The Scent dimension – not seen by the handler

We don’t have glasses that can see the scent our dogs are hunting for, and that means our primary sense – vision puts us at a handicap for the analysis of the decisions our dogs make while working odor. I’ve heard several analogies used to describe how the dogs work, trying to relate it to our visual world. Ron Gaunt once (paraphrasing) articulated it as a room where all objects are mirrors, (fun house style). So imagine each chair, table, wall, and door is made out of mirrors reflecting the visual spectrum back as us. How many of use would run into things, as we observe our dogs doing as they work odor. We have all seen it, where out of the blue the dog turns quickly and “smack” into the bottom of a chair or table leg. The dog seeking odor is in an unseen dimension of sorts, and not always the same for each dog. Where one dog runs into objects another leaves the threshold and goes directly to source, without any delay. Each dog is similar and yet different based on that dog, their experience and changes in the environment.

Imagine we could design a scent Rorschach (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_test) test to give to our dogs.

One dog would see one image and another dog might see the same or the negative image in the test. Sometimes when watching a dog work I see the dog searching all the negative space, the void in-between objects. Yes they encounter corners, edges, stumble over containers and even run into objects, but not always. It’s beautiful to watch the dog moves in this negative dimension from what we can’t see or different from what we initially see. It can be frustrating to the handler when the dog appears to not making progress, i.e. the source is not in the negative space of that image. In fact just this past weekend I watch several handlers call alert and then say were the source was located. It was like they watched the voids and objects the dog evaluated and where able to see what was coming next – the dog would have turned and sourced and therefore knew where the source was.

There was a test as a kid I took once at the optometrist, that tested for dyslexia. It was cube of sorts with several layers of letters, you looked into it and there was a paragraph to read out load. Not sure if I can fully describe its design but if the patient moved then the letters would shift. The optometrist said at the end, that most adults performing the test would give up because it doesn’t make sense what they are reading. But as a kid with dyslexia I just read to the end squirming in my seat and making absolutely no darn sense. What if every time the dog moves while working, that negative space/image of scent they are encountering is altered, either by the handler, dog or some other environmental factors? Imagine the intense work and focus the dog must be under in the moment with so many computations to make.

The Rorschach image or ink blots have a unique property, called reflection symmetry or mirror-image symmetry which happens in nature, and can be described in mathematical terms. I often suggest in my classes with the possibility that the dogs are really doing differential calculus problems to solve a scent problem. Each term of the equation as it is solved by the dog reduces the remaining information or terms required to complete the scent problem and source.

Back to Ron; he encourages us to watch the dog work, to do our best not to interfere, move/not move but use them as our guide in the world of scent because the dog is the expert. It appears to be “magic” sometimes but in a way we are lucky when we see something that can not be seen it can only be observed in how our dogs work the scent problem in that particular environment and search. It can not be repeated later, it only happens once. Or if we observe carefully it happens similarly enough with another dog that is gives us a glimpse into their world of scent. We also encounter experienced handlers, judges, trainers with new observations about the dog’s patterns that we may not have fully understood what we were seeing at the time. Do all of these apply to every dog, maybe not, but it’s these observations that help us understand the vast unseen capabilities of dogs.

My dogs do calculus and I do addition and subtraction, I think the problems they are solving are beautiful to watch.

A worthwhile adventure K9 Nose Work for your Shiba Inu

Are you wondering if your Shiba has the ability, capacity or desire to participate in nose work? K9 Nose Work©  created by the National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW™ www.nacsw.net ), is a detection style game where dogs learn to get excited about using their nose to seek out a favorite toy or treat reward placed in one of several boxes. Your Shiba will benefit from the way the game of K9 Nose Work® is designed from the beginning to give the dog the choice and independence to hunt for a primary reward. We start with a primary reward to build drive and the desire to hunt with all types of dogs no matter their physical abilities, ages or level of training. The great thing about starting nose work as a game is that it provides the most flexibility for all levels of dog owners no matter their dog’s sport background. Each dog and handler progresses at their own pace as the dog solves puzzles and learns their own way, best for each dog; fast, slow, blind, deaf, old, young or retired champion.
 
