Mickey and my first try at a Nose Work 2 trial in Bellingham, WA. What an awesome experience. Trialing in a place different from home. From the southern border to the northern border. The terrain, ecosystem, vegetation and climate are drastically different. It felt like leaving summer and going into winter. My idea of winter is what we have here in Southern California. Rain, grass and green. In Southern California, we are having one of our worst droughts in history. I have no lawn in my yard, it is just dirt with no vegetation. A week and a half before I left for Bellingham, we had 106 degree temperatures and 6% humidity. My nose bled a whole day due to the low humidity. I kept dreaming about my up coming trial as I knew I would meet moisture and green.
This trial was quite the adventure. Mickey having been in retire status as a service dog, I had to work at getting him out and exposed to lesson the shock factor traveling up north. Not only did I get him out in public, but I had him engaged in a different kind of activity, swimming at a K9 swim therapy facility. I knew he needed exercise and to do something different. I also tried to work Mickey in nose work as much as possible. I think the combination of everything proved to help him handle the trip well.
The past year Mickey has been my dog. Our relationship as a service dog team needed to be rebuilt again. Our bond needed to grow. When you are with a service dog 24/7, there is something about that bond I can't explain. A connection like no other.
The first day, Mickey and I rode on a trolley (light metro), an airplane and a shuttle. He did marvelously well. Unlike his trip the previous June when his lower back was hot, which I'm sure he was in pain. I had given Mickey a full dose of Previcox to alleviate any possible issues. I wanted him to be comfortable and didn't want this trip to be a drag. I wanted Mickey to enjoy getting out and being with me again.
The next day we hooked up with friends in Tacoma, then off to the train station for the ride up to Stanwood, WA. Mickey slept like a good service dog on the train. The next day I was able to do some practice with Mickey. This was a rather interesting experience for me, watching Mickey do his search different. I can't quite put describe the words, but the way he worked an area was certainly different. Almost like the water molecules were acting as a transport system for the odor molecules, causing them to move different. It was fascinating to watch. Mickey's sweeping pattern was different and you could see while he was sourcing, the trail of odor moved differently than in dryer weather. We had misting that day.
The day of the trial we drove a little under an hour to get to the trial site in Bellingham. An elementary school was gracious enough to let us have a trial at their facility. The rain was heavier this day, causing the search area to be a new challenge for Mickey. For me, I spent a lot of time outside in the wet.
Our first run was containers. Mickey nailed both odors in 34 seconds. I dropped food so we lost our first place.
The second run was the exterior. This was an area between two buildings. In the center was a dirt/fine gravel walkway. On one side were large rocks that a dog could walk on, but it was off limits for humans due to safety reasons. It was a slight weave type walk way with trees, bushes and the end a picnic bench, which the front was in the search area, from middle to the back was not the search area. This search proved to be a challenge for Mickey. Mickey did work the area, found the first hide, but wasn't clear to me and he left that area. Mickey did show uncertainty and it was hard for me to read him. The first odor I called wrong. It was located on a low brick wall on the end. Extending out by one brick had a brick hole where odor was sinking. When Mickey put his nose in there, I called it. Which I did that more of nerves, not that I was sure. The second hide we didn't find. The second one was at the base of a tree. The odor rose up the trunk, into the canopy umbrella of the tree, then sunk down to some bushes. Mickey was working the bushes, but was trying to source each leaf. it was like the odor was sticking to the bush. Mickey knew that wasn't the source, but you could tell he was trying to problem solve and figure this out. I blocked out with most of the other part of the search. Someone said he did go near the odor at the base of the tree. I do not remember doing that. I tend to focus too hard on my dog. But as time goes along and more experience I get, I will be able to assess the environment at the same time while my dog is working.
The next element was interiors. It was in two adjacent classrooms with a door between the two rooms. Where the door was located was a hard floor that covered one wall to the other, while the rest of the classroom was carpet. The first room, 2 hides. Mickey got them quickly. One in a box on a lower shelf and the other on a counter in a napkin holder. Both hides were where my dog stayed on the hard floor the whole time. In the next room, the hide was also located where Mickey only stayed on the hard floor. It too was a napkin holder. I didn't notice, I was just watching my dog. he told me where ti was located. We ended up with 3rd place on this one.
The last and final element, vehicles. We had two trucks, a low trailer and a horse trailer. Mickey went straight out, caught the odor right away, and went to the other side of the horse trailer. It was set behind the wheel, but because he was trying to source all over the place, I accidentally called at the last place he bopped his nose.I did see him stick his head in the side of the tire, but I was nervous to call it since it seemed like he wanted to source more. When I didn't call it, he got a bit nervous and he is known to start doing false alerts when he's frustrated. So he did source correctly, I was struggling reading it since he moved around like it could be some place else. At a later practice, I learned how to read him better, so i learned from this experience.
Just like we all want our title, we didn't get it, but I wasn't bummed. I was elated at the experience. I learned. The travel to get to the trial from down south and working an environment my dog and i are not use to doing I think was fantastic in how he did. To me, this is all apart of trialing, having great learning experiences. When we get too caught up in a title, we loose the whole fun of working with our dogs. I love Mickey dearly and this is to honor him on such a wonderful job he does.
The next day was time to go home. That evening I cranked up the heater. I normally like a room cold, but from being wet all day with soggy socks (even after changing them once already during the day) I was ready to get back home where it was dry. I love Washington State. I love the people, the culture and the beauty it holds. I hope I can trial there again. Alecia who hosted the trial is an awesome lady. I'm glad I decided not to transfer to Seattle to live. This trip really confirmed that it wouldn't be good for my body.
