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Nosework: Great For Dogs!


Scottsmum
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The tree was amazing. Considering Fern is 10 inches tall and the scent was 3 feet up.

That is fantastic! It can be hard for dogs to progress to air scenting.

Malcolm has now progressed to Intermediate Nosework. They have taken away the boxes! Last class we were getting them into the habit of checking the perimeters and corners of the field before tackling the insides. I am finding having a dedicated Nosework harness helpful as he switches off better once it is removed.

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I just finished intermediate and enrolled in advanced to introduce scent. Looks like my Kelpie wants to do it all.

I look like a strange one ATM as each day I drive her to whatever I can find, lay some hides, harness her, find them and on to the next site. Currently using picnic tables and exercise equipment setups along the large lake nearby. I do my car too and she sometimes moves to another car nearby but I have to redirect her back. Not sure people would like her under or on their cars!

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I'm really interested in the idea of Nosework, for Cleo and for my future pup. Being in a regional town, I'm probably best off doing an online course like Fenzi I'm guessing?

I'd love to teach this in my puppy school classes to a degree, I'm always harping on about enrichment, entertainment, keeping brains active.

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I'm really interested in the idea of Nosework, for Cleo and for my future pup. Being in a regional town, I'm probably best off doing an online course like Fenzi I'm guessing?

I'd love to teach this in my puppy school classes to a degree, I'm always harping on about enrichment, entertainment, keeping brains active.

Where are you roughly Dot?

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How are you signaling to your dogs that search time is over?

I have tried having a celebration/making a fuss/big verbal reward and "all done", then taking off his harness, then putting him into a room (and have tried a couple of different rooms) and onto his mat or bed and with or without a treat. I then remove all the boxes in his absence.

This isn't working: he goes straight into full on search mode the moment he is released. Last night he went into search mode each time he walked into the room where we train. It seems to have worsened since we moved up to Intermediate where all the boxes have been removed. We only use boxes at home.

I ignore it as instructed, but we've been told we need to work on this as it devalues the game if searches are fruitless and can lead to frustration.

Previously I've praised / "all done!", removed his harness, and then packed up the boxes in his presence. This seemed to work better: he was still inspecting boxes while I'm packed up but wasn't working the room as such. But the instructor said I need to take him out of the room and keep experimenting. I feel like putting him in another room is a trigger for him to think I'm setting up for another round, as happens in class.

Oh and I have created a box inspector monster. Amazing amount of excitement and drive to inspect boxes whenever they appear! Yesterday I had to hide one away as even when it was on top of a table and out of sight he was still swanning around underneath.

Edited by Papillon Kisses
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Hrm... PK....

Back when we did more I always just used "all done" with palms out/down - which is something we use a lot. Harness on and off too - always and boxes were always put up and away out of sight.

It was my understanding that - especially when you're on odour that they're less likely to hunt all the time and on the occasion they do - like when they think they want to search a car outside of NW - you just need to move them on.

Have you introduced the cue/go word yet? If not - that might help.

I don't think any of that specifically helps - especially because Mal is... um... a very special boy ;) (you know I mean that lovingly) - Luckily Scottie only ever searched when he was doing NW.

All that said - we've only done basic NW recently and since Scottie has gone deaf the "no more / all done" didn't really work - he wanted to keep going.

edited to add - I'll ask in the closed Fenzi group I'm member of if they have any ideas.

Edited by Scottsmum
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Haha, yes he is a special boy. Sniffing is one of his coping / destressing mechanisms too. We have a go/start word: "find it!"

The "all done" is paired with that hands thing too, forgot about that.

Initially having the harness as a cue really helped... but not recently.

With the relaxation protocol I'm doing all done / good boy / hands thing then specifically calling him away and seeing if he wants a drink. If I don't he will continue sitting on his little mat, because who knows me going upstairs and down again or opening the fridge or sitting on the lounge might be part of it. :D Darling boy.

Thanks for asking in your Fenzi group. Are you in any other Nosework groups on Facebook?

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Uh.

I'm in the fenzi one, a closed one for the group I was in in Sydney and one for NZ - but nothing more open and general. I don't think.

Edit: There's this one:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/494783473883909/

I think the harness worked well for Scottie because it was the only time we ever ever used one. and he's extremely good at working - when he knows it's time.

Edited by Scottsmum
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