Missing the Memo

Missing the Memo

Today was another great day of nose work with two NACSW Level 2 element trials (vehicles and interiors, one title and one leg respectively) with my best girl, Nellie, who will be eleven years old in one month.

Backstory

Nellie came to me at two years old. What mattered at the time when I adopted her was the connection between her, and my then five-year-old Border Collie, Brady.  He had had some dog-related trauma, and ensuring he could be safe and joyful with a companion was essential.

Nellie was perfect in that regard, gentle and sweet.  The bond that developed between her and Brady was exquisite (watch until the end, it will bring a smile).

She was, however, also quite fearful, mainly of environmental pieces.  We worked hard on so many aspects, with bewilderment, occasional injuries (concussion at a groomer), and fabulous successes – she is affectionate with just about every adult human and dogs, both big and small. Over the years, she’s become the house cheerleader, always game for a walk,  hike, trip or adventure – from time to time, taking me out at the knees in her enthusiasm to get the outing started.

I tried agility with her, and while she enjoyed practice and training, competition was not a fit. I had already done nose work with a previous dog, and for Nellie, the sport was a match.

Our environmental pieces did not disappear, and rather bizarrely, if something went awry (canopy blowing over, clip board being dropped, sharp tone by someone, etc.), these hiccups occurred before or during her runs. This has been a tough piece, I hope it has improved our team’s resilience.

Sniffing

Nonetheless, despite mildly catastrophic quirks of fate, she loves this game. Of all my dogs, she is the one who has the determination to solve the trickier problems when other dogs might give up and move on.

She is so determined to get to inaccessible hides that I was forced to teach her a cue to move on from those.

I love how much she enjoys sniffy games, but also her willingness to hang in there and solve those especially hard puzzles.

She’s rarely the highest scorer, but she’s darned steady.

She’s at the Elite 3 level now, eligible for Summit events, should we be lucky enough to get in, and not too far from her Elite Champion title.

I cannot, however, ignore her age. We have been lucky to play these sniffy games together for eight years.

Prior to today’s set of eight searches, I considered if she would be up to that number in one day. With the adrenaline rush of getting in and out of the car, even if she recognizes a trial day routine, it’s still a lot.

 Leaps of Faith

A reminder, which is obvious but often forgotten, the handler knows what the search environments will be (known #, known search setting), the dog does not know what the next search is – if it is inside or out, whether there will be scary people crowded in one corner, whether there will be a bunch of hides or only one, whether there will be slippery floors to contend with, etc. For the dogs, it is the ultimate unknown dive off a diving board EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.

I think most of us can agree that dogs thrive on routine, predictability, so this is the opposite of that for them, interesting and taxing.

Don’t get me wrong, I DO think dogs need puzzles and new experiences to keep their bodies and brains healthy – just my personal observation and opinion after having dogs for over fifty years.

Prior to today, I had thought I might use the option of “asking for information” in the second search, especially after search six. I was prepared to.

When that search came (3rd search of L2I), I noted subtle changes in her behavior (Yes, that magic phrase.). She was still actively searching but ranged a bit farther to the edges of the odor plume, and she seemed a bit less confident.

I noticed this overall change, but I did not meet her where she was with it.

I had chosen to run her off-leash in those two searches because she likes that freedom, but I also know that when she is fatigued or anxious, the off-leash option is not necessarily helpful to her or to us.

In the last of the four searches, my adrenaline was up (“home stretch title  in sight,” and all of that), and here is where I definitely failed her.

She found a first hide easily but then began to range out of the search area several times. In that search or at least this time, those multiple ranges were not about following the odor plume.

 The Memo

Here is Nellie’s side – perhaps translated for humans:

·      I feel your excitement and pressure on me to “get this.”

·      I need you closer ( connected via leash), not further from me, in this search.

·      You thought/said you would “ask for info” right at the point I was tired to keep it fun, you did not. Ego -- sigh.

·      I am very tired – this was a lot today, maybe too much.

If, for our dog, each search is a leap of faith, they are also trusting in us to pay attention to what is needed by them at that moment, every time.

I did not read the memo, as I should have, and so, in some respects, today, I failed my best girl, my awesome search partner.

She lives in the moment and, fortunately for me, is sweetly forgiving. She will give me another chance, I hope, to do better by her the next time we trial.  

My amazing mentors and human sniffy friends will remind me of this post, should I slip up again.