without us seeing it. But I trusted him and called alert and as I was feeding I noticed the tin which was tucked right into the perfect spot where I couldn't see.

The next hide went well for Porter, but I blew it. I was so slow with the ball that I missed my chance to reward and then waited for him to alert again. Which he did, not not as strongly. I threw the ball but he had lost some of his interest in it. Note to self: stick to food rewards for this unless I practice throwing with better timing and speed.

After all this searching Porter and I headed to his drive and motivation lesson. He recognized the field and was eager to pull me to the gate to get in. Another person showed up to use some of the agility jumps and set themselves up away from us. Even though they were not close I was happy that Porter had no interest in what they were doing or to go over there and say hi.

Right away I could tell that Porter was tired out a bit. We worked him pretty hard in the beginning. I was exhausted as well!! He began slowing down a little. While he would drive for the flirt pole he wouldn't hang on and tug like he does at home.

He was reawakened when the instructor brought out her toy. That's my ADHD boy; he gets bored with the same toy. At the end we tried to use both flirt poles to switch off but Porter was only into hers and gave me lack luster behavior for mine. To solve this I'll get a second flirt pole and use it enough to brand the newness and then I'll be able to do the exercise with trading two toys. The dead toy is bring, come to mom with the live toy and fun, then switch and now grab the dead ty and bring it to life and get Porter to leave the toy he has and come play with me and the other toy. Repeat.

One awesome thing Porter was doing is he was driving for his crate. Maybe because he was super tired and hot?? But I'd like to think I've been building his love for his soft crate in agility :) At one point he even started dragging the flirt pole back with him :) But the highlight was when I sent him to his crate from 30 feet away while the other dog was 5-8 feet past his crate about to leave. I of course waited until I saw the owner pick the dog up, just in case :) But Porter made no move to go visit and when straight to his home.

I do think we worked him a bit much in that lesson but we won't need to as much next time. Porter is progressing well so the next step is to decrease the amount of time chasing the toy and increase the amount of tugging. We want the tugging to be the best part not the chase.

We also came up with a solution to his run off with the toy. I was having to run with him to keep the line slack. This is after you tug and he wins and now the toy is dead. You don't want tension. You want him to drop the toy since it's boring now. But Porter hangs on and runs around so I run after and we both tire out. But with him on a long line I can step on the line and he can't run and the flirt pole remains loose. It was great. He instantly just dropped the toy. The conflict is gone. Oh, yeah, and he was exhausted :)

I can't wait to try out these new things this week with him.

And on Sunday we have a special seminar to prepare us for our first K9 Nose Work trial in January!!!

Birch, Anise, and Clove. Oh, My!

Porter's Nose Work practice group met again today.

The other two dogs are on all three odors, so the first two times we met, I either paired the last two odors with birch or with his primary reward (food).  Today I did the same for the first half of practice. We ended on a vehicle search (three vehicles actually) and did three rounds so each odor was searched for. This time I did not pair and Porter easily found the anise and clove hides. I didn't delay, but jumped in to reward him the second I could tell he knew where it was. I didn't wait for him to give an alert, or more likely, second guess himself and move on. I'm very proud of my little hunter! He's doing amazing.

We haven't had any problems with marking even though Porter has no interest in peeing before a search. I give him the opportunity, but he knows what's going on and wants to just get right to it.

Our next goal is to widen the search area and practice on a big field with the hide somewhere in the grass or dirt instead of on an obvious object.

K9 Nose Work Trial Prep

I am hoping to enter Porter in his first K9 Nose Work trial in January. At the moment, we do not have trials in San Diego, although our first ORT is being hosted in March (Thanks to Connie Kelley and her excellent planning and organization!), so we'll need to travel to Orange County again. If interest is high, there will be a random drawing for spots. I'm crossing my fingers we get in.

In anticipation for this trial, Porter and I have been doing more hides outdoors, since we have the least amount of practice with this element. I was a bit worried, since Porter and I did poorly at our friend's house. We searched her front yard and while Porter found the first hide quickly, the next two proved difficult. He was more interested in marking. : / This could have been lack of experience, it could have been I did not give Porter enough time to potty and mark around the neighborhood before we started, or it might have been her own intact male's scent in the yard distracting Porter. Thankfully this has not been repeated and all of our other outdoor practices have been stellar.