As for Mickey, we bonded closer on this trip. It was like having my awesome service dog back. He just falls into his roll so well. he alerts me to things that are so natural. i miss this dog so much and love him so much. I'm so blessed to have him. In 4 weeks we trial again in Vista, CA. Only a 45 minute drive from home. We get another fun chances to have some fun solving puzzles again.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Practicing under certain conditions
I had a tough week. Just wasn't right on and tired. I was determined to go to Nose Work Practice with Mickey and Divine. Two dogs in a three hour workshop. I woke up Saturday morning, had my coffee and was ok to go. A little slow, but was ok to go.
As I was driving north on I-15, I noticed a white film in my vision. Fortunately I knew where I was driving, so paying close attention wasn't needed. But what concerned me was I had to concentrate so hard watching the road as it got blurry at times. It was a little hazy and bright.
I arrived 25 minutes early to set up and get Mickey and Divine pottied.
First exercise was one vehicle. Not Mickey's best and Divine does decent.
Things I need to remember:
1. Don't sell the spot or odor to my dog.
2. Keep moving.
3. Don't concentrate so hard on your dog, don't over analyze that you freeze and stare at your dog, which essentially sells that spot as the location of the odor.
4. Mickey is really sensitive. Watch how you handle the leash and your movements that could direct him.
5. With Divine, let her commit to the odor instead of bobbing (targeting). We want her to sniff odor and tell me, not get rewarded for bobbing or poking odor.
6. Let Divine source better.
The odor was behind all four tires and one time below the hitch.
High hide on pole. Pee at bottom, pee in grass about 2-3 feet away. Bushes behind but right of the pole. Wind was going slightly away from the bush.
Mickey did really well.
Divine peed in grass.
Her second time she worked and source. I really think she got it that she was pulled away and got no food.
Then tine with odor was flung into the grass.
Mickey - Crittered a little bit, and then my leash kind of distracted him. He found it, then we did it again off leash, much better.
Divine - did really well and got the odor.
6 odors on the floor in the training hall.
---I tend to subconsciously tell the dog where the odor is with my body language. I need to walk a little more natural.
I was really tired, my hips were hurting as I walked. My feet were swelling and Tennis Shoes were tight. It was warm, my vision was giving me issues and my concentration skills were really off. But I LOVE working under these conditions, because you never know when you are going to have a bad day at a trial and working under difficult conditions makes you better when you are feeling well :-)
I do noticed that I still have issues when people watch me. I freeze a lot. I'm more calm at a trial or when I'm training on my own...BUT with known hides I have to watch selling the odor to my dogs. That's why Mickey looks at me for clues, he's been reading my body language to tell him where the odor is located and gets frustrated when I don't know where it is located. He does find odor faster when I know where it is, because I'm cuing him.
As I was driving north on I-15, I noticed a white film in my vision. Fortunately I knew where I was driving, so paying close attention wasn't needed. But what concerned me was I had to concentrate so hard watching the road as it got blurry at times. It was a little hazy and bright.
I arrived 25 minutes early to set up and get Mickey and Divine pottied.
First exercise was one vehicle. Not Mickey's best and Divine does decent.
Things I need to remember:
1. Don't sell the spot or odor to my dog.
2. Keep moving.
3. Don't concentrate so hard on your dog, don't over analyze that you freeze and stare at your dog, which essentially sells that spot as the location of the odor.
4. Mickey is really sensitive. Watch how you handle the leash and your movements that could direct him.
5. With Divine, let her commit to the odor instead of bobbing (targeting). We want her to sniff odor and tell me, not get rewarded for bobbing or poking odor.
6. Let Divine source better.
The odor was behind all four tires and one time below the hitch.
High hide on pole. Pee at bottom, pee in grass about 2-3 feet away. Bushes behind but right of the pole. Wind was going slightly away from the bush.
Mickey did really well.
Divine peed in grass.
Her second time she worked and source. I really think she got it that she was pulled away and got no food.
Then tine with odor was flung into the grass.
Mickey - Crittered a little bit, and then my leash kind of distracted him. He found it, then we did it again off leash, much better.
Divine - did really well and got the odor.
6 odors on the floor in the training hall.
---I tend to subconsciously tell the dog where the odor is with my body language. I need to walk a little more natural.
I was really tired, my hips were hurting as I walked. My feet were swelling and Tennis Shoes were tight. It was warm, my vision was giving me issues and my concentration skills were really off. But I LOVE working under these conditions, because you never know when you are going to have a bad day at a trial and working under difficult conditions makes you better when you are feeling well :-)
I do noticed that I still have issues when people watch me. I freeze a lot. I'm more calm at a trial or when I'm training on my own...BUT with known hides I have to watch selling the odor to my dogs. That's why Mickey looks at me for clues, he's been reading my body language to tell him where the odor is located and gets frustrated when I don't know where it is located. He does find odor faster when I know where it is, because I'm cuing him.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Double Fun
I had a 3 1/2 hour workshop with both Mickey and Divine. I will write about both of them here on Mickey's blog.
These are mostly notes to remember what we covered today.
We did an exercise with 6 boxes against a wall, all paired. This was to get the dogs to move on and realize there are other odors to find.
- Mickey worked this fairly fast, but I did have to encourage him to move forward. Same for Divine.
Next exercise, not paired, but we would treat when the head came up.
- I had a challenge feeding Mickey as he wanted to move on fast. Many times I would put my hand down and Mickey would raise his head. Ouch. Smack my hand. It's a dance and will need more practice. I will practice with feeding earlier.
- Divine did really well, but after a few runs, she would just put her head above, like waiting for the treat. There are several ways to look at this, she is being conditioned for the treat, or she knows the odor is there, why put the head down in the box?
