It has been raining off and on for much of the past week, but just as I put Pongo's harness on and was getting ready to start him on a search of boxes, we heard a big clap of thunder. The training facility is an enormous building with high ceilings and feels more like a barn. The rain that started was loud on what sounded like a metal roof.
I gave him the search command hoping that if he could focus on nose work, maybe he would forget the thunder. But Pongo only walked along the line of boxes, heeling at my side, panting. He wasn't doing any sniffing. There were a few more thunder claps and I tried treating him, telling him, "You're such a brave boy!" But he only pushed the treat away with his nose, a sign that he was too anxious to focus on anything else but the storm.
"Oh, he's shaking," our trainer said.
We decided to stop and talk for a while. I had brought my nose work log book and had written down some questions so I took this opportunity to ask them. I learned:
1. When working with odor in boxes, you don't want to treat directly on the box, or it contaminates the box with food odor.
2. During a trial or an ORT, you can treat your dog. So you should get in the habit of offering your dog a treat near, but in front of the box.
3. When hiding odor in a small cloth bag, also treat right next to the bag.
While we talked, I kept offering Pongo treats and telling him he was a brave boy. Soon, he calmed down enough that he started accepting treats and so we decided to see if he could shift back to working. To my surprise, he did! He went back to work. Our half-hour lesson went quickly. Although we worked with birch the entire time, she sent me home with a bottle of anise, the second odor, for us to begin on our own. I love the smell of anise. It evokes wonderful memories of eating licorice from my childhood.
This morning, I decided to start Pongo's introduction to anise. Our trainer indicated that I should either pair it with food, or pair it with birch, since he is already recognizing that odor. In competition, dogs don't have to distinguish BETWEEN odors, they only have to alert to the three odors taught. Once your dog recognizes one odor, it is easy to introduce the others.
Here I put both birch and anise in a box marked "O" for odor so I can recognize which box has odor and I don't contaminate other boxes. I've got the birch and anise Q-tips in separate containers, then they are also easy to take out and do hides without the boxes.
Then I arranged a line of boxes along our hallway. Pongo found the box every time!
Next, we worked without boxes in the living room. I had him work birch in the purple bag, and anise in the plastic container, (not at the same time), placing them at different heights, and sometimes pairing them with food by placing a treat next to the bag or on top of the plastic lid.
Here is the bag hanging from one of our side tables. We are working on finding hides at or above Pongo's nose. Last week when I tried hanging the bag from a door handle, it was too high, and Pongo wasn't getting it. This is at his nose height and he easily found it.
Today our challenge was that our orange kitty, Dewey, became interested in the game Pongo was playing. He lay by the coffee table next to the couch, watching. Although the odor was hidden at the end of the couch and Pongo had one clear path to it, he wouldn't sniff near Dewey. Then Dewey started playing with the end of Pongo's leash (I had let it drop) and I had to untangle Dewey, who didn't want to let go.
Rule of thumb for nose work: remove all cat distractions!
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