In addition to getting in more practice outside, I have also been pairing the other two odors with birch (or his primary). I've been thinking of doing this soon, so we can do the San Diego March ORT and test for Anise and Clove, but was planning on waiting a littler long so I could focus on the trial first. However, the group we are practicing with is already on the other odors, so we just jumped right in.

If we do not get into the Jan. trial we'll be well prepared for the next one. Let's hope it's not too far away.

Not Too Hot to Sniff

The weather has been hot and humid lately which does not make exercising the dogs an easy task. Even if Porter was tolerant of the heat (and I wasn't such a delicate flower) the ground if often too hot for the pads of their feet.

Yesterday Porter was getting a bit stir crazy (and I was inspired to do more NW training after chatting with other trainers about getting together for a practice group) so I set up three hides in each of the bedrooms.

The first was the most successful. We waited at the threshold for 10 seconds, he entered and did an immediate u-turn to the bookcase where I had the tin in a dump truck on the bottom shelf.

The second hide was at the far end of the next room tucked into the side rail of the bed. He did seem to find it very quickly, but then moved on. I think my mistake was not jumping on that first indication but waiting for something stronger. If the hide is low to the ground he seems to lay down. So I thought he might do this, or might sniff at it longer, or something. But a quick sniff or two and he was off. He sniffed all around that area and kept circling and returning to that corner but never that close again. I wonder if he ruled out that spot since I didn't reward him the first time :( He kept searching, never getting frustrated or tired and finally went back tot he spot where I promptly rewarded him.

You would think I'd learn my lesson, right? Nope. The next hide was in the master bedroom. Off to the left is the master bath and I placed the tin in a slightly opened drawer. While at the threshold Porter's nose was going crazy and he immediately went left. He ran past the drawer, into the bathroom, turned back, out into the bedroom, and back again to the bathroom. He lifted his nose up, near the drawer, I should have moved in but hesitated, and off he went again. Despite my repeated mistake, Porter is very resilient and continued to search until he finally found the drawer and lingered.

I need to remember that this is really the first time doing odor in my house so I need to reward sooner, especially when the hides are at or slightly above nose height. I really thought about the first placement more and it tells.

Today we did 6 hides out front and 5 of the 6 were fast and furious with Porter hitting the mark within 5 seconds. The last was, again, elevated, and in a jade plant so tons of leaves and branches for the odor to get caught in and swirl around in. And it was very windy. This was to his advantage in all of the other hides which were more out in the open. But with this plant it was much harder. I did place the hide on the downwind side of the plant. And now typing this I am curious to see his behavior if the odor was on the upwind side of the plant (if that makes sense).

One of the great perks of K9 Nose Work is it takes my cabin fever dog and turns him into Rip van Winkle.

Backyard Nose Work

I finally got off my duff and did some Nose Work hides in the backyard yeserday. I think this is only the second time doing searches at home despite having Porter in training since last October. I'm horrible at managing the two dogs. One is always jealous and wants in on the action and causes a huge ruckus when placed elsewhere. But Porter needs to start revving up for a trial so it's time to get in gear.

Porter passed his ORT (Odor Recognition Test) in Birch in June. It's a preliminary test using 12 containers to show your dog knows his odor. After passing this test you are eligible to begin trialing (if your dog is of age). After that test our training time has dramatically decreased. Part of it is due to a change in my work schedule. Porter used to come to one of my classes. And part is due to my daughter being home for the summer. Although if I were smart I'd have her do the hides; she'd probably love that.

With Porter locked inside I got my tin ready in the garage and went around the side into the backyard to place the first side. I started with the side yard since it's a small space and I wanted his first hide to be quick and easy. I took note of the way the wind was blowing and placed the hide closer to the start line so there was plenty of room downwind if Porter past it.

Porter knew what was up the instant I came inside to get him. He was completely focused as I held his collar and led him outside and to the start line. He passed the odor, went about a foot farther and turned back, locating the source quickly.

The second hide was in the other side yard but not as easily accessible. Once he was in odor I waited to see how close he would get, then I move a trash can blocking his way. After double checking the trash can, he quickly found the right spot.

The third hide was tucked into a patch of clover in the grass. This was more difficult because the area was larger and the tin was hidden from view. Porter found this one quickly as well.