Next exercise:
about 25 or so boxes, sit in a chair, and send your dog off leash. Wait for dog to find odor, stand up when they do, but if they leave box, do not proceed. Only proceed if they stay committed to box. This is kind of a game of, if they stand and indicate on the odor, proceed (reinforcement) to pay. If not, stop or depending on the dog turn your back. Sometimes you will walk from the dog to see if they stay, if they do pay.
- Mickey is extremely sensitive with me turning my back. As noticed, Mickey would prefer to leave odor to be with me, so as a handler, I have to be careful how I use this. don't use it to pull him off odor, but use it to search another area that I know doesn't have odor in it.
- Divine did VERY VERY well with this exercise. She committed to the odor and wouldn't move. I turned my back, she would stay. I even went back to the chair and she re found and committed to the box. This was an easy exercise for her.
Container Search:
Probably about 30 containers of small little bags, to backpacks, to suit cases and a variety other things. Both Divine and Mickey had to explore all the little containers. Both brushed over odor. They wanted to explore the environment. They eventually got the odor. This was a new exercise for Divine and it was increasing her bar of difficulty. Mickey has had something this difficult int he past, but needs more practice.
Two hides in a configuration of tables, chairs on tables, carts etc.
On odor on a chair on top of a table, the other about 15 feet away, low on a cart. converging odor was definitely happening. You could see dogs going back and forth trying to sort the two out, not sure which one to go to first.
- Mickey and Divine found the high hide first. Mickey understood looking up, but it did take Divine some time. She really needed to work and problem solve. She was tired form the day, but still working and searching. This exercise was also raising the bar for her. For Mickey he has had similar in the past, but it has been awhile and he needs practice.
I thought the odor was on a different part of the cart, so when Mickey found it with his nose, I didn't see it as an "alert" but the instructor said Ah there it is pay. I did, but I had no idea that he "found" the odor. I usually like to see a distinctive alert. What the instructor said was to work a lot of sourcing. Which is my goal. I won't be doing any Sniff 'n Gos for awhile. I will be skill building and exercises. This is what I did for NW1. Did VERY little blind hides before NW1.
These are mostly notes to remember what we covered today.
We did an exercise with 6 boxes against a wall, all paired. This was to get the dogs to move on and realize there are other odors to find.
- Mickey worked this fairly fast, but I did have to encourage him to move forward. Same for Divine.
Next exercise, not paired, but we would treat when the head came up.
- I had a challenge feeding Mickey as he wanted to move on fast. Many times I would put my hand down and Mickey would raise his head. Ouch. Smack my hand. It's a dance and will need more practice. I will practice with feeding earlier.
- Divine did really well, but after a few runs, she would just put her head above, like waiting for the treat. There are several ways to look at this, she is being conditioned for the treat, or she knows the odor is there, why put the head down in the box?
Next exercise:
about 25 or so boxes, sit in a chair, and send your dog off leash. Wait for dog to find odor, stand up when they do, but if they leave box, do not proceed. Only proceed if they stay committed to box. This is kind of a game of, if they stand and indicate on the odor, proceed (reinforcement) to pay. If not, stop or depending on the dog turn your back. Sometimes you will walk from the dog to see if they stay, if they do pay.
- Mickey is extremely sensitive with me turning my back. As noticed, Mickey would prefer to leave odor to be with me, so as a handler, I have to be careful how I use this. don't use it to pull him off odor, but use it to search another area that I know doesn't have odor in it.
- Divine did VERY VERY well with this exercise. She committed to the odor and wouldn't move. I turned my back, she would stay. I even went back to the chair and she re found and committed to the box. This was an easy exercise for her.
Container Search:
Probably about 30 containers of small little bags, to backpacks, to suit cases and a variety other things. Both Divine and Mickey had to explore all the little containers. Both brushed over odor. They wanted to explore the environment. They eventually got the odor. This was a new exercise for Divine and it was increasing her bar of difficulty. Mickey has had something this difficult int he past, but needs more practice.
Two hides in a configuration of tables, chairs on tables, carts etc.
On odor on a chair on top of a table, the other about 15 feet away, low on a cart. converging odor was definitely happening. You could see dogs going back and forth trying to sort the two out, not sure which one to go to first.
- Mickey and Divine found the high hide first. Mickey understood looking up, but it did take Divine some time. She really needed to work and problem solve. She was tired form the day, but still working and searching. This exercise was also raising the bar for her. For Mickey he has had similar in the past, but it has been awhile and he needs practice.
I thought the odor was on a different part of the cart, so when Mickey found it with his nose, I didn't see it as an "alert" but the instructor said Ah there it is pay. I did, but I had no idea that he "found" the odor. I usually like to see a distinctive alert. What the instructor said was to work a lot of sourcing. Which is my goal. I won't be doing any Sniff 'n Gos for awhile. I will be skill building and exercises. This is what I did for NW1. Did VERY little blind hides before NW1.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
The heat is on, it's July!
Most everyone has to be faced with what sports or fun activities to jump into and which ones to let go. We can't do them all. I finally decided to let go doing any more competition obedience. Mickey has slowed down and I noticed when he tries to get up from the floor, it is an effort. I do worry about him doing repetitive sitting in practice and in an obedience trial. Mickey is now eight. Not considerably old, but I do think the consistent sitting in position does cause him a bit of pain. He stopped sitting about a year ago during practice, and that was when I decided to take him to the Chiropractor. He did improve for awhile after treatment, but then it looks like he is getting sore. I had dropped off giving him a good supplement and when I flew with him this past June to Iowa, Right when I got off the plain, his lower back was hot. It wasn't like I could turn around and take him home. My poor baby. But I realized I had to get him on a good supplement again. I had found a combination of Glucosamine, Chondroitin, MSM, Turmeric, Omega 3 fatty acids and a few other things for dogs from GNC. Liked the combination they had, which I haven't seen in other products. I have noticed in myself that Turmeric helps inflammation in my joints, high probability it works with dogs as well. Mickey has been on this GNC supplement for a few weeks and I'm seeing improvement. Is this the best supplement for him? I don't know, but seeing improvement is always a good sign. With this history, for now, I will focus only on Nose Work with Mickey. If I get the obedience bug, I always have Divine and Duffy.
