Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Nose Work Workshop

I just attended a wonderful workshop called Introduction to K9 Nose Work®.  It was fantastic!

The instructors were Amy Herot and Wendy Krehbiel.  Amy is one of the three founders of the sport and she is a fantastic instructor.  I learned about the history and how the sport varies from detection work.  We had a couple of fun activities such as introduction to boxes.

Marley had a wonderful time.  The minute she saw the boxes on the floor she squealed and ran to look inside.  They couldn't hid the treat fast enough for Marley.  On our second try Marley was off leash and the hides were a bit more difficult.  Our third turn, Marley was doing a room search, this is where the treat is hidden in spots that are not boxes or containers. She had some trouble finding treats that were hidden above her nose height.

I was simply amazed at her focus and drive.  We both love this new activity.  I love that it gives us something fun and exhausting to do indoors when the temperatures are awful outside.  Marley loves looking for stuff and the fact that she gets to eat food off the floor is a total plus.

For more information on Nose Work and/or to find an instructor please go to their website.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Surfing Dogs

I grew up by the Ocean.  It was fantastic, I spent most of the summer taking the bus to the beach and hanging out.  Yep, I even had the crazy roommate that watched the weather channel and had elaborate algorithms to calculate the best surf time and location. Whenever I plan a vacation or even a road trip, the beach is my destination.  I'm really happy Marley travels well and loves running on the sand.

There is a cool club that hosts classes in San Diego, SoCal Surf Dogs. I just found out I can enroll Marley in a surfing class.  How cool is that!

I was in the middle of planning a fantastic vacation, geared towards teaching Marley how to surf when I realized...she hates swimming.  I strongly suspect Marley would protest and move out if I tried to teach her how to surf.

Hmm...my next dog must like water!