The fourth hide gave him some difficulty. It was placed under a plastic mat under a kid table. Porter ran back and forth along the back fence (not near the spot) several times. He lifted his head, air scenting. If I didn't know better I would have thought the hide was either in a crack in the fence or just on the other side in my neighbor's yard. He did several head whips and was taking in a lot of air. I wonder what was back there?! Finally I directed him closer to the true location. He circled a few times and then found his mark.

Oh, and he also peed before he found that 4th hide! :( Bad handler. I should have made sure he was empty first.

Last I ended with an easier hide on a chair, which was partially covered by a mat draping over it. He did great finding this hide so it was a good place to end the session.

I need to get in the habit of bringing my Nose Work kit with me when we go places so I just throw out a few quick and simple hides. I think with more practice in new locations he'll be ready for his first trial in the fall. Hopefully there will be something in SoCal.

Oh Crap Plus Odor (But Not Connected)

Crap. That's right. My perfect puppy has picked up a disgusting habit. Some time in the last couple of weeks he's decided that some dog poop tastes amazing. It's not all the time, and it's only his or Indi's, but it's foul and I want it to stop. I have resorted to management and trying to rush out there with the dogs any time they go in the backyard so I can scoop anything up before it looks appetizing. I'm not that great at it yet and they are in the yard unsupervised here and there. When that happens I and thankful when I go out and there's poop to pick up.

On a happier and less gross note, I introduced Porter to the birch odor today in our K9 Nose Work session. I also did harder hides and he rocked it! Some of the hides were just one tiny piece of food perched on top of the odor tin and he had no trouble locating the source. Again, I wish I video taped this session since it was amazing to see him to an abrupt u-turn when he caught the scent and then slowly zeroed in on it. I really need to remember my camera. After 5-6 hides Porter was ready for a long nap.

Training with Distraction & K9 Nose Work

This weekend Porter and I meet up with two other dog friends to do some training together. I used Google maps to pick a grassy location between our homes. Little did I know that this spot is an unofficial off-leash dog park for the neighborhood. Thankfully I had Porter with me and not my reactive terrier. Our plan was to work on a rally course and some obedience exercises. I was hoping to also do some CGC work.

I previously mentioned how I was trying to keep play and training areas separate to help with Porter's focus. Well this had to be thrown out the window on Sunday since the off leash dogs were not going to leave us alone. So I let Porter go run amok off leash and much to my surprise he still very much wanted to work!! He did play, but quickly came back when I called and did pretty well on his heeling and some rally moves. Very impressive for a 6 month old pup to be able to focus like that when there are young off leash dogs frolicking next to us.

Once the park settled down and we were mostly alone I set up a rally course to work on. By the time it was ready Porter was pooped. I still took him through it and he did ok, but he lagged quite a bit. Bad trainer! I should have just scrapped the idea or only done one or two signs with enthusiasm and end it on a good note. I don't think it will slow his training down but I should know better and no matter what I had planned or how much work setting the course is I need to respect what I am reading form Porter. He still had fun, but I don't want to encourage slow responses or make him think rally is tiring.

This was also his first time off leash in an area that is not fenced in. The Fiesta Island dog park is mostly fenced. There are a two gaps where the surf meets the turf but those can easily be avoided. At first I wasn't sure about letting Porter off leash at this new park, but it's pretty isolated and I felt he would stick near his friend, Mira. He never went far at all, so I had nothing to worry about (this time?). I will keep working on his recall so he can enjoy more experiences like this but I won't just willy nilly let him off leash. Having one reactive dog I fully understand the damage a "friendly" off leash dog can do when he comes galloping up to a reactive dog on leash.

Today I taught another session of Nose Work and I almost left Porter at home. As I mentioned before, while being crated in the lobby with the other two dogs he's been whining and barking. I think it is in part due to the fact that the other dogs make a fuss, but also because he can hear me talking and praising the working dog but he can't see me. Instead of leaving him behind I decided to crate him in another room we sometimes have access to. This set up worked much better! He did bark a few times but over all he was pretty quiet.

He was able to do a few searches during class and when my clients left he did a couple more. I have to say he really has a nose on him.

One hide was on a couch but behind a throw pillow. He instantly narrowed down the search area to that corner of the room but he couldn't quite find it. I think the scent was moving up over the pillow and couch since as he would get closer he would lift his head and nose as high into the air as he could. He continued to search back and forth, going a little farther away and quickly u-turning when he realized he was getting farther away from the source. You could see his brain and nose working. In the end he found it and it was fascinating to watch. I wish I had this search on video.