I also had another worry with Mickey, that he lost a little interest in nose work. I don't know if he's in pain or not, but after a little bit of nose work, he seems to drift. Is this just pain (not severe, but enough to get him distracted) or is it something else? There are other factors as well, the past five years I have been under a considerable amount of stress. Could have my stress play a role? Then my issue with performance anxiety. I have a hard time people watching me do my runs. Even if it is only for a clinic and a casual environment. Yes, having people watch me still bothers me and yes, I still have issues with people making comments about me.I still have the stigma over my head that I'm a "handicapped" person trying to make it in a regular world. Any mistake is quickly regarded as incapable due to such a stigma. Like my example of Jackie Robinson the first black baseball player. He had to be exceptionally good to break the barrier of being black in a white society. People always judge when you are different and it is a struggle for people to take you seriously. So I put high pressure on myself to perform and of course that goes right down the leash.
However, in the past few months, I have gotten much better. I will write about this issue in my "In-Between being Deaf-Blind" blog. But it boils down to changing my thinking, purging repetitive old messages that were playing in my head and letting go of inappropriate control. But, with these little negative thoughts of mine and while I struggle, I wonder, do these negative thoughts of mine go down the leash? I know it does, but enough that Mickey is drifting? Or is that his body experiencing some discomfort and combined with my tension it is a bit much for him? I don't know. Our journey of me coaching myself to be a better positive handler, getting good treatment for Mickey and trying to work as a good team will be the focus.
But as for the 3 hour Nose Work clinic I attended July 13th, 2013, I learned. Some of the exercises we did were more complex searches for Mickey and myself. Pushing the envelope of the challenge makes you think and problem solve. What are all the factors influence his behavior and his search pattern. Nose Work is like an art. It isn't remote controlled, the handler doesn't have full control of everything. It is combination dance, communication, partnership, and enjoying each other.
Two elements were practiced, Vehicles and Containers. We had three vehicles. The first run was a blind hide. I had Mickey's toy on me. I keep going back and forth with his toy, trying to bring back some interests in his searching. But in this setting, away from home, he was more focused on me than the search. When practicing at home, we were getting a balance of searching, then you get your toy. But in a "new" environment where there are others, this did not work. So the first run was not smooth. He would get distracted, look at me and miss an area to search. This also got me off balance. Our dance was very choppy. We worked through it and eventually got the hide.
Our next hide I had taken the toy off my body and only had food. The hide was converging odors, one where the odors were in a line with the wind movement to mix them together. Our third run was where the odors were close to another, in a way that the dog could skip it if someone doesn't pattern the dog correctly on the vehicle.Mickey showed better focus with food. He started scenting better. But at times he did drift a bit, like wanting to go to the shrubbery. I brought him back.
The configuration of the vehicles:
| --- |
The lines represent the three cars and the three dashes in the middle represent one vehicle. The odor was in the hind driver's wheel on the third vehicle in this configuration. The third car was facing north.
The second hide was put on the second vehicle, it was a truck, odor was in the spare tire underneath and the tail gate and behind the bumper. The second vehicle was facing East. This puts the two odors in line with the wind current.
Then the third car was moved, odor in the moved vehicle still in the same place on the vehicle. Just the vehicle was moved:
---
| ---
Third Vehicle is now at the top, facing West, odor in the same place, rear tire of driver's side. This converging odor is near each other. So when a dog leaves one vehicle, they can get distracted with both odors . So if the dog enters from the West side between the two vehicles, and goes through that channel, there is odor on both side. The dog could go to one, skipping part of the vehicle. Always remember where you have been to cover that area. Mickey found the odor easy with the vehicle at the lower left, and kept wanting to go back there, when the vehicle at the most top had odor right there. Trying to pull him off odor to find another one was challenging. We found it already, let's get the other. A very good set up to practice through the problem.
I have a habit of keeping my hand in back back. I got in a habit of this so Mickey wouldn't look for food in my hand. The problem I have is I can't grab in my bait bag very well to treat fast enough and by source. So if I have a piece of food in my hand behind my back, this seemed to solve the problem. I have been handling this way for probably over a year. However, my instructor saw this as giving a different signal to Mickey. If I hold my h and out, Mickey is distracted because he smells food in my hand and goes to my hand. SO what I need to do is just set up sessions that he show me odor, he gets the food. He needs to learn that he only gets the food when he shows me odor. It kind of makes me wonder what I have been reinforcing before with him.
This reminds me of an exercise I did at a Denise Fenzi workshop where people would hold a piece of food and line up. The dog and handler would walk along the line of people and when the dog looked at her and ignored the food, the dog got the reinforcement from the handler and was refusing the food from the people. I will take this concept of training and do it for nose work, that no treats are given until you communicate with me where the odor is located. This will free myself up in keeping my hand behind my back and let my hand go where ever. Again, impulse control in both food and toys is what is needed. I didn't do a good job teaching this when Mickey was younger, so it is a never ending practice to keep doing impulse control exercises.