Every description of the Shiba breed includes the words “independent”. The game is well suited for this trait and as I discovered with my Shibas, once exposed to the fun and independent nature of hunting in nose work, they were much more willing to work with me in other training situations. It’s been a great compliment to the Shiba’s hunting desire in a controlled environment and they have thanked me for it with a stronger bond and wonderful relationship. As each dog grows more confident with the puzzles, the game expands to entire rooms, exterior areas and vehicles. The challenges can grow to resemble much more of the detection style searching and for those interested in training more advanced skills; target odors (birch, anise, etc) are added to the search, and much more! Competition is available for teams that enjoy the challenges and opportunities to Title under the NACSW™.

Starting with just a few boxes, an inexpensive piece of equipment, my Shiba; Atlas searched for his treats placed in the boxes. It expanded the searching for treats with more boxes, folded into puzzles, mazes, stacked, hidden, nested, scattered, in every imaginable way. Other objects were added too, like cones, chairs, tables, carts and bins of all sorts. Then the boxes went with us, searching these puzzles in training rooms, garages, houses, parks, backyards, barns, and fields. The nose work game is only limited by your imagination. If you need some ideas on how the game starts and where it can go, check out the Parker Videos (https://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DGT280). Part of the fun is thinking up new searches for all teams, it’s an interactive game for both dog and handlers.

 

I started with a particularly challenging Shiba, a resource guarder, sensitive about his space, super high energy and when he became an adolescent I was not very successful training him to have good manners. He got plenty of exercise but the physical exercise lacked mental stimulation. K9 Nose work® changed that and gave him a job to do. Instead of letting the Shiba intelligence free to devise all manner of ways to play their games, many times at our expense, put those Shiba skills to work. Nose work provided a wealth of puzzles for him to solve and exhausted his energy faster than any 10 mile hike. Motivation via food worked in my favor, but it was the desire and instinct to hunt, seek and problem solve in the nose work environment that saved him. It was extremely rewarding for me to see him hunt happily every time the boxes appeared. The best part was giving him the freedom to choose his own path and for me to learn by watching him work out all the puzzles. K9 Nose work® became my passion because of the wonderful changes in the relationship with my Shiba Inu.

The sport of K9 Nose Work® had just started growing across the country in 2011 when I started playing the game with my Shiba, Atlas. I had no plans to compete, no desire and no idea what to expect. After about 9 months of having fun, I had advanced to working with the first target odor; Birch (an essential oil on several q-tips in a small tin container). I drove 16 hours (one way) to attend my first Odor Recognition Test (ORT), a requirement to compete in a trial. This is a test which consists of 12 identical boxes normally in 2 rows where one box has the target odor placed inside. The challenge of the ORT is to test if the dog recognizes the odor in a box and then can the handler recognize their dog working the odor to call “Alert” on the correct box. I had never competed with a dog and was very nervous.  With my novice skills reading my dog’s communication working the birch odor, Atlas and I, missed, when I called “Alert” on the wrong box. It was disappointing but just seeing him navigate the environment and hunt was enough for me to be hooked on the sport. I now compete with all three of my Shiba’s, each has a different search style.  Of course, they have Shiba similarities but each is an individual and part of the fun is learning how to grow my skills as a handler and be the best teammate possible when competing in nose work.

The NACSW™ sanctions K9 Nose Work® Trials that come in two forms; NW1, NW2 and NW3 were rolled out first, Element Specialty Trial (EST) are new since 2014. Once a dog has passed the ORT for the first odor; birch. That dog can be entered into an NW1 trial to find one placed birch hide (hidden from handler view) in four different search areas; containers, interiors, exteriors and vehicles. The dog must subsequently pass an anise ORT and have titled at NW1 to compete in NW2, and must pass a clove ORT and have titled at NW2 to compete in NW3.

Element Specialty trials are half day events where one element is searched; either containers, interiors, exteriors or vehicles. Normally there are at least 4 search areas per half day trial of one element. So each team will search 4 container search areas for the opportunity to title in a Level 1 Container trial, or 4 interiors search areas for a Level 1 Interior trial. For all Level 1 Element Specialty Trials, there will be 1 hide per search area. Element Specialty Trials get more challenging at Level 2 and Level 3 with multiple hides, additional odors, and intentionally placed distractions.