The rest of the searches went well, too. He's not just sticking his head in boxes or other items anymore but really scenting the area and honing in on the source. As our training went on you could see how tiring this sport is. ow at home, Porter is completely wiped out.

It's really fun to watch him hunt and you can tell he loves it! He prances and darts around the room. Today he even began drooling during this first search!

I think it's time to make things harder with him, either add exterior searches or begin odor indoors. I can't decide which to do first and either way is acceptable from what I understand.

6 Months Old!

Porter turned 6 months old right before Christmas. I'm amazed how much he has grown and how fast the time as flown. It seemed like ages when I was waiting for him to be born and then old enough to come home. My husband remarked the other day how Porter is exactly what we were expecting and hoping for, based on the things we heard about the breed.

I also realized that he is now old enough to compete in Rally (or traditional obedience) but he's no where ready! This gave me a wake up call. I should have been working him more on rally. Not that I expected us to enter a ring this early, but he should be closer to being ready than he is. My main focus is on agility, but dogs cannot compete until 18 months, so I shouldn't put rally on hold in the meantime. Plus I can easily throw in a few rally moves here and there in the house whenever I want and it won't get in the way of his agility training time.

I started working with more of a purpose on his rally moves and was pleasantly surprised at how well he did. He's still in the very early stages and I am rewarding him quite a bit, but he readily completely the moves and stays focused on me. I think all my heeling work as paid off.

So my goal this year for Porter is to get him ready to trial in rally. We will also be working on Nose Work and working towards getting him on birch so we can do his ORT. He needs to be a year old at least, IRRC, so we have some time.

I love the shadow of his tail here with all the feathering

Another goal that has recently come up is to get Porter in the show ring. His overshot is almost gone and I am hoping that by the end of February his teeth will be perfect and he can compete in the Silver Bay Kennel Club show here in San Diego. I don't feel comfortable handling him myself. Who really wants both parts of the team green? Yikes! Right now the plan that we are working on is for his breeder to handle him on Saturday and another local breeder/handler to show him on Sunday. We'll be practicing with his breeder next week since I really haven't worked with him on her stacking or gaiting.

Since the weather has really warmed up in San Diego this week we hit the beach a few times. During our first trip Porter finally swam! He didn't mean to but ended up a little farther than expected while retrieving a stick. He turned around and realized he could touch so he swam back to shore. After that he was smart/stubborn and refused to go past a certain spot and would just level the stick out in the water. Some retriever! :) In this picture he is turning back and was about 2 feet shy of the stick. You can see the tiny ripple the stick is making just past him but he wasn't having any of it. He still happily ran in the water the rest of the trip...just not too deep.

 
On a fun note, Ian surprised me with  a Gopro Hero HD camera which is used to take videos of sports from the first person perspective. You can mount the camera on a helmet, your chest, your surfboard, etc. I *love* gadgets. I love dogs even more and when the two collide I'm in hog heaven. Yesterday I mounted the camera to Porter's collar and we headed to Fiesta Island Dog Beach. Here are two quick clips of his day.


This first video just shows him fetching a stick we found.






This clip show off his recall. It's still in the works, but I was very happy that he left the large group of new dogs and came to be from so far away.






Be prepared for many more videos! My vision is to video tape him doing agility :) I need to monkey with the mount a little since parts of the video (like when he was running full force) are too bouncy and hard to watch. I'd like the camera to be more steady so we'll see what I can come up with.

Uncrating Training in Progress

From the first week I brought Porter home he has gone to my dog training classes with me and stayed in an ex-pen. Right off the bat he was great at relaxing in there and not being upset there were other puppies nearby who were being played with and fed yummy treats. He did the same at an agility trial we went to.

Then I changed jobs and stopped teaching those puppy classes. For two months Porter was required to be in an ex-pen near other dogs. Somewhere around this time I also began training him for K9 Nose Work. And for the first time, Porter started making a fuss in his ex-pen. Ugh. He was enjoying the hunt so much he was not happy to be put away again while other dogs ran.

When I started teaching Nose Work classes last week I brought Porter along. Unfortunately the other dogs are a bit vocal while waiting their turn as well (one is a scent hound with a mournful bay) and now Porter is making a huge fuss while it's not his turn. The sad part of this for me is that means I won't be bringing him to class anymore. I don't want him continuing that behavior and I can't work on it while I'm busy teaching class. Instead I'll need to find time to bring him to the training center outside of class and just work on him remaining happy and quiet in his crate.

