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!