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.

Tough as Nails...Almost

Today in agility I threw a ball for Porter's reward after a short sequence. The ball continued to bounce off the field and Porter gave chase. He came up limping with a 6 inch stake stuck to the bottom of his foot. After pulling it out I noticed the nail which must have embedded itself into his pad. As soon as the nail was out Porter took off for his ball without a second thought and he happily trotted back to his crate with his reward.

I'm amazed at Porter's high pain tolerance. He never yelped and only limped when it was stuThankfuck in his foot.

I'm also impressed with his ability to hold still when I need to help him. Last week he stepped on a bee and was well behaved as I checked his paw and flicked the stinger out.

Thankfully another student is a vet and she didn't seem concerned about the injury and Porter didn't know what all the fuss was about. He's not favoring that foot or licking it. Now that we are home I can't even tell anything happened to his paw when I closely inspect it.

Despite being impervious to pain, Porter is a delicate flower when it comes to the heat. It was barely in the low 70's today but the heat was sucking Porter's energy away quickly. His crate is placed in the coolest spot with the most shade and he has his cool pet pad inside, but working in the sun for a few minutes at a time is almost too much still. I foresee skipping a lot of summer trials.

11 Months Old

I cannot believe it's been over 2 months since I updated. I get behind a few days and then it seems overwhelming and I push off writing even longer. I just need to break the cycle and write something as well as dump some pictures I have taken with my phone.

Porter and Super Ted enjoying Fiesta Island.

Porter is now 11 months old! He weighs 63.5 pounds which is only a pound more than his dad. Everyone one kept saying how much he has grow so I assumed he was over 70. I don't know his height, but I am suspecting it's just over 24 inches.

Porter is doing amazing in K9 Nose Work. He's working on finding the first target odor (Birch) and has his Odor Recognition Test on June 22. For this test, he must find the one box which contains the odor out of 12 identical boxes. He'll have 3 minutes to do so, but at a recent ORT I helped with the dogs alerted on the correct box in under 30 seconds, some as quick as 6. I'm getting together with a few other local Nose Work trainers so we can practice for the test. I discovered that Porter had a much harder time finding someone else's birch tin so it's important we practice with others and in new locations.

Silly Puppy decided to take a nap in the tub.

I took his target odor with us on our walk last week and would randomly drop it along the way. Then I doubled back and positioned Porter the same way we do during a search. He instantly knew what to do and would find the tin within seconds. Then it was back to walking. I love how he was able to transition between the two activities seamlessly. I was pleased that he didn't try to mark either.

Porter is convinced that the laser eyed dog in the other room knows where the hide is located.

I still need to put his sit and down on stimulus control. He does well with these commands, but occasionally mixes them up or just opts for his default down. I haven't put in the time to really fine tune them.

Learning how to be a little dog from his big sister.

I just bought a sheepherding whistle and plan on using Pam Dennison's Whistle Recall method with Porter. Man was it hard to get used to that whistle though! I love how you can make a variety of pitches and I hope to have some of Porter's behaviors on different whistle cues.

Princess Indi doesn't care why I stacked everything on the couch just as long as her throne is soft and comfortable.

We still crate Porter at night. It's not to keep him (or our things) safe anymore, but mostly to keep Indi from being stepped on. Porter is still an ox when he climbs on to our bed although he's getting a little better. In the morning he's allowed up on the bed to snuggle as long as Indi is not hidden under the covers. I also want to keep his crate behavior strong so I can use it when needed. He's still great crated in the car and only so-so when crated in the lobby at work. He was crated in another room while I attended a training seminar at work and he did much better than expected. I had three kongs stuffed with peanut butter and chicken to keep him busy.

In our neighborhood Porter walks very nicely on leash, but new areas he's more inclined to pull. Which just means that I need to get him to new areas more often and work on it!

At it again at grandma's house.

Agility is coming along nicely. He's doing better at noticing where I am and where my body is signaling him to go and making tight turns. He used to swing very wide. We still need to work on it but he's following my body cues nicely. His contacts are coming along, especially since I haven't worked them at home much. We are doing 2 on 2 off on the dog walk and teeter. He often sits or downs as well, which I am fine with. We mostly work on a plank, since I want his behavior strong, but this week I used the dog walk and he did even better. I think the steeper angle made it easier for him. With the plank barely off the ground he's more likely to hand a foot off the edge while he sits or downs. Hmmm, maybe sitting or downing isn't a good idea...