Thankfully it has not disrupted his crate behavior at home or in the car. I think if I didn't do something to address it and just let him continue this behavior that it would bleed over to his other crate times and I would kick myself.

3 Months Old

Porter continues to amaze me. While we haven't worked a on a lot of "tricks" yet, his general training is coming along quite nicely. He walks in  loose lead most of the time. When he occasionally pulls, I stop, and he has learned to release the tension by walking back towards me and then we continue forward. His pulling is typically caused by his quick pace. If I keep a very brisk walk then we are fine. His normal walking pace is much faster than mine though so I need to teach him to slow it down a bit especially once his legs grow even longer! I'll be jogging just to keep up on his walk.

When we are training his has great focus while heeling. He turned right very nicely, even doing 360's. I haven't worked on our lefts yet and I need to get on the perch work to help with those left pivots. He is really easy to maneuver into heel position and is learning to sit nice a straight. His preference is still to swing around to my front so I've been heavily rewarding him in heel position and he's doing better at staying there longer. He still stretches out to down so I need to work on teaching him to move his back feet inside so he's still in heel position. None of this is on cue yet.

I am most impressed with his behavior on Saturday. While the older dogs were in a big circle for basic obedience class (and there were over 10 dogs), Porter and I heeled around the outside of the circle and he was able to stay focuses on me (ok, really on my treats but I'll take it).

He also did much better playing with some puppies in class this week. Only once or twice he looked a little stiff. He played the most of a small JRT pup. Many he reminded him of Indigo. :) And as always he's doing great meeting older dogs, even if they are still puppies themselves, just a little older and a little larger.

He had a playdate with the Dalmatians, Kylie and Daisy this week. He has only seen Kylie on leash and even though she can be a pistol they all had a great time after our slow one on one off leash introductions. It was great seeing the three of them romp around together. After they had their fun we did a couple of rounds of Nose Work with them all.

I'm impressed at how quickly Porter picks up on things. He's waiting nicely for his dinner bowl now until I give him the release cue. I still am not waiting too long, but I can walk away a few feet and turn my back on him and he (typically) holds his stay.

His gross motor skills are improving every week. He's much better at walking down our hardwood floor stairs. I still walk in front of him in case he slips or tries to jump too many steps, but he rarely fumbles now. Most of the time he can make it up onto the couch but occasionally scrambles a bit. Jumping off was scary at first since he's take a flying leap and his feet would slip out from under him on the slick floor. I had visions of ACL tears and shoulder injuries dashing before my eyes as his agility career flies out the window. I'm not sure if he's able to control his body better now or if trimming the fur on his pads did the trick, but now he lands firmly. Probably a little bit of both.

I was surprised how well he did when I used the trimmers on his paws. Of course I has my daughter holding a peanut butter kong for him, but his was much more still then when I dremel his nails. He's also getting a little better when I brush him. He's prefer to chew the brush and I'm sure a stuffed kong would solve that but I always seem to decide to brush him at he last minute in between doing other things. I figure if I brush him frequently with the Furminator it will keep down on the fluff flying around the house. When Porter first came home nothing was coming out with the brush but now I do get some clumps of hair.

While he still takes hard naps his wakeful time is increasing. He has some crazy periods but they don't last long. All in all he's pretty chill and settles down very quickly. He's also become a real snuggle bug recently. Since he can jump up on the couch now he'll cuddle up and nap instead of chew on you. When he does try to mouth us, off the couch he goes. He learns quickly and either goes and plays with something else or jumps up and relaxes instead.

He's also, slowly, learning to not bother us if we are eating at the coffee table. Indigo is great with this and will not touch food on the coffee table even if left there for several hours with us out of the house. Porter will try to come up and sniff really close but we body block him and eventually he lays down and naps. Sometimes he gets frustrated and chews on the coffee table but stops if I put a drop or two of bitter apple
 on it. I think it's mostly the smell that gets him, or at least he has learned that the smell means it will taste bad so he doesn't even chew it or lick it after Bitter Apple is applied.

Porter has decided he loves pears and harvests the fallen pears from our tree. I'll have to be better about picking them up because last night he threw up a pear stem.

