"What a summer!" Part 2:

In which Hoagie makes his Mommy very proud...

And now for the long awaited good news! (Sorry it took so long to post this!)

Applause for good news!

On July 17th Hoagie and I competed in our first Scent Work trial.  It was held at Camp San Luis Obispo at the Officer's Club and was hosted by Gentle Touch Pet Training (the folks we take scent work classes from).  We woke up early, packed up the car for a long day, and headed down the hill.

The day started out with the vehicle search.  Hoagie just about dragged me across the parking lot, directly to the truck where the hide was located.  He didn't even take a second look at the other two vehicles!  He made it obvious early on, that he was on his game!

"Duh Mom!  It's right here in the trailer plug!  Give me something harder!

 We then went on to the interior search.  Hoagie did a fantastic job of "working to source."  He narrowed down the search area to pinpoint exactly where the scent was.  Score two successful hides for Hoagie!  

I later found out that we earned a P for Pronounced on the two morning elements.  That means that the judges thought we did especially well working as a team on the vehicle and interior searches.  Go team Hoagie!


After lunch came the hardest part of an NW1 trial (at least for Capt. Distractible): the dreaded exterior search! *Duh dun DUUUN!*  


Hoagie, however, did spectacularly.  It was a really big search area, and he worked through the whole space, all the way to source.  He did take his time getting all the way around, and made me little a nervous.  When I got our score sheets back I found out that we only had about 31 seconds left of the three minute time limit!  Hoagie certainly cut it close!

So we were 3 for 3 going into the last element; the container search.  The pressure was really on!  

On the way into the container room, the trial photographers snapped my favorite picture of Hoagie doing nose work.  The picture shows just how excited Hoagie was about getting to work.  He's blown pas the start line, and even got his tongue out, licking up the scent!

"Lemme at 'em!  Lemme at 'em!"

About 42 seconds after the above picture was taken, Hoagie earned his very first title!!!  Yay Hoagie!

Proud Hoagie is proud!

So Hoagie ended his summer on a high note, with an NW1 title, and a very spiffy ribbon!  

"Check out the spiffy ribbon I earned!"

We worked hard, had lots of fun, and will continue to work towards NW2 along with his other obedience work.  Stay tuned for lots more nose work fun to come!

Feel free to check out more pictures of the trial on the NACSW website here.  Greg Lugo Photography also took the great trial photos above (the vehicle and container search photos).

A Busy Spring!

Hey guys!  I'm still alive!  Really!  And man have Hoagie and I been busy!  Last time I mentioned that I would keep you updated on Hoagie's progress in Scent Work.  (I know, I know, 5 months of no posts isn't exactly keeping you "updated."  Cut me some slack on this one!)  We completed Nose Work 1 and 2 classes, as well as 6 weeks of continuing nose work through Gentle Touch.  Best of all, on the 13th Hoagie passed his birch Odor Recognition Test, and can now go on to compete and work towards NW1! 

 Check out that birch sniffing machine!  Yay for Hoagie!

I have to say that it has been a blast and our instructors Katie and Darcy have been super knowledgeable and a great inspiration.  It's a great new dog sport that is absolutely perfect for "reactive" dogs like the Hoagster.  I would recommend nose work to anyone with any kind of dog.  I've seen everything from Dachshunds to Newfoundlands have a great time using their noses!  Even if you don't plan on competing, the activities are great boredom busters.  Searching for scent among plastic Easter eggs was Hoagie's favorite activity in class. (Here's a video of Katie's dog Brenna doing a similar egg hunt.)  Plus it's fun getting to watch a dog just be a dog, using his nose and working for his treats!  Check out the NACSW website for more info or to see if there is a group or class near you!  It's a new sport so there aren't too many folks teaching it yet, but keep an eye out cause it's spreading fast!

The other thing that has been keeping us busy is preparing for our first Rally-O trial!  Hoagie and I will be competing Memorial Day weekend at the ASCA trial in Cayucus put on by COAST ASC.  We've been practicing really hard, and Hoagie is doing great.  His attention is much closer to where I would like it, and I'm working on making sure I know all the ASCA signs (which are of course different than AKC and UKC signs).  As long as I can get him to focus, and I don't screw up too badly, we should hopefully do alright.  Keep your fingers and paws crossed for us!  I'll post how we do after the trial next weekend!  Till next time!

In the mean time enjoy some pics of us practicing hard at a run through at Santa Rosa park:

Hoagie looking at Stew taking pictures instead of focusing.  Such a ham!

Hoagie doing a good job ignoring distractions!

Trying his best to look cute for treats.

Lookin' cool in his shades after a good practice.