What is very good about the description is that tracking is no obedience. No commands allowed! That is were many people go wrong and never come to a next level. The only thing that I could add, is to have a clear plan on how and when to use less or no treats. This can also block at a certain stage, where they take the whole thing for a treat search and loose interest if they don’t find a treat on the track soon. You can still give them treats as a reward of course, just not let them search the actual treat. I also had a setback with Kenzo when I used too many treats, which made him block and show less interest.

Great series, looking forward to more nose work adventures!

despite being a SIGHThound [mutt], georgia uses her nose all the time. she was bred to be a hunting dog. when we’re out on walks, and she finds an interesting smell [read vomit, poop, pee, dead thing], she becomes the most stuboorn dog on the planet. she will REFUSE to budge from the spot until she’s filled her nostrils with that smell. i used to pull her away, but like you, now realise that she enjoys it. so i leave her be. sometimes a bit disconcerting to the shoulder joint when she suddenly takes off, following a scent down the road.

if only i’d read that list of yours [that details how it helps with certain “fearful” dogs]… LAST YEAR. lord knows i could have used it when missy went through her angsty phase. i never thought of using nosework on boring indoor days either. thanks for the tip. when it rains here, it can go on a bit [like 3 weeks], so i’m going to keep this in mind.

georgia is btw, VERY GOOD at finding me and the Other Half. we train her to know our names, for in case we get buried one day in an avalanche.

have a great day! 🙂 xox

p.s. i really must learn to write shorter comments.

The class didn’t have a big turnout. And the next one doesn’t look too promising either. Once we have a critical mass, they may try to move onto the next level.

However, the instructor did agree to set up some more practice sessions in the future so we’ll just have to see.

I’d love to do advanced work–we could have used some help finding my husband’s missing glove last week.

Do they offer a class at the next level for you and Honey to take? It looks like she really enjoyed it.