Nosework does not require practice, or does it???

Every session of classes I offer, the issue of practicing arises. It is very interesting, I think, with dog sports, that some of us feel that we only need to come to a weekly class, and that somehow, we (the dog and the handler) will remember the vital points and will progress enough to successfully trial at higher levels.

 If one thinks about competing/trialing like an Olympics (skill, stamina), would you enter that without building strength, expertise or with only doing the activity once per week – of course not.

 Then, similarly, perhaps it is unfair of us to expect our dogs to solve these complex odor problems without regular practices. And, equally important, we might not be improving our human perceptions of our dog’s changes of behavior with odor and within odor puzzles.

Frequency

I recommend to my students that they practice at least twice per week between class sessions. A great way to practice is to arrange some time outside of class to do set-ups with other students. This keeps everyone’s ideas and locations fresh. As well, often fellow students give you great feedback.

Logistics

One of the reasons that students do not practice is that their instructors set up more complex situations in class, and students may think they have to mirror that at home. This is not the case.

 A great way to work differently in your practices from class is to take one piece of what your instructor did and to scale it down to a set up with one or two hides. So, you are keeping the idea of the particular odor puzzle or skill, but you are re-creating it on much smaller, simpler scale.

Here are some key points and ideas about practices between classes for respective levels:

Intro – Just Beginning to Work Odor

The key piece here is to work with the odor(s) introduced to your dogs in class. These can certainly be single hide searches, usually paired with food. It is wonderful to do some of these in new locations, for example, a tennis court, a friend’s patio, etc. If you are working with multiple hides, be sure to listen to the instructor’s recommendation about spacing of the hides and not to space them too close together.

Intermediate

At this level, often students are working odor problems, such as converging odor or pooling odor, as well as handling (leash length, leash tension, how close to be to the dog, the angle of how to be, getting around obstacles, rewarding without dropping food, etc.), and especially learning how to read the difference of the dog working odor and being at source.

Again, much can be accomplished with one or two hides. A key element at this stage that I see student’s having difficulty with is remembering to let the hides be in place for a bit of time (usually referred to as “aging”). If you place the hides and immediately let the dog do the search, it may not reflect the complexity of the odor problem, as the odor has not had time to dissipate. It is important to let the hides be in place for a bit of time, at least 30 minutes and sometimes longer.

Another way that handlers struggle a bit is by rewarding too soon when they have set the hides. The whole point of building the dog’s skills, is to allow them to fully work the puzzle. Do not just sit impatiently there (i.e., “Hurry up and find what I set!”  NOOOOO) – instead use the time that they are working the puzzle to learn the details of their behavior with this set up.  This is also the level to make sure that you are working puzzles in different locations.

Advanced

Often, at the advanced levels, students have a good idea of their team’s strengths and weaknesses.

At this level, be sure that you are not testing your dog, but are supporting their learning.  In other words, your set-up’s need to be designed for your dog to be successful, not to fail.  

** If your practices are too hard, all the time, for your dog, why would he or she want to continue to play the game with you? **

In my experience and opinion, there is absolutely no reason not to pair hides with food, with harder challenges when it is possible to safely do so.

Ensure you are diverse in what you practice, for example, ground hides, but also elevated hides and nose level hides, even if your dog is confident with two of these - do not drill one area, but be balanced in your practices.

This is also the time to work harder puzzles in more distracting environments, such as containers in parks with squirrels, exteriors at college campuses with people walking by, etc. Be sure you are working in all weather conditions, including the rain and snow.

Do practice with classmates and friends, even if you cannot get together, email/text them to ask them for their ideas for set-ups to work on.

Final thoughts

Expecting your dog to be successful in class or at a trial without practicing between classes is patently unfair to the dogs. Instructors would rather know what you have or have not been able to do between classes, to help you keep your expectations reasonable.

As always, let scentwork continue to be a joyful party with your dogs, never a grim chore!! Keep all your practices simple and fun!