Reply With QuoteDo you have anyone in the area who tracks? Better (imo) exercise for both dog and handler... and most involved in the sport would be grateful to have someone who could lay a track.
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I searched around for something to do with Ram Jet Rocket Dog during the winter (besides doing drills in the local park.) Unfortunately, the place I really love to take my dog (where she got her CGC last year) had their obedience/agility trainer take off to Florida. Bummer. There is another place in town that does a variety of things, but their classes aren't going to happen at a time when we can do them. The Intro to Nosework class won't be offered again until way in January (when we'll be in field training again.)
So I sort of pleaded with the director a little bit. I admitted I know zip about the Nosework game but tried to let her know that RD is a working retriever who knows how to use her nose ("hunt 'em up"!) and has spent her whole life learning to be a team member.
The problem the instructor explained was that no matter how good RD is on birds, she couldn't really go into a more advanced class when neither she nor I know what we're doing. It would be inconsiderate to others in the class (not to mention embarrassing for me.) So we are going to go to their place in a couple of weeks and take a private lesson. Kinda pricey. But oh, well. If we survive the private lesson and do some homework prior to the more advanced class begins, we may have found ourselves a new hobby.
Do you have anyone in the area who tracks? Better (imo) exercise for both dog and handler... and most involved in the sport would be grateful to have someone who could lay a track.
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I personally agree with the prof on not skipping intro to be honest...YOU need to learn the sport and how things work. and the training steps and tips on reading your dog. If you were to just step into the next level you'd hold up the class trying to understand. Now, much you could do on your own (and there are online classes you could take or just reading up on the sport and get set up at home). Maybe having had approached the school with some knowledge of the sport would have gone off better.
But some leg work ahead of time may also shorten the private sessions as they can just quickly go over it.
Last edited by Tanya; 10-06-2016 at 09:05 AM.
Ivy
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Honestly for Nosework, after one private lesson you would probably be good to go to work on things on your own and then sign up for the more advanced class. You can easily order nosework kits with birch scent online (that is the first odor used) and in the beginning it is a lot of pairing the odor with a treat (assuming she is food driven). Like hold out two closed fists, one of them has a tin with the odor. As soon as she acts interested in the fist with the odor, treat. Then start doing simple hides, offer a treat as soon as she starts to sniff at the spot where the odor is. If she is clicker trained you can also use a clicker. Most dogs catch on pretty quickly that they get rewarded when they find the odor. Once she catches on you can start figuring out what her indication is, and not treating as soon as she sniffs where you know the odor is hidden, but wait for the indication behavior.
There are also clove and anise odors used in nosework, not sure if the advanced class is advanced b/c you start doing harder hides or b/c you start using the different odors. If it is just a matter of more advanced hides, you can probably prep for it at home and get prepared. Tracking like windycanyon mentioned is also fun, and it is another one that once you take a few classes, you get the basics and can easily practice it on your own.
Annette47 (10-06-2016)
I agree with Tanya, Having done hunting retrieve, nosework, tracking they are all different. Sure using your nose certainly helps, but they are all done differently. Windycanyon suggested tracking which didn't come to mind, it is not really popular here in Michigan so we have only done it a few times. However we learned tracking in a 3 hours afternoon course. Also might be a better transition from hunting. The biggest problem is it takes 2 people, one to handle the dog and one to track.
Nose work is a entirely different thing especially advanced levels. The intro course is teaching them one scent, how to pair it, how to find it, how to read your do, how to help guide them. Lots of treats. The Advanced, already have that. They will be working on adding in multiple scents finding the one you want. They will be more competition oriented and timed hunts. No treats. So yeah you could really slow them down.
Interesting, I do think this is going to depend on the instructor. Hemi and I started with clove. Birch and Anise was second and 3rd one. It might also depend on area you live in. For example we don't really do birch much in Michigan cause well we are lousy with Birch trees. They are everywhere.Originally Posted by shellbell
And also the advanced was harder finds. We did car searches and perimeter searches, outdoor searches which is a lot harder especially with the wind.
and the session I did started with Wintergreen :P it was more a demo that went over how to get started but i have heard other local people talk about wintergreen as the first scent!
I liked ratting a bit more but would definitely do both. I mayyy do ratting again with Rocky as he CAN do it but if i find a nosework class that works we'll do that too. to keep him mind active and give him somethign to do.
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I was sorry there was not an obedience class being offered nearby. Really pretty amazing between the local dog training club, and the two (very nice) commercial businesses, you'd think there would be one. There was the basic CGC but she already has that. You can find puppy classes galore.
But this operation is way down on the other side of town. Since I'm accustomed to hour plus drives to get to fields and water to train on, though it should be a snap. The instructor sort of said it was an hour or more class and my sense was it would be kind of open ended, until RD and I had demonstrated enough knowledge/skill to fit into whatever the next class is doing.
Fenzi Dog Sports has and online class, we have never done one of their classes but some people swear by it. I think you can get by with working by yourself or pairing up with a friend and not do official classes if you know what you are doing (I trained my older dog in a class but competed with my younger dog I taught on the side at home with the knowledge I got from class) ... we did great that way (4th in NW1 and 1st by a long way in NW2) - but now that the next level we have to enter is NW3 I do feel like instruction is necessary - but only with a person who has worked with dogs at that level.
That's good to know! I'll look in to it. One of the jillion Youtubes I watched (I can't remember which one) said that he teaches the indicator behavior first. He says that's the hard part, but a good dog can learn the search pretty fast. Is that a common belief or is he an outlier?
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