CONTAINERS:
Even though it was getting hot (out in the desert of California) we were able to go inside. The air conditioner was very good, however, with air conditioner we also get currents of air shifting odor around. A guesstamate of about 40 pieces of stuff from suitcases, bags, soft cases, water coolers, baskets etc spread around the room. The most Mickey has ever searched through. There were two hides.
Mickey came in, doing a good check of each container, then after awhile I think because he didn't get reinforced or find a hide (it had a lot of containers) he started alerting on anything. He alerted on on a container with food and other things. Took awhile to work him through this. The second time around, he was much faster and got the hides.
The second time I did try to work on my nerves. I was a little nervous people were watching me and tried not to get disappointed when he alerted on a container with food. I was starting to think of negative thoughts when this happened. The next time around I pet Mickey, calmed him, soothe talk to him and his confidence seemed better. Was it me giving him a massage and soft talking with him? Or was it the second time around he was familiar with the room and stuff (never saw the stuff or room before.) Or both? I don't know. I haven't been practicing with Mickey that much and t his is what I need to do, is continue to practice. It is so hard to get practice partners. The only group that practices consistently do so when I have to go to work. The weekend, most people have things to do, other dog shows and other things to attend. It is a bit frustrating. I do need more practice with blind hides. I do get more nervous with blind hides. if I could just do them more. I don't have a significant other, or child to just do a hide for me. I still can't believe with little practice I did, Mickey got his NW1. I think now that things are getting harder, it is catching up. I need to keep a steady pace of practice, and only trial when I feel ready.
Pattern with so many containers is important. Try to remember where you have been. Section off the hides if you can. But if your dog catches a scent, you also need to follow him/her as well.
Build up the number of hides,keep practicing.
Keep on sniffing.....
I also had another worry with Mickey, that he lost a little interest in nose work. I don't know if he's in pain or not, but after a little bit of nose work, he seems to drift. Is this just pain (not severe, but enough to get him distracted) or is it something else? There are other factors as well, the past five years I have been under a considerable amount of stress. Could have my stress play a role? Then my issue with performance anxiety. I have a hard time people watching me do my runs. Even if it is only for a clinic and a casual environment. Yes, having people watch me still bothers me and yes, I still have issues with people making comments about me.I still have the stigma over my head that I'm a "handicapped" person trying to make it in a regular world. Any mistake is quickly regarded as incapable due to such a stigma. Like my example of Jackie Robinson the first black baseball player. He had to be exceptionally good to break the barrier of being black in a white society. People always judge when you are different and it is a struggle for people to take you seriously. So I put high pressure on myself to perform and of course that goes right down the leash.
However, in the past few months, I have gotten much better. I will write about this issue in my "In-Between being Deaf-Blind" blog. But it boils down to changing my thinking, purging repetitive old messages that were playing in my head and letting go of inappropriate control. But, with these little negative thoughts of mine and while I struggle, I wonder, do these negative thoughts of mine go down the leash? I know it does, but enough that Mickey is drifting? Or is that his body experiencing some discomfort and combined with my tension it is a bit much for him? I don't know. Our journey of me coaching myself to be a better positive handler, getting good treatment for Mickey and trying to work as a good team will be the focus.
But as for the 3 hour Nose Work clinic I attended July 13th, 2013, I learned. Some of the exercises we did were more complex searches for Mickey and myself. Pushing the envelope of the challenge makes you think and problem solve. What are all the factors influence his behavior and his search pattern. Nose Work is like an art. It isn't remote controlled, the handler doesn't have full control of everything. It is combination dance, communication, partnership, and enjoying each other.
Two elements were practiced, Vehicles and Containers. We had three vehicles. The first run was a blind hide. I had Mickey's toy on me. I keep going back and forth with his toy, trying to bring back some interests in his searching. But in this setting, away from home, he was more focused on me than the search. When practicing at home, we were getting a balance of searching, then you get your toy. But in a "new" environment where there are others, this did not work. So the first run was not smooth. He would get distracted, look at me and miss an area to search. This also got me off balance. Our dance was very choppy. We worked through it and eventually got the hide.
Our next hide I had taken the toy off my body and only had food. The hide was converging odors, one where the odors were in a line with the wind movement to mix them together. Our third run was where the odors were close to another, in a way that the dog could skip it if someone doesn't pattern the dog correctly on the vehicle.Mickey showed better focus with food. He started scenting better. But at times he did drift a bit, like wanting to go to the shrubbery. I brought him back.
The configuration of the vehicles:
| --- |
The lines represent the three cars and the three dashes in the middle represent one vehicle. The odor was in the hind driver's wheel on the third vehicle in this configuration. The third car was facing north.
The second hide was put on the second vehicle, it was a truck, odor was in the spare tire underneath and the tail gate and behind the bumper. The second vehicle was facing East. This puts the two odors in line with the wind current.
Then the third car was moved, odor in the moved vehicle still in the same place on the vehicle. Just the vehicle was moved:
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Third Vehicle is now at the top, facing West, odor in the same place, rear tire of driver's side. This converging odor is near each other. So when a dog leaves one vehicle, they can get distracted with both odors . So if the dog enters from the West side between the two vehicles, and goes through that channel, there is odor on both side. The dog could go to one, skipping part of the vehicle. Always remember where you have been to cover that area. Mickey found the odor easy with the vehicle at the lower left, and kept wanting to go back there, when the vehicle at the most top had odor right there. Trying to pull him off odor to find another one was challenging. We found it already, let's get the other. A very good set up to practice through the problem.