On that note, crate training is going great! When he vomited the pear stem at 3am, I opened the crate to wipe it up and then went back to bed. Porter did the same. I was worried he would want to get out but he didn't. He even let me sleep in until past 6:30 this morning and he didn't ask for a middle of the night pee break! Today he was crated for just shy of 3 hours, his longest time yet, and he seemed just fine when I got home.

We finally finished his bag of kibble and he had his first meal of Honest Kitchen (dehydrated raw) tonight. This week I go buy meat to put him back on a regular raw diet. I need to figure out where to feed him since I was feeding him his raw meals in his crate since I can use clorox wipes there and he's separated from Indi. But now that crate is upstairs in the bedrooms and is just too big and bulky for me to carry up and down daily. I don't think feeding up upstairs will work well since I like to watch him eat just in case he has a problem and he takes while to finish. Downstairs I can get a few things done while watching him.

Porter has outgrown Indi, but he's still clumsy so she continues to get the better of him in their wresting matches.

Perfect Puppy

Porter is turning out to be the perfect puppy. He has his moments, but in general he's really well behaved and easy going.

Today Porter and I hung out with friends at a local agility trial. He was able to meet several adults dogs (and loved them) and just ate up all the loves given to him by the handlers. Best of all he was completely calm and relaxed in his ex-pen and wasn't anxious when I wasn't there.

Between watching runs and hanging out we took time to observe the ducks and geese.

Porter is recovering well from his tooth extraction. When I picked him up he was in good spirits and nice and calm while we checked him out. He was ready to play, tug, and eat rocks right when we got home and wasn't happy all his toys had to be put away.

Adult dogs continue to be amazing things in Porter's eyes and he's warming up to Harley, the Viszla puppy.

This week we'll be starting on K9 Nose Work training. I've already noticed what a great sense of smell Porter has so I think he'll do well in the sport. I also need to work more on his proprioception. His flatwork is coming along with the small amount of training we've done so far. I'm hoping to start him in a puppy agility class very soon so my training is more focused.

He is now heavier and maybe a tad taller than Indi, but still pretty clumsy so Indi alway has the upper hand.

Everyday I can see Porter's impulse control improving. He can now sit and wait after I put his food bowl down for about 10 seconds before I release him. And finally, he can empty his puppy kong. The large ones still pose a problem but he'll get there. This week he had a break through and finally realized he can bat at the kong with his paws to make the treats fall out.

More good news is that Porter isn't so anxious walking at night anymore. He does pull hard to get home, but still makes a small effort when we pass the house. He doesn't startle as easily and sometimes can let barking dogs roll off his back. At the trial today the barking dogs didn't phase him at all even though one was right next to him.

The cutest thing to watch is when both Indigo and Porter get the zoomies in the backyard. Porter can't keep up but he's getting better every week. He also in pretty interested in Indi's flirt pole and gives it a go in between her rounds.

Dog Sports

Aside from being a family companion, my goal for our new puppy is to be a performance dog. I really enjoy training and working with dogs and find many of the dog sports to be a great outlet and a fun activity to do together.  I have dabbled in a few interesting sports over the years with my Rat Terrier, Indigo.

Indigo and I have a great time training for agility.  She gets a huge rush from running a courses and you can tell that it's naturally rewarding for her.  Rally obedience has been a lot of fun to train and has introduced new skills we had to fine tune such as backing up and pivoting left, both while in heel position.  I really like the control you need to master in this sport and it's great for working on Indi's focus and self control.  A new sport that Indi has really taken a shine to is K9 Nose Work (this is a kind of scent detection work).

When the new pup comes home he will be trained for these sports as well, with agility being my primary focus. In all my reading about FCRs and their owners I keep seeing the same theme.  The owners are just amazed at the sheer joy they see in their dogs when they are out retrieving in the field and doing the work they were bred for.  This has led me to look into field training and what is involved.  I know that most people use forced retrieves and shock collars for this kind of training, but that is not my style.  I'm not interesting in doing that kind of work with my dog and luckily it seems there are some people out there training for field work using positive methods.  There's not many, but they are out there and some have even written books on the subject.

My goal over the next few months is to learn more about field trials so I understand the rules and what is required of the dogs and to read about how to use the clicker or other positive method to teach these skills.  I'm not sure if this sport is for me, but it would be nice to do something so natural for my dog and to do it in a dog friendly way.

Oh, yes, and we might dabble in dock diving as well.  And I imagine a FCR would be great at therapy work.  How many hours are in a day again??