tracking
A year ago, I heard from Steve White of a new sport which could title dogs for identifying odors in scent boxes — very basic detection work. It sounded too good to be true.
Then this week, Laurie Luck posted about her trip to a seminar on that same sport. Now I am getting seriously jealous.
Basically, scenting is something that dogs do anyway, and they typically love it. Laev adores her tracking work (which I don’t do enough of now) and often scent puzzles (such as utility articles) are the best way to burn her excess energy indoors. (I’ve read this has something to do with the amount of the brain devoted to processing scent, but I’m feeling too lazy to look up the details at the moment!)
The idea of getting titles for games we already play is enticing, indeed. So now I have to figure out how to get to a Nosework trial….
It’s seriously a ton of fun. I just spent 30 minutes (which I didn’t really have) letting Nemo use his nose. I get so excited when he has a find, but he looks totally unimpressed. He gives me a “what did you expect” look. Anthropomorphizing, yes. But that’s really what it looks like he’d say if he had a voice.
Anyway, I love it and the dog loves it. And the husband loves it, too, which is always a bonus! 🙂