For a dog to title at a NW1 trial they must located one hide in each search area and the handler must call “Alert” correctly for the judge to approve. If the team correctly finds the 4 hides then the dog earns an NW1 Title.

·         1 hide per search area it will be Birch

·         4 search areas (containers, interiors, exteriors and vehicles

·         Handler must correctly call “Alert” once their dog has found each hide

·         The team must find all 4 hides correctly for the dog to title that day

 

A team is required to find all the hides on one day for NW1, NW2 and NW3, there is no accumulation over multiple trials, so if a team passes 3 out of 4 at one trial then at their next try they still have to pass a four elements to title. It is a significant challenge but well worth the achievement. Each search is timed so there is the additional opportunity to achieve placements (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd) in each element. NW2 and NW3 are very similar to NW1 with some additional challenges. Each level adds another odor; NW2 adds Anise, and NW3 adds Clove. At NW2 there can be no more than 2 hides in each of the four search areas (containers, interiors, exterior and vehicles) and the number of hides is disclosed to the handler prior to the search. Some additional challenges are added for NW2;

·         No more than 2 hides in each search area for NW2

·         For NW2 the handler is told how many hides in each search are for NW2

·         Interiors at NW2 will include 2 rooms

·         Up to 4 vehicles can be present in the search area

 

For NW3 the biggest added complication to the trial level is that it will not be known to the handler whether there are 1, 2, or 3 hides in each search area. This increases the challenge to each team significantly, the handler must be able to read when there dog has found all the hides in each search area.

·         Up to 3 hides in each search area for NW3

·         For NW3 the handler doesn’t know how many hides are in each search area

·         The handler must correctly find all the hides and call finish in each search area to title

·         For interiors in NW3 there are 3 rooms and 1 of those rooms MAY be clear of odor

·         A 3^rd odor of Clove is added

·         Up to five vehicles can be present in the vehicle search area

·         The handler finds out at the end of the trial if they have successfully by finding all the hides that day and if so receives an NW3 Title.

Video examples of NW1 and NW2 are available via the NACSW™ website.

http://www.nacsw.net/trial-calendar-information/video-examples-nacsw-k9-nose-work-trial-searches

If a dog can successfully pass 3 different NW3 trials receiving a title then they achieves a NW3 Elite Title. As the NACSW™ organization continues to grow they have added additional trial opportunities. The newest is the Elite Division trials, where all teams need to have achieved the NW3 Elite Title level in-order to trial. The new Elite Division trials no longer have predefined search elements, so an exterior type search may include containers or vehicles. Or an interior type search might include vehicles. In addition there is no longer requirements on the number of hides and the number could be disclosed or not before the search. This new Elite Division level gets very close to real world type of searches environments that professional detection handlers might encounter, show up and work a location with many unknowns. There are additional nuances about trialing; faults, distracters, and limits on hide elevation so if you are looking for more specific trial rules and information check out the NACSW™ website at www.nacsw.net.
 

(Photo Credits Jason Heng, Blue Amrich, Pawsitive Impressions, Em and Zach Photography)

Opportunities to participate in an ORT and Trials are far more available now. As of 2015 the sport has exploded across the country with trials, instructors, camps, seminars, the NACSW™ National Invitational, and many enthusiastic nose work teams in many states. There will be 31 states in 2015 (http://www.nacsw.net/trial-calendar-information) that will have hosted K9 Nose Work® trial. As of 2015 the UKC is sanctioning nose work competitions. The UKC nose work competition has its own set of rules and challenges, providing an additional opportunity to participate in nose work.  http://www.ukcdogs.com/Web.nsf/WebPages/DogEvents/Nosework There are also several other organizations that have created scent work games each with their own challenges.