I have a habit of keeping my hand in back back. I got in a habit of this so Mickey wouldn't look for food in my hand. The problem I have is I can't grab in my bait bag very well to treat fast enough and by source. So if I have a piece of food in my hand behind my back, this seemed to solve the problem. I have been handling this way for probably over a year. However, my instructor saw this as giving a different signal to Mickey. If I hold my h and out, Mickey is distracted because he smells food in my hand and goes to my hand. SO what I need to do is just set up sessions that he show me odor, he gets the food. He needs to learn that he only gets the food when he shows me odor. It kind of makes me wonder what I have been reinforcing before with him.
This reminds me of an exercise I did at a Denise Fenzi workshop where people would hold a piece of food and line up. The dog and handler would walk along the line of people and when the dog looked at her and ignored the food, the dog got the reinforcement from the handler and was refusing the food from the people. I will take this concept of training and do it for nose work, that no treats are given until you communicate with me where the odor is located. This will free myself up in keeping my hand behind my back and let my hand go where ever. Again, impulse control in both food and toys is what is needed. I didn't do a good job teaching this when Mickey was younger, so it is a never ending practice to keep doing impulse control exercises.
CONTAINERS:
Even though it was getting hot (out in the desert of California) we were able to go inside. The air conditioner was very good, however, with air conditioner we also get currents of air shifting odor around. A guesstamate of about 40 pieces of stuff from suitcases, bags, soft cases, water coolers, baskets etc spread around the room. The most Mickey has ever searched through. There were two hides.
Mickey came in, doing a good check of each container, then after awhile I think because he didn't get reinforced or find a hide (it had a lot of containers) he started alerting on anything. He alerted on on a container with food and other things. Took awhile to work him through this. The second time around, he was much faster and got the hides.
The second time I did try to work on my nerves. I was a little nervous people were watching me and tried not to get disappointed when he alerted on a container with food. I was starting to think of negative thoughts when this happened. The next time around I pet Mickey, calmed him, soothe talk to him and his confidence seemed better. Was it me giving him a massage and soft talking with him? Or was it the second time around he was familiar with the room and stuff (never saw the stuff or room before.) Or both? I don't know. I haven't been practicing with Mickey that much and t his is what I need to do, is continue to practice. It is so hard to get practice partners. The only group that practices consistently do so when I have to go to work. The weekend, most people have things to do, other dog shows and other things to attend. It is a bit frustrating. I do need more practice with blind hides. I do get more nervous with blind hides. if I could just do them more. I don't have a significant other, or child to just do a hide for me. I still can't believe with little practice I did, Mickey got his NW1. I think now that things are getting harder, it is catching up. I need to keep a steady pace of practice, and only trial when I feel ready.
Pattern with so many containers is important. Try to remember where you have been. Section off the hides if you can. But if your dog catches a scent, you also need to follow him/her as well.
Build up the number of hides,keep practicing.
Keep on sniffing.....
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Getting on with Nose Work level 2 Part 2
What a great practice today!
The first hide was four Anise. Wow, that many? I've never done that many, after two "I" got a bit frazzled, wondering what area have I traveled? Do I need to hit an area I missed? Where did I miss? Mickey is also use to doing two hides and quitting, so doing two more was a good practice. He needed help with the last two, but for these, since he was starting to "loose interests" I did pull out the toy. Then he found the last one and his toy again!
Some factors to note in this search had....many plant clumps where you know dogs have peed, so I watched Mickey carefully. We were also by tennis courts and yes, one time Mickey did pick up a tennis ball I acted uninterested and got him into search mode again. He did go back to search mode. Found another ball, he was distracted, but we got on track again. I was pleased. The other two handlers have a trial in 4 weeks and have been practicing a lot more than myself. So this push to improve was good for me and Mickey.
The second hide was the one I did and all three dogs had a bit of a challenge on the one on the pole with a lot of vegetation around it. I probably shouldn't have placed it around a lot of vegetation, but then again, these dogs are training for NW2, life is getting harder.
The last hide was with containers. Cute little plastic baskets with grids. Mickey found his hides FAST! Nearly ripped apart a basket. When I asked him to show me the odor (source it) he kept attacking the basket. I think the odor must accumulate in the basket and Mickey felt it was still there, I food reward him by the tin. Whew, this was one exciting find and here I was trying to get Mickey revved up again with his toy since his interest in Nose Work did drop a little prior. But bringing out the toy today, using it lightly and not as a sole source of reward I think helped his focus. Even when there were bushes with pee, he didn't go, so I"m pleased that I think if I keep lightly using his toy, this keeps the focus and we don't have to worry about peeing. But a caveat to myself, I should "always" watch out for the pee behavior.
The first hide was four Anise. Wow, that many? I've never done that many, after two "I" got a bit frazzled, wondering what area have I traveled? Do I need to hit an area I missed? Where did I miss? Mickey is also use to doing two hides and quitting, so doing two more was a good practice. He needed help with the last two, but for these, since he was starting to "loose interests" I did pull out the toy. Then he found the last one and his toy again!
Some factors to note in this search had....many plant clumps where you know dogs have peed, so I watched Mickey carefully. We were also by tennis courts and yes, one time Mickey did pick up a tennis ball I acted uninterested and got him into search mode again. He did go back to search mode. Found another ball, he was distracted, but we got on track again. I was pleased. The other two handlers have a trial in 4 weeks and have been practicing a lot more than myself. So this push to improve was good for me and Mickey.
The second hide was the one I did and all three dogs had a bit of a challenge on the one on the pole with a lot of vegetation around it. I probably shouldn't have placed it around a lot of vegetation, but then again, these dogs are training for NW2, life is getting harder.
