Remember the discussion about scent articles?

[Annette47]

I am SO excited - I just bought a set of Joe Feist articles from a local exhibitor/judge. For anyone not familiar, Joe Feist articles have been described (got this from a blog) as “beautiful scent articles that were all the rage and were of such heirloom quality they were probably accounted for in trainers’ wills and handed down from generation to generation”. I’ve always wanted a set .... new, many years ago they were $300, these are in great condition and I paid $120 including the bag. He passed away a few years ago, so you can no longer buy them. They belonged to a large male Springer, but are the perfect size for my girls. LOVE them.

The funny thing is, the woman I bought them from (didn’t actually speak to her - she had left them with my trainer to see if anyone at our center was interested) is judging Chloe’s next show. Debating whether I should use them then or not, LOL. Just having them makes me feel more like a B classes trainer, LOL.

Here’s a quick pic of a couple random ones I grabbed, but I don’t think it does the color justice - it’s a very pretty teal.

[barry581]

Those look really cool!!!!!!

[Labradorks]

Those are nice! What a steal!

[Blackboy98]

Those are beautiful. I would use them as I think she would felt good that someone is using them. And then after Chloe wins you can tell her how wonderful they worked and the honor you have in having them.

[windycanyon]

Nice.... Was the former owner's name Linda by chance? She is always getting torquoise or teal accessories for her obed dogs!

[Annette47]

Nice.... Was the former owner's name Linda by chance? She is always getting torquoise or teal accessories for her obed dogs!

No, it wasn’t ... but I think I might know who you are referring to.

[Scoutpout]

wow, those are really classy!

[TuMicks]

Dumb question from someone outside the Obedience Ring:

When you are in competition, do you use one of your articles in the mix... or are they all provided by the club? That is to say, will you take these heirlooms with you when you campaign?

[Annette47]

Dumb question from someone outside the Obedience Ring:

When you are in competition, do you use one of your articles in the mix... or are they all provided by the club? That is to say, will you take these heirlooms with you when you campaign?

You own all the articles that you use. What happens is that you bring a set of 10 articles (5 each of leather, metal or wood - need 2 of those types - I use metal and leather) to the ring with you. The judge picks out one of each to be used. When it is time for scent discrimination, a steward places the remaining 8 articles out in a cluster in the ring, about 20 feet away. You scent one of the remaining two articles by rubbing it in your hands and give it to the judge who places it in the pile of articles while your (and the dog’s) back is turned. On command you turn and send the dog to the pile and they have to correctly identify and retrieve the article that you scented, ignoring all the other ones (points off for even mouthing an incorrect one and an NQ for bringing one back, even if the dog also has the correct one at the same time - I’ve seen it happen where they got tangled, LOL). Then you repeat with the other type of article.

Since you don’t know before you get there which articles the judge is using (they are numbered so you can tell them apart), it is easiest on the dog if you haven’t really touched any of your articles before going into the ring, so the 8 in the pile smell mostly like the steward, and only one smells like you. My dogs are trained to recognize “hot” scent, so as long as I haven’t handled the others in the past couple hours, they usually do fine. My first Lab, Scully, wasn’t specifically trained to hot scent and would sometimes retrieve the article we used the week before if she got to it before the freshly scented one!

[TuMicks]

My dogs are trained to recognize “hot” scent, so as long as I haven’t handled the others in the past couple hours, they usually do fine. My first Lab, Scully, wasn’t specifically trained to hot scent and would sometimes retrieve the article we used the week before if she got to it before the freshly scented one!

OK. That answered my next question. I would be tempted (am I the only one to think this way???) to put peanut butter on my hands, wipe them off on a paper towel, then enter the ring, having previously wiped all the items down with very dilute bleach solution. I know... this would totally earn you that AKC unsportsmanlike conduct black mark and that would be bad. I'm just kidding. Seriously. It's just that the opportunities for cheating seem limitless. Of course, if the judge smelled the peanut butter... the handler's @ss would be grass and besides being banned by the AKC, his/her picture would be in the dictionary beside the word STUPID.