Atlas achieved his NW3 Elite title in July 2015 having successfully titled at three NW3 Trials, becoming the first Shiba to accomplish this and becoming one of about 100 NW3 Elite title holders from NACSW™ trials around the country. It was a 4 year journey! Since the sport was just starting in my region I traveled all over the country to trial in 15 different states, making the journey very rewarding, including the opportunity to meet so many nose work enthusiasts. I’ll steal a comment from a fellow Shiba handler when they told me it is a big accomplishment to title a Shiba in any sport. And its great to see a number of Shiba teams around the country competing in nose work at many levels including NW3. It has been a great experience to meet so many teams, cheer their success and appreciate the great determination and training it takes to compete with a Shiba Inu. Many of the nose work searches I set for my Shibas aren’t about competition. I play the game for fun, giving all my dogs puzzles to engage their minds. K9 Nose work® is a great way to have fun with your dogs!

www.hengten.com

 

 

The rest of the story - Paid in Full

Soon after writing about our journey seeking the NW3 Elite title (last blog post Paid in Full ) I had accepted that it would come one day, and super excited for the next trial. Did it happen at the next trial? No. To the contrary the next trial was one of those experiences that left me wondering again if it would. I've had days like that before, fireworks come to mind, an experience I was not looking to repeat. Well we didn't encounter any fireworks, but the roofers across the street using rapid fire nail guns was an added stress that totaled up to it not being our day.

 

Atlas handled it okay to start, he was concerned for sure, jumping around when the nails starting firing and looking off into the distance in "Alert" mode. Not the kind of alert I was planning for the day. I tried to comfort him and tried to not let my emotions get the better of me, worrying about him.

 

Into the first interior room and boom, snap called on the first object he showed interest in and got a "No". I was not successful in keeping my emotions in check and I had lost my concentration. It took every bit of me to regain my composer in the hall before going into the second room. The 2nd room was a good search, found 2 hides and was feeling confident we had found everything in the room. The 3rd room however went south, when Atlas stood up on a plastic cabinet and it rocked forward. He did not cope well, jumping back and he seemed very startled. I told him it was okay, but I had trouble getting him to focus. I tried to get him to search in the stalls of the bathroom. Atlas was having none of it and when he started searching high onto the counter I called finish (for a clear room).

 

All in all the interior search was not the end of the world, I had messed up but I had a lot of searching left for the day, and having some success would mean overcoming a big distraction, the nail guns. Ah but that was not completely the case either. The vehicle search was several minutes of agony for the handler. I had not seen Atlas out for a walk during a search in a long time, poor guy was just not focused on the task at hand. We did our best and around the time of the 30 second call Atlas ran into some odor and worked it out. Two and a half minutes of walking around the vehicles showed that some distractions have an unknowable effect. He recovered on exteriors and solved the puzzles like a champ, a great success for the day. 

 

Containers was last and once again the handler needed to be reminded of an age old lesson. Proof that when things go sideways it accumulates sometimes. Atlas is the one with the expert nose and when he says we are done finding all the odor, don't try to convince him otherwise. "No, lets go check this corner bag because you haven't check it to my satisfaction." Ok said Atlas, you want me to find the food in this bag and tell you about it, happy to comply Mr. treat dispenser. Handler rewarded with a "No", Doh!

 

It was a beautiful day, sunny in the mountains of Colorado. I had humble pie for lunch and dinner, Atlas still got lots of treats and a day of searching. He didn't die from the noise of the nail gun and was not crushed by a plastic cabinet. I would later realize that the cabinet reaction was very telling. It seemed at the time like a big overreaction, but if there was odor in the room he probably wouldn't have acted that way. I have had many experiences where Atlas had run into objects, crashing is a better description, but in the presence of odor he didn't react. No odor resulted in a big worried reaction, when not in search mode being concerned about ones surroundings can be all consuming.

 

I was discouraged, yep no getting around it. Something totally out of my control had distracted me and broke my concentration. Mainly I was irritated with myself for letting it get the best of me. The result, it was time to take a break, focus on having some fun. I pulled from the next trial, which was just before the 4th of July. I didn't wish to have another fireworks experience, not worth the additional stress on Atlas.

 

A couple months later we tried again, drove 3 days to Oregon to have some fun. It only took 14 - NW3 trials for Atlas and I to get all 3 NW3 titles required for the Elite. And 4 trials for each of NW1 and NW2. Seems like a lot doesn't it? Maybe, I'll steal a comment from a fellow Shiba handler when they told me it is a big accomplishment to title a Shiba in anything. Atlas is the first Shiba to get his Elite title, but that doesn't mean as much as the miles I've traveled with him to get there. More fun to come now the NACSW had Elite trials. Whoo hoo!

