Thursday, July 18, 2013

Learning From K9 Nose Work® NACSW™ National Invitational Video Part 2

Here are two searches from day two of the National Invitational. I'm pretty sure all of us competitors felt much better on day two with the experiences from day one under our belts. I really got thrown by some of the challenges of day one and the way Muriel reacted to some of the hides (not quite her usual self). On our drive back to where we were staying after day one of searching, Muriel and I agreed to put the failures of the day behind us and do better on day two. Thanks to Muriel really searching her heart out, we did much better day two.

On to the first two searches of day two!

Equipment Exterior - This is easily the most fun I've had searching an exterior/vehicles. The size of the area is hard to recall, but it seemed to be around two-thirds of an acre - big, and full of stuff. This was an 8 hide, 6 minute search. No one found all 8, but a few dogs found 7 hides. The start line stretched the length of the search area and was flanked on one side by a trailer and metal steps, and on the other side by a fence and forklift. I will confess that although I used some dust to check wind during the walk-through, the only wind going through my mind at the start of the search was blowing between my ears where my brain should have been. In my case, at least, it will probably take years more of searching before I can consistently assess wind in the search area and apply the information to read/help Muriel as she works to find source odor.

Going over the video for this search made me think about the importance of observing as many dogs as possible working blowing/pooling odor problems. I think there is an observable difference between a dog working blowing/pooling odor when a hide(s) remains to be found, and a dog working the same problem when all hides have already been found (or at least all hides in that general area). Something to think about when we handlers start hanging around too long in these blowing/pooling odor areas.





Warehouse - This search tested how quickly dog & handler can work an area under time pressure. There were 6 hides to find in 2 minutes! Working quickly is not our strongest attribute as a team. Muriel sometimes gets caught up sniffing every particle of scent on her way to source, and I sometimes let superfluous sniffing go on too long. In this search, we did well enough with time management, but we missed a hide and had a false call.

The hide I made the false call on is similar to what trips up many handlers in NW1 trials: a hide where the dog may catch the odor strongly near, but not at, source and/or the handler may call alert before the dog is done working to source.





Two more searches remain to be analyzed, the Garage Bottles search (with tons of distractions), and the Interior Tables search (with lots of tables & chairs). Those videos will come in a post next week.


Happy Sniffing!

23 comments:

  1. Both of these videos are so interesting to watch. I loved seeing the way you moved Muriel around the huge exterior/vehicle search area--what an awesome dog she is!

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    1. Thanks! Muriel is great, as are many many K9 Nose Work dogs. Our hope is that we can rise up to become the handlers that our great dogs deserve!

      Thanks for reading, viewing and commenting.

      Happy Sniffing!

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  2. Thanks for your detailed analysis. Keep the videos coming... always useful ..

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  3. Jeff, these videos and your commentary are so enlightening. Great review before trialing for our NW2 this weekend. Many thanks to you and Muriel.

    cate

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  4. Hi Jeff,

    Again...Thank you for the great videos. I saw from reading the info on the National results that some of the searches had a known number of hides. Did you know how many hides there were in these two searches? How about the searches from the earlier videos from the Saturday searches. I don't think you mentioned that in your blog.

    Thanks,

    Marsha & Walker

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    1. Hi Marsha,

      The searches in part 2 of the video review were both known number of hides. In part 1 I mention that the large warehouse and the warehouse vehicle search were unknown number. One or both of the lily pad searches was unknown number, the moat was known, and the two searches that will be in part 3 were unknown number.

      Interestingly, it didn't make much difference to us competitors known or unknown, the time pressure was challenging to the point where we rarely had extra time to ponder if we'd found all the hides that could possibly be out there.

      Also, even in the known hide searches it was hard for us to keep track of hides found past 3-4, so most of the searches felt like unknown number. You just keeping searching until you think you're done. I think one handler finished a known number search with time left before finding the last hide - it was that confusing for us at times!

      Happy Sniffing!