Enjoying bullysticks

The heat really gets to Porter. I notice that if it's just slightly warm at agility his energy is sapped. I have a cool pet mat that fits perfectly in his crate and that helps. I also need to get a cool collar or coat.

I have not taken Porter to any conformation shows. There was a match nearby but the timing didn't work out with my daughter's school schedule (it was on a Friday afternoon). If I want Porter is the show ring I think our best chance will be to use a handler. At least maybe for the first time or so. I know he'll show better with me but using a handler will ease my nerves a bit (and I won't have to buy a whole new outfit!). I think Porter would do great in the ring. His brother and sister sure are!

Nylabone pacifier

Doggie Disneyland

While the humans headed off to Disneyland, Indigo and Porter headed off to their respective versions.

Making himself right at home with Kylie

Indi's Doggie Disneyland consists of long hikes through the trails, digging up gopher holes, snuggling on down comforters, and of course humping Theo's head. She always has such a good time to Jennie's house that she doesn't even notice I'm not there. It helps that Jennie allows her to sleep in her bed under the covers just like she does at home. She doesn't even complain about that cold, wet nose of Indi's that can be quite alarming in the middle of the night when placed in the wrong location.

It's raining, why can't we go outside?!

Porter spent time with his spotted dynamic duo friends, Kylie and Daisy. His version of Doggie Disneyland includes running amok in the yard (the muddier the better) and yanking off pieces of the palm trees.

Yum!

I'm not sure if it's just a factor of his age or the fact that I left him, but Porter was really distracted in his obedience class and agility lesson the week we returned. The good news is that he's back on track. Last week he was on fire in all of his classes and did really well at our conformation practice group.

Waiting for my return

A week or so ago we went to visit Madeline's new puppy, Super Ted. I was a bit worried since Ted was only 9 weeks old and Porter is over 60 pounds and doesn't know his own strength. Porter impressed me and did not smash the puppy :)

The last two weeks Porter has not had issues sticking to my side in agility. Instead he has been taking two obstacles just fine. I don't know if he's over it yet or just temporarily, but it's been nice not having that problem.

I was amazed Porter wasn't obsessed with Ted every second.

His sniffing is still a problem when we first arrive on a new location. This week I got to class early and walked him around a bit and let him sniff his heart out. A few times I asked for something simple, like a hand target, and allowed him to go sniff more as his reward. While waiting out turn I took him off to the sides and let him sniff. He was very focused but I can't tell if it is because he was allowed to sniff on the down times and before class or something else.

Since you don't get a lot of attention in a group class we have also done a few private sessions with other trainers. Today we saw someone new and she didn't want Porter sniffing at all. So we worked on his attention and focus on me the instant he came out of his crate. He did well with the things we did today but I had to be on him constantly (treating him before he had a chance to do anything else). If not, he lost his focus and his nose was to the ground. Was this because he wasn't given any chance to sniff or because it was a brand new location (with an intact male and female and puppies on the property)? Hard to say. I'll have to play around with these two ideas and see what I get.

Did you find something good?

I really liked the foundation work this new trainer does. I also liked how efficient she was with the time we had. We talked about a lot of things and did several exercises. I have a lot I can practice on at home with the work we did today. It was time well spent. We are not 100% in agreement with things, but when does that ever happen?

Since Porter and I have been doing K9 Nose Work it's likely that his sniffing is getting worse, for now, but I am confident, based on others experience, that it will get better soon. Allowing him that sniffing outlet while doing Nose Work prevent sniffing from becoming the forbidden fruit and will give him an outlet for that natural and rewarding behavior.

After our lesson we headed to Porter's breeder's house to practice conformation stuff. Porter was tired, hot, and stuffed full of food from agility so his was a bit slow and distracted. Candy thought we did well so that is encouraging since he is usually much better. I think I've decided on which show lead to use (a client lent me several). I still need to go buy my outfit, ugh.

Porter found a big stick and was in Heaven