 

Paid in Full - Adapt

Paid in Full

As summer approaches it will mark four years since we made the decision that if we couldn’t find a way to learn to deal with our adolescent dog; his neurotic energy, dog reactive outbursts, violent resource guarding, the biting me, then we would euthanize him. Little did we know at the time that I had been given a glorious adventure that would send me on a wonderful journey that continues. This all happened because we started K9 Nosework®.

After a couple of months of freeing him to hunt for treats in boxes, he started to be less neurotic which allowed me to be successful with other training. It wasn’t easy; we spent every day for 8 months working through the resource guarding, success was being able to put a bowl of food down in his crate and release him to eat without a violent display. We accomplished a number of things after starting nosework; walking nicely while on a leash was big and not reacting to almost every dog we saw was still over a year away. We had set backs too, I learned to see when he was uncomfortable, the warning signals returned, we adapting to him and this summer will also mark 3 years since last incident with me. Throughout this time the constant was nosework, we played the game a lot; some weeks multiple times per day, everyday, and it worked like a valve on a pressure cooker and relaxed his mind. He became eager to “work” for food in all training situations, and nosework changed him in a way I can’t fully explain. My intense little dog is still in there but it’s channeled into the fun work we do and the weight of the world on his shoulders diminished.

When we started nosework we just wanted a happy home life, and he had so much fun hunting for the treats and then odor, I decided to try the competitive venue. I drove to Colorado, a short 16 hour drive to run him in an ORT for the first odor birch. We didn’t pass the ORT so I drove the long 16 hours home. My dog succeeded by not loosing his cool, being in a venue with many other dogs, and we passed another ORT a few months later only having to drive a short 13 hours (one way). That was just the beginning. In total, I have traveled 100s of thousands of miles for nosework; seminars, camps, trials, training and teaching. I enjoyed handling a dog so much I worked a dog professionally for a pest control company for a year of windshield time, yes more driving. I became an instructor through the NACSW and I thoroughly enjoy spending hours coaching others in classes each week as the sport grows here in Texas.

When I started competing for the first title level NW1, I thought there was a pinnacle to be achieved the NW3 Elite (3 NW3 Titles). If I got there then I would have paid my penance. I know that is not the right word for it, but it has stuck with me over all those miles. I OWE every last hour and every last mile traveled to my dog named Atlas who gave me a path I didn’t even know 4 years ago. And I know I’m not alone, I have met so many other nosework enthusiasts and new friends in traveling all those miles. Atlas and I have competed in over 20 nose work trials together we have earned some title ribbons and I continue to compete yes for the title ribbons because to me it represents the payment I owe Atlas.

It wasn’t until I was competing with another dog that so thoroughly enjoys nosework so much, that it has begun to change my perspective. Bailey is a whirling dervish when it comes to nosework, a little tornado that is a day of entertainment to watch her work; zoomies around a room when she couldn’t work out an odor problem. (And the realization that I couldn’t change it) She has more intensity than Atlas but she isn’t holding the weight of the world upon her shoulders, she always looks like she is having immense fun. I can only imagine a billboard over Bailey in each run “get out the way”!  I saw that in Atlas from the beginning but I think I needed a reminder of that perspective from Bailey. I will strive to "honor" Atlas as a great passionate companion and marvel at all that I have learned from all those miles.

Adapting in nosework is a fundamental truth, if we are lucky we get to marvel at our dogs as they adapt so fast we sometimes don’t even realize it is happening. The conditions change and each dog, each handler changes even if they can’t explain how. It is art in motion, entertainment, and the beauty of a calculus problem in the mind of a focused and passionate puzzle solver.

Question: "Where do we start?"

The Start Line ….

 It is where you start or is it? While teaching a class a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a pattern. Which on a normal day wouldn’t necessarily get me thinking. However always looking for opportunities to analyze large data sets to distill unrecognizable patterns through the use of statistics sometimes makes me wonder about what we miss. Or how simple things are lost in the flow of a class that might need more thought.