The last hide was with containers. Cute little plastic baskets with grids. Mickey found his hides FAST! Nearly ripped apart a basket. When I asked him to show me the odor (source it) he kept attacking the basket. I think the odor must accumulate in the basket and Mickey felt it was still there, I food reward him by the tin. Whew, this was one exciting find and here I was trying to get Mickey revved up again with his toy since his interest in Nose Work did drop a little prior. But bringing out the toy today, using it lightly and not as a sole source of reward I think helped his focus. Even when there were bushes with pee, he didn't go, so I"m pleased that I think if I keep lightly using his toy, this keeps the focus and we don't have to worry about peeing. But a caveat to myself, I should "always" watch out for the pee behavior.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Getting on with Nose Work level 2
It is all a learning process. As you move along little snags start appearing in your training. I can complain about it, or take it as a challenge to be a good teacher and handler.
So what snags? Isn't Mickey finding his hides like gang busters? Not like he use to. His last workshop I could tell he just wasn't in it or driven to be in it. He was looking, then drifting, almost like he doesn't think this is a totally awesome game anymore. What? Mickey excitable Mickey not into the game anymore? I was confused in last workshop, why was he not that focused and kind of drifted over the scent and then dump loaded a bunch of pee? Huh?
Today's practice was the first since the workshop and again not so into it and he peed right on the odor. Say what? Ok, what is going on?
I think I did figure it out.......
I took the fun out of nose work without realizing it. I took his toys away. We started using toys at first, but then he got a little too over excited that he wasn't focusing on the search, just that he wanted that toy. So I have been heavily using food. Which he will work for, but after time his intense interest began to fade.
After a practice today when he was glossing over an odor (another problem I realized and will talk about later) I decided to see if I had a toy with me and bring it out at the end of our last hide. Oops, I didn't bring any toys, but had an old leash we could tug with. I tugged a little bit with him and a little bit of that sparkle came back! Oh yes! HE did the searches well and at the end we had some good tugging sessions. Yeah, Mickey felt satisfied. I think Nose Work is fun again! I have to use his toy carefully so he doesn't loose site of the odor. A balance of using food, but every so often throw in a toy. Work more with Premack, you must not only find the odor but indicate it well and you WILL get this toy.
My other issue is, my Anise is too strong. When I practice or work with other Anise, it seems to be "fainter" for Mickey. So I will have to remake a new batch of Anise since my last one accidentally got too many drops from an accidental spill.
So now, what to do about the pee? One thing for sure, if I bring the toy back into the picture, the urge to pee will go away. At today's search, I did pull him off from peeing. His crate was too far and just walking there would have been reinforcing for him. So I pulled him to the side, went to a flat grass area and had him sit and I stand. Did nothing. Doing nothing is torture for a Malinois. Some would say I punished my dog, so be it, he need to realize that search is over if you pee. That had to come across clear. You want to pee, fine, but the consequences is search stops and nothing interesting afterwards happens. When I felt enough time had passed, we went back to the search and he was more focused. I didn't use the leash tugging this day until the end. When I go back to the toy on some of my searches, we will see if this solves the pee issue.
I love working with my training buddy. She has a great little dog and I think we had a great practice today. I'm learning more each time and actually improving as a handler. Problem solving, I love it. Having two very different dogs just makes me happy and also their issues, I learn and nothing more than learning to improve.
I have another practice tomorrow with two other handlers. Let's see what I learn tomorrow!
So what snags? Isn't Mickey finding his hides like gang busters? Not like he use to. His last workshop I could tell he just wasn't in it or driven to be in it. He was looking, then drifting, almost like he doesn't think this is a totally awesome game anymore. What? Mickey excitable Mickey not into the game anymore? I was confused in last workshop, why was he not that focused and kind of drifted over the scent and then dump loaded a bunch of pee? Huh?
Today's practice was the first since the workshop and again not so into it and he peed right on the odor. Say what? Ok, what is going on?
I think I did figure it out.......
I took the fun out of nose work without realizing it. I took his toys away. We started using toys at first, but then he got a little too over excited that he wasn't focusing on the search, just that he wanted that toy. So I have been heavily using food. Which he will work for, but after time his intense interest began to fade.
After a practice today when he was glossing over an odor (another problem I realized and will talk about later) I decided to see if I had a toy with me and bring it out at the end of our last hide. Oops, I didn't bring any toys, but had an old leash we could tug with. I tugged a little bit with him and a little bit of that sparkle came back! Oh yes! HE did the searches well and at the end we had some good tugging sessions. Yeah, Mickey felt satisfied. I think Nose Work is fun again! I have to use his toy carefully so he doesn't loose site of the odor. A balance of using food, but every so often throw in a toy. Work more with Premack, you must not only find the odor but indicate it well and you WILL get this toy.
My other issue is, my Anise is too strong. When I practice or work with other Anise, it seems to be "fainter" for Mickey. So I will have to remake a new batch of Anise since my last one accidentally got too many drops from an accidental spill.
So now, what to do about the pee? One thing for sure, if I bring the toy back into the picture, the urge to pee will go away. At today's search, I did pull him off from peeing. His crate was too far and just walking there would have been reinforcing for him. So I pulled him to the side, went to a flat grass area and had him sit and I stand. Did nothing. Doing nothing is torture for a Malinois. Some would say I punished my dog, so be it, he need to realize that search is over if you pee. That had to come across clear. You want to pee, fine, but the consequences is search stops and nothing interesting afterwards happens. When I felt enough time had passed, we went back to the search and he was more focused. I didn't use the leash tugging this day until the end. When I go back to the toy on some of my searches, we will see if this solves the pee issue.
I love working with my training buddy. She has a great little dog and I think we had a great practice today. I'm learning more each time and actually improving as a handler. Problem solving, I love it. Having two very different dogs just makes me happy and also their issues, I learn and nothing more than learning to improve.
