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.

Leash Monsters

I just attended a fantastic seminar called "Leash Monsters" at 4Paws University.  It was fantastic!

A Leash Monster is a dog that goes ballistic when it spots a dog, cat, bicycle, etc... while on a leash.  It was cute she called us members of the Midnight Walkers Club. 

She started by sharing her story of her first dog that was a leash monster; he sounded like quite a handful.  We proceeded by discussing body language in dogs and we saw a few videos.  The discussion on causes was minimal due to the fact that many dogs are adopted and many times the reasons are unknown. 

She ended by showing us techniques she teaches her students. 

I loved he way she organized the class and the topics she presented.  I also liked the way she didn't try to make us feel bad we had naughty dogs. It was very factual with lots of helpful tips.

The best thing I learned:  Most of the techniques that were mentioned were already part of my toolkit. This made me feel like I wasn't harming or torturing Marley while trying to manage her behavior. 

4Paws University will be hosting seminars once a month for the next couple of months.  This seminar was so good, I may attend the whole series.