 

First the start line is an arbitrary line created for the purposes of starting the stopwatch to measure the time it takes the team to complete the search. It’s only really required for competition. I rarely, if ever place cones or tape in class to signify the place where a team is to start. Ironically it’s probably out of not taking enough time to setup the search area, or maybe its just I don’t see the value in telling each team where to start. The question that I always think about is did the dog know where the start line was, or did the handler cue them to start at the line by saying “find-it”?

Many teams have a well defined ritual; stop just before the start line, adjust equipment, tell dog to sit, wait, say “find-it”, or some other cue. Some of these rituals come from years of competing in other dog sports. Others make equipment changes or other adjustments some distance from the line and then pause or walk right over that line with out much significance at all. Is there a preferred method? I think some dogs start when the handler takes them out of the crate, I believe this because it takes the handler a great deal of energy to travel that short distance to the search area holding the dog back. Although not recommended, I think if they just opened the crate door many dogs would end up running into the training room in full search mode. Of course this would leave the handler running after them, hoping not to miss all the action. Although we love the drive we all get frustrated being pulled to the search area.

For this exercise I decided on a particular highly scientific test. It was inspired by another instructor’s diabolical torture of their class. Ok, it wasn’t that mean, depending on if you where one of the handlers. I adapted for this exercise for this class but I expect the effect was the same. Here is what prompted my silly exercise. Not all, but enough handlers would say find-it when entering the training room regardless of a small search area in the corner of the room. I deciding it was a good time to discuss the purpose of the start line since several trial questions had come up in this class.

In watching the teams, I wondered how could I drive home the point to everyone how focused we are on our rituals. If they didn’t say anything or do any of the ritual tasks, does the dog still start to search? Sort of like testing if your dog pays more attention to the verbal cue (sit, down) or your body language one (hand cue, etc). So if you don’t say anything but just walk into the search areas doesn’t the dog begin to search just with the presence of odor.

The rules of this handler torture; if the handler said “find-it” or any other cue prior to the dogs nose crossing the start line the penalty would be for the handler to put their dog up. Since everyone followed directions we will never know if I would have required them to put their dog up, but the looks received were very memorable. Each dog went to work, no surprise. But that wasn’t really in question, right? I’ve noticed sometimes that us humans coop patterns from watching others. Take class long enough with a group of people, and the handlers start to mimic each other. Maybe it’s easier for us human to read the body language of each other better than watching the dog’s body language. I know this happens on occasion, just run a threshold drill in class where every search has a threshold source and watch everyone start to stop at that imaginary start line. Not on purpose, but maybe some positive peer pressure, it works for that team so maybe I should stop at the start line and have my dog sit. Many dogs however do not conform in this way. They adapt to the handler, sometimes we perceive their lack of adapting as rebellion, but maybe it’s just the desire to get to work, to drive forward and succeed.

Atlas trying to drag me. Our first Trial, Colorado 2012.
Luckily he is only 30 lbs. and not 60.

 

I’ve stopped at the start line, I know there are rituals that I go through, however I try to not let those override the dog choosing where to start. This is not to say there is “one” correct way but sometimes understanding why we do certain rituals its good to reevaluate, step back and analyze if that is still needed. We may have created those rituals to introduce our dogs to the game but what if we could work with our dog and become faster, efficient, more focused and a better team by looking at what we do to contribute.

An incredible Journey and it continues!

It’s been 2 years since the first trip, a short 16 hour drive to Colorado for an ORT (Odor Recognition Test) to begin competing in the sport of K9 Nose Work®, with my dogs. It has taken almost 1.5 years and many competitions, camps, and seminars to develop a comfortable trial day routine, learning to focus on what I’m doing during competition and learning to stay out of the way of my dog’s nose. That doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges. The highlights are discovering training gaps that have been enlightened by the day’s competition. There are disappointments, but its really just being to hard on myself for things I have no control over, when having fun is really the point. In general the more challenging the day the far more I learn. I compete with my dogs because I have fun, and the game of K9 Nose Work® has been a great outlet for the mental energy my dog wields. Imagine, a high energy dog, hitting adolescence and using that cunning mental dexterity to make your home, well not so nice. Finding a game that harnesses a dog’s energy mental and physical through complex problem solving, has been an extraordinary gift to the relationship I have with my dogs. It’s not magic but a great deal or learning about our dogs and their incredible scenting abilities that with us can be harnessed into a detector dog. My dogs detect Birch, Anise and Clove. The scents not explosive, but it is incredible see so many dogs become detector dogs.