I have another practice tomorrow with two other handlers. Let's see what I learn tomorrow!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Mickey's K9 Nose Work(R) Title (NW1)
Temperatures have been in the 30's at night. For most people, during the winter this is either normal or warm. Not for Southern California. Relative speaking, we will usually have 50's at night during this time of year. But instead we had mid 50's during the day. For us, that's cold. Anyone who has lived in Southern California long enough would acclimate to it, and find this weather to be rather cold.
However, excitement, Mickey's very first K9 Nose Work(R) trial. An all day event. As the Certifying Official, Jill-Marie O'Brien, said today is great dog weather, but no so much handler friendly. She was right. No over heated dogs today! Which is a relief. I did bring my fancy sun shades and extra bottles of water, but didn't need it. But always glad to have it there.
I was the very first one to go. Some people just do not want to be the first one, but I found for my anxiety level, get it over with and I don't have to be in tension for several minutes before my run. I was happy being first.
My first run, exterior. It was good, he found it fairly fast and I was really good getting out of his way when he past the odor and needed to come back. Probably why the judge said "good handling!" on the score sheet.
Second run, interior. Good and fairly fast. I thought for sure Mickey did a fault. He nudged it, looked at me, I rewarded him, he went back and scooted the odor for about 5 inches. I thought for sure that was it, I got him to take his reward and then had to lure him away from the odor. A very HANDY technique when your dog is interacting too much with the odor at a trial. Whew.....! This was the second time Mickey has ever done interiors. It didn't dawn on me until afterwards we only did one interior search away from home. I have done about 8 different in house interior searches.
Then vehicles. This one Mickey had a little bit more trouble. He kept fixating on the front bumper on the driver's side. So much so that I almost really thought it was in that general area. But....it didn't feel right to call it, so I gave him a "show me" cue. I do not like to give cues in nose work, but I saw he had a bit of trouble and needed some guidance, but I simply didn't know where it was. However, when I said "show me" the second time, he left that area and he targeted towards the passenger rear side. AH! I'm wondering why he fixated on that other spot. Odor collecting under the bumper? Was the wind going at a diagonal to the front? I don't know, but was so glad that I read my dog well to know he didn't quite find source. Whew! He did go out of scent and wasn't in scent for a few seconds, which I gave him that usual look, "you need to work it out yourself bud." He did. Obviously.
The container search was fast. I said, "alert!" The judge yelled YES! said "Good Job!" and when I looked up at her for saying that, a second after she wrote something down. Found out later I got faulted for dropping food. I probably got distracted when she said good job and accidentally dropped food.
My general feel was, this was a big step for Mickey. I don't get to practice a lot and for how little we do, Mickey did an awesome job. We had only done interior outside of home once. We have done vehicles other than my own, about 6 times. I've only done about 6 blind hides, where I didn't know where they were located. So when I really thought about this, MY GOSH CHRISTY! You rally didn't practice enough and you passed! WOW! Good Job Mickey!
Wn't be this easy for NW2 (Nose Work 2) trial.
However, excitement, Mickey's very first K9 Nose Work(R) trial. An all day event. As the Certifying Official, Jill-Marie O'Brien, said today is great dog weather, but no so much handler friendly. She was right. No over heated dogs today! Which is a relief. I did bring my fancy sun shades and extra bottles of water, but didn't need it. But always glad to have it there.
I was the very first one to go. Some people just do not want to be the first one, but I found for my anxiety level, get it over with and I don't have to be in tension for several minutes before my run. I was happy being first.
My first run, exterior. It was good, he found it fairly fast and I was really good getting out of his way when he past the odor and needed to come back. Probably why the judge said "good handling!" on the score sheet.
Second run, interior. Good and fairly fast. I thought for sure Mickey did a fault. He nudged it, looked at me, I rewarded him, he went back and scooted the odor for about 5 inches. I thought for sure that was it, I got him to take his reward and then had to lure him away from the odor. A very HANDY technique when your dog is interacting too much with the odor at a trial. Whew.....! This was the second time Mickey has ever done interiors. It didn't dawn on me until afterwards we only did one interior search away from home. I have done about 8 different in house interior searches.
Then vehicles. This one Mickey had a little bit more trouble. He kept fixating on the front bumper on the driver's side. So much so that I almost really thought it was in that general area. But....it didn't feel right to call it, so I gave him a "show me" cue. I do not like to give cues in nose work, but I saw he had a bit of trouble and needed some guidance, but I simply didn't know where it was. However, when I said "show me" the second time, he left that area and he targeted towards the passenger rear side. AH! I'm wondering why he fixated on that other spot. Odor collecting under the bumper? Was the wind going at a diagonal to the front? I don't know, but was so glad that I read my dog well to know he didn't quite find source. Whew! He did go out of scent and wasn't in scent for a few seconds, which I gave him that usual look, "you need to work it out yourself bud." He did. Obviously.
The container search was fast. I said, "alert!" The judge yelled YES! said "Good Job!" and when I looked up at her for saying that, a second after she wrote something down. Found out later I got faulted for dropping food. I probably got distracted when she said good job and accidentally dropped food.
My general feel was, this was a big step for Mickey. I don't get to practice a lot and for how little we do, Mickey did an awesome job. We had only done interior outside of home once. We have done vehicles other than my own, about 6 times. I've only done about 6 blind hides, where I didn't know where they were located. So when I really thought about this, MY GOSH CHRISTY! You rally didn't practice enough and you passed! WOW! Good Job Mickey!
Wn't be this easy for NW2 (Nose Work 2) trial.
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