Yesterday was nosework class. The instructor mixes it up for us each session to give the dogs a wide variety of scent hides. this group of students started in early February. It is nearly heart stopping, sometimes, how quickly and thoroughly they tackle the job of finding the hidden scent.
Most weeks, there are a variety of containers scattered around the room randomly (or sometimes hanging from the wall) so they don't provide an obvious path for the dogs to search in. This week, the first two hides consisted of 12 containers (closed cardboard boxes and closed plastic tool boxes) lined up in three rows. NOTE: two of the containers held a scent.
When we first entered the room, Zorro blazed along the lines about as fast as I've seen him move in this class, and found both hides the first time around. So fast!
The second time, with the containers still in lines, he took a bit more time to find them but not a lot more.
The third time, they were arranged in a large circle. He dashed all the way around it sniffing quickly at several of the containers. I wish I had videotaped it. I think on his second loop around he found both fairly quickly.
It is pretty exciting.
It's not agility, but I'm learning to love seeing him making use of his mind and body and sniffing orifice.
i'll try to remember to take photos next time.
Meanwhile, here he is this morning having sniffed along the banks of a canal ("irrigation ditch") and found apparently occupied burrows. there was much head tilting. Also, yes, his head is as far into the hole as he could get it.
meanwhile, the photos will have to wait a bit. I can't believe that blogger still doesn't accept photos directly off the iPhone. For crying out loud.
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