 
Lebanon, NJ - December 16, 2013, was our 9^th trial together. This day was the first try competing at NW3 for Atlas and I, so I’ve had some people ask about my experience, please remember that Atlas and I have our way of working that may not translate to others. 20 degrees at 8am with a little sun, I started about 10am after check in and the walk through.  The plan was patience and to not let any of my expectations get in the way of his nose. We were 2^nd in the order, running interiors first, 3 rooms, with holding rooms before each search area. Get acclimated from the cold before the first room was nice. We spend about 5 minutes waiting outside for the first dog to finish. Only things running through my head were “there CAN be 3 hides” and “if he goes back to a hide more than twice, you WILL call finish”.

Interiors, first room was a bunkroom, ran on leash stepped inside the door and paused, let out some leash and he went directly to the threshold hide in a drawer of a bookcase. After rewarding let out the rest of the leash and moved with him around the room, he went directly to the next hide, called alert and rewarded. We walked back to the end of the room where the judge was standing, judge moved and he checked a drawer at floor level, sniffed hard but didn’t stick so we moved on and he went back to the other hide, so I called finish. Second room had 3 open doors, with a ping pong table and 2 vending machines, he bolted right in and moved to the end of the room and headed toward one open doors. He checked the table and vending machine, then headed back for another door. I moved back to the beginning of the room, and he investigated the table again before he sniffed one of the vending machines, and went under the table. It felt like an eternity but he showed no interest so called clear. Third room was a bathroom with 2 vanities and 3 closed toilet stalls. Again on leash held at the threshold for a moment then went in, Atlas went directly to one of the vanities checking the bottom, found the hide at the corner and looked at me, called alert. Then checked the other vanity, but he pulled back to the hide. I opened the middle stall door, but Atlas wouldn’t go into the stall, instead pulling back to the hide, so I called finish. The judge said, “Ookaay” sort of drawn out, which really messed with my head. I figured I missed a hide because we didn’t go into the other stalls. I was happy to stick to my plan, if he continued to return to a hide it’s because there is nothing else there, but the inflection in the judges ok had me convinced we missed a hide. Left interiors, with no “NO” calls from the judge and Atlas poop right after leaving interiors, a totally successful day. J We have had a problem traveling and he holds it for days, so getting it out of the way for the day is always a big milestone early.

There was a long break before the vehicle and exterior searches back to back. While waiting outside in the staging area before vehicles, there were several gun shots in the distance, Atlas immediately was on full alert and got concerned. It was several quick shots so he recovered quickly with a little encouragement. Not any warmer with the wind was picking up. The vehicle search was 2 cars and 1 utility tractor. He went directly to the utility vehicle which was down wind to the right of both cars, checked the front grill area and then moved down the side before going to the middle car. Hit on the front wheel well area and alerted, one hide found. Moved to the second car and started bracketing over a larger area to narrow down what seemed like a more inaccessible hide (behind the tire), stuck his head into the wheel well above the tire. Alerted, second hide found. Then moved around the front of the vehicle, he showed some interest at the front but kept moving. We went down the other sides of the vehicles and then worked back to the car on the left where he had shown interest at the front. On the second or third time around he checked but when going back around the vehicle he pulled me to the first hide so I called finish.
 

 

Exterior was a large triangle shaped search area in between to cabins. One side was up against a building the other 2 sides open. All covered with about 8 inches of snow. One pathway of snow was scooped through that area of about 6 feet wide down to the grass. Flags marked the outer boundaries sides and ran through a picnic table, making part of the table out of play. Entered the search area with the wind blowing off the corner of the building through the area, he went down the building side quickly and then directly to the picnic table, worked from seat up to under the table and alerted/rewarded. Left and worked into the center area to a large stone fire pit, working the outer edge before Atlas jumping into the pit and working to a specific rock/crack in the fire pit wall and alerted.