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    2. Jeff,

      I totally " get it "! My trainer has been setting up multiple hide searches for us and pressing the time limit. As a handler, I am so focussed on moving, watching my dog, trying to be thorough without over detailing, that I sometimes forget how many hides I've found till I'm told later. I was looking at the results from the National and I have a question about how they determined placements in the different searches. If I remember right, there were several dogs that found the same number of hides and they all appeared to have used up all their time. What criteria did the judge or C.O. us to determine placements when that happened?

      Thanks Jeff!

      Are you going to Nipomo next month? Walker & I will be there, so looking forward to meeting you if you are.

      Marsha & Walker

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    3. Hi Marsha,

      Placement for the searches went, # of hides found, fastest time, fewest faults, and then the tie breaker was time elapsed when last hide was found. That's what you see in the tie breaker column.

      I won't be in Nipomo next month, having to travel from Minnesota means we don't get to make as many nose work events on the West coast any more :(.

      Jeff

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    4. Hi Jeff,

      Thanks for the explanation. I looked at the results again after I posted that question and realized the tie breaker time must be the time recorded when the team found their last hide.

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  5. Thanks so much, Jeff. Visuals with commentary are inestimable learning experiences.

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    1. Thank you! Knowing people find them useful makes it that much easier to put in the effort to make these video blogs.

      Happy Sniffing!

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  6. So many pieces here to absorb. Gotta get working with my pup to try and replicate some of this stuff!

    Many thanks again, Jeff. You're really great at this show/tell/share!!!
    Gretchen with Amica

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    1. Thanks, Gretchen. You can bet Amica would have worked very similarly.

      Jeff

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    2. Jeff thanks for sharing.

      There is so much info on these videos, that it will take a-lot time to absorb.

      Many thanks again, Jeff. You and your dog are really a great team!

      Nick Ciancio

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  7. Thanks so much for posting these videos and your analysis. They're exciting to watch and educational for those of us who live in areas that don't have trials or CNWI classes!

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    1. I'm glad you find the videos exciting and useful. Living in MN where we're still 6-12 months away from a trial, I can understand how posts like this help keep you engaged and learning until your local K9 Nose Work community grows.

      Keep on Sniffing!

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    2. Jeff,

      My breeder lives in Duluth and there are lots of my " Golden " friends back there. Where are you in Minnesota? Are you presently teaching nose work classes?

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    3. Hi Marsha,

      I am north of Minneapolis about 30 miles in the city of Andover. I mostly train instructors privately right now. I do teach a few students of my own at a family friend's facility in Hastings southeast of St. Paul, and i have some students traveling from neighboring states for training every other month. But now that I'm settled from the move I'm looking for more locations to teach at and more students to bring up from the first sniff!

      I'm not a self-promoter, so by all means spread the word that I'm an okay nose work dude!

      Happy Sniffing!

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    4. Jeff,

      Do you have web site? How should folks in Minnesota that are interested in nose work contact you?

      Marsha

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    5. They can find me at www.jmk9nosework.com or find me on facebook (something I avoided up until a few days ago, turns out everyone wants to network that way now!).

      Thanks for taking an interest in the blog and letting your midwest friends know I'm back home and excited to bring nose work to as many dogs and people as possible!

      Happy Sniffing!

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  8. Hey Minnesotans! As one of Jeff's former students in Los Angeles, I can say that he's much more than just an "okay nose work dude" as Jeff puts it.

    He's one of the best nose work instructor dudes! Jeff is a very patient teacher, full of insights, great with explanations, and he's taught me and my NW2 and NW3 dogs so much in our time together. And as you can tell, he has the gift of humor, which makes learning all the more fun.

    Look out world, here comes the Midwest!

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    1. Thanks Kim! if all of those things are true, I don't sound half bad :)

      Can't wait to see you, Melvin & Nina next month for some sniffing fun!

      Jeff

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  9. Jeff Thank you so much for sharing your expertise! Me and my dog Emmie are very new to this sport and are trying to absorb everything you have to offer. These video are fantastic! With this being a non spectator sport it is great to see someone work their dog in real applications! Keep them coming!!
    Cheryl

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