Last spring, Crozier and I (and B, by default, haha) started UKC nosework classes. Crozier is at his happiest when he is sniffing for a stick or a ball, as determined by the speed of that swishing tail! His tail NEVER moves like that when we wake up or come home from work; searching for sticks and balls is Crozier's happy place.
So we built on that by attending nose-work classes last fall with Capital Kennel Club of Juneau. Crozier had a blast during the class and we did a bit of practice over the summer. This class teaches dogs (owners!) that a scent is important/what to focus on and then how to acknowledge they have located the scent in a "blind" test--boxes that all look alike, but one has the scent in it.
This fall, the class came up again for level 2, dogs that were familiar with it, so we signed up and were highly encouraged to sign up for the 11/8-11/10 nose trail in Juneau... so we did!
On 11/8, Crozier participated in the handler discretion search, where he searched for my glove in a box of 12 other boxes. He found it in :35 and change, which put him at 5th out of 6 dogs in the Novice. He had just learned how to do this one two weeks prior! It was awesome! You can watch it HERE (thanks to Gina for the video!)
On 11/9, we went to Dzantiki Heeni where Crozier was signed up for 4 more trials: Inside containers, inside space, outside space, and car search. He rocked the inside space trials! When it was time for outside space, he peed on a bush and got DQ'd, unfortunately (apparently this is more common for male dogs than females), but did great at the car station--Redeemed! (Shout out to B who drove the leash to us which I forgot at home that morning! Dogs are REQUIRED to be on leash at these events.)
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| After attempting the four trials on Saturday |
Capital Kennel Club of Juneau is a great organization that has led the puppy classes, nosework classes, and sponsored this nosework trial. Looking forward to more!
