Nosework Thread

[Tayla's Mom]

Originally Posted by goldy1

I think Nosework really got started on the west coast. There are a few instructors in Mass and downstate NY but each is 2+ hours one way from where I live. So I'm "going it alone" for now.

The book I'm using is "Fun Nosework for Dogs" by Roy Hunter.

I would definitely love to learn more.

I just got this book yesterday. I am excited to start it for some tracking information.

[inge]

I think Liza would even be better than Tess...this morning she came out to play and with her nose on the grass ran to the end of the lawn, near the woods. And yes, there was a deer leg lying there, broken off under the knee. Tess was too focused on the ball to even notice...

[goldy1]

Originally Posted by Tayla's Mom

I just got this book yesterday. I am excited to start it for some tracking information.

It seems to be a good book on the subject but the problem I am having is motivating myself to use it consistantly. I seem to do SO much better when we do weekly classes (i.e Rally-O, agility) and then I am motivated more to do the at-home exercises.

Maybe this thread will help because I will have a place to ask a question when I am unclear .

I think nosework will work well for Chance and me now that winter is approaching and we can do this indoors on really bad weather days.

[Tayla's Mom]

We do it everywhere. On walks is a great time. If I'm walking Tayla alone I usually have treats and if she is occupied sniffing something and I can hide a treat someplace close, I will let her walk off a little and then I bring her back with her "find it" cue. Just part of the training we do on walks.

[jackie_hubert]

Originally Posted by General V

What I meant about drive is that I HAVE TO WORK Vendetta, BaWaaJige and Secret everyday or I cant live with them they are very high energy and they need to get that out of their systems before we can relax. With Nosework I dont think Solo is going to get demanding that we do it everyday.

Haha! I can relate to the high energy.

Be prepared for an overactive nose though! Walking has become very challenging, lol. I took Cosmo to be a blood donor and when they took him to the back of the vet officey they were unpacking boxes of supplies and he literally pulled the vet tech down running for the boxes and rummaging through them. They thought it was funny that he was so obsessed with boxes since they didn't know he does Nosework.

[jackie_hubert]

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[jackie_hubert]

Originally Posted by tania

Pira loves nose games!! Here is a video of the beginning stages of our game. Now she is searching in very unusual places. We never did any classes.., but I would love to!!

Good job Pira! Does she tend to LOOK for the object or smell for it? When we first started Cosmo was really dependent on his eyes.

[jackie_hubert]

Originally Posted by inge

Jackie, didn't you and Cosmo also do track? I was wondering whether that gives you an advantage or just the opposite. I did two Nosework courses with Tess when she was really young (9 months or so) and she loved it. We stopped because I wanted I certify her for Therapy work but it is something I might do again with her.

We have done tracking as well and occassionally do lost pet tracking (mostly dogs). It became hard to do tracking with him when he grew into a full-blown adolescent so we haven't done much lately, but he's calming down a LITTLE now so we may get back to it. Mostly, my husband is lazy and he's his tracking partner.

Ed Presnell who is the almighty in all things tracking was recently on DogRead and he notes that dogs shouldn't do both tracking and Nosework because the skills are so different. Also, some things are not compatible - like he is taught to "dig" with his feet in tracking which can get a dog DQ'd in Nosework. Also, he tends to "track" to the box with the scent because he's tracking the judge who placed the scent - that can be misleading for him. But having started in one or the other does give the advantage of knowing how to use the nose. We skipped intro to Nosework because we already had done scent-work with Cosmo.

BTW, all of you might be interested to know that Ed Presnell will be discussing his 2 new books on scent-work at DogRead in late Nov or early Dec I think. Free to join.

[jackie_hubert]

[QUOTE=goldy1;1847114]It seems to be a good book on the subject

QUOTE]

I have this book too but as far as I remember it is different from competition Nosework. Not that this necessarily matters though.

[jackie_hubert]

Wow, way too many emails from me. sorry. this will be my last.

I took the footage for this video a while ago for the shelter but thought this might be an excellent way to show some foundations for those interested. Would love to see your videos.

Foundations, like in every dog sport, are everything. I didn't spend enough time on this with Cosmo so I'm now doing more of it with the cat. The steps here are exactly the same with a dog.

K9 Nosework with Cat - YouTube

K9 Nosework with Cat - YouTube

I will work on this step for the next 2 weeks and then move on to more containers.