Then tried to cover the area, he went back to the picnic table and jump onto the top. At this time the gun shots in the distance happened again, Atlas turned a stiffened toward the direction of the shots, I told him good boy and he went back to work, located the first hide from above at the end of the picnic table, called alert again, it was more reflex to call alert. Covered the triangle point area of the search area, he paused at a spot in the snow but I moved him on since it looked like pee sniffin. Covered the wall of the building because there was a trash can lid and step areas, when he showed no interest so I called finish as he start to move towards the first hide.

I was feeling great that he found some hides and worked well, with no false alerts. I felt like if we could get through the day with no false alerts it was an extremely successful day. I still figured we had missed a hide in interiors but at this point it was less on my mind. Container search was last. One of our toughest elements, not because it is harder but because it is the element that Atlas has false alerted on most often. The false alerts in the past are not from distractors, but instead he might have trouble with a particular hide placement and his default frustration response is going to the nearest box and sit down. We have spent a lot of training time working with containers after having these experiences at trial. Even though his alert is a look at me the sitting has thrown me off in the past, and it has been so convincing in the moment. The containers this day was 19 total containers, including 10 white type ORT boxes, several flat bags, a couple smaller bags and several taller containers. Needless to say I was not as confident at that time. Plus when containers are the last search of the day, his energy is greatly dimensioned. I feed him after the exterior search about 1/3 of his daily meal to help with his energy.

Containers, I remember the least, hit the first container a tall drink cooler, but left and went to a bag nearby, then returned to the cooler and called alert/rewarded. Then covered most of the parameter containers, by Atlas’s choice. He hit on a corner bag, called alert and rewarded. Next I tried to cover the rest of the containers in the middle, holding firm on the leash when he pulled towards the odor containers. He sniffed the rest of the boxes, tried to bite at one, obvious, “let me eat what is in there”. (later learned it was cheese, one of his favorite treats)  There was one small bag in the middle that he wouldn’t check, and since he had problems with very small containers in a trial before I walked by that bag at least 3 times, no interest so I called finish. Was very excited to get out with no false alerts, and for that reason alone I was not only satisfied with the day, but just so happy beyond words at how well Atlas worked.

 

It was great day from Atlas where the communication was clear, he was “ON” his game, and we had a blast! It was still very cold out and windy, I would say the conditions were difficult to stay focused, and very hard to stand outside before interiors and vehicles or several minutes. The mind game part with not knowing the number of hides was challenging but was happy to stick with my gut, when he returned to a hide more 2 times, it was time to call finish. I know that this if I had missed a hide I would be reevaluating my plan, however I would rather miss a hide than false. After 8 previous trials with Atlas 4- NW1s and 4 – NW2s, I think the false alerts are harder to reconcile with training than timing out, eating grass, getting distracted, or stopping to work because he needing to poop or being distracted by peoples movements. I learned a great deal and started reviewing in my mind as soon as I was done, not to determine if a title was possible but instead to evaluate how my plans and experience would get me ready for the next trial. What would I be planning for my next training to work the areas that I thought could be a problem; 20 degrees and 8” of snow is hard to find near me in central Texas but maybe a trip north. The time limits on the searches were not a factor this particular day, but that doesn’t mean that would be a factor later. After thinking we missed a hide in the interiors, I remember having plenty of time and I could have covered any areas I missed. I also had decided to work on leash for interiors; previously I’ve almost always worked off leash. A great day!

 

Some of the highlights for learning were made afterward in the judges debrief and comments by the Certifying Official. I now reward when Atlas goes back to containers and re-reward to reinforce that odor is the most important, hoping to override any interest in distractors. I learned in the next NW3 that we work best when I let him lead, I held him from going back to a hide and was convinced there was a second hide, had I let him go back I would have called finish. In one of our previous trials firecrackers had spooked him so badly so the biggest smile was being so proud of Atlas that he was able to recover and work through the gun shots near by. A day where "No, No's" come from the judge, doesn't mean we get a title, but feeling confident in all situations to call "Alert" means we are working together as a team and that is the best feeling of all.