Or, as I think of her, ML. Readers of this blog probably have seen her comments – always informative and entertaining, in fact, a treat. Here she is yesterday, starting off on our recent posts about a scent trial involving Vickie, another Chet and Bernie reader, and Chilo, her member of the nation within:
“Congrats to Vickie and Chilo. They are a team. Both accuracy and speed are usually involved and it isn’t enough for Chilo to alert but for Vickie to recognize what he is telling her and communicate that to the judges who then decide if they are correct or not. All scentwork trials are team sports between dog and handler. The NASDA has ranks of proficiency just like the AKC and NASDW.
When it comes to teamwork, Bernie and Chet are tops. Bernie knows Chet and follows his lead and Chet is a great detective who follows his nose. Both use their intuition and curiosity, working together for an answer. No judges to call their accuracy, just a solution to a mystery.
It’s National Teacher’s day.
Also National Roast leg of Lamb day. I’m sure Chet wouldn’t mind at all.”
Neither would I! I love roast leg of lamb!
4 Comments on “mlaiuppa!”
Good day to all.
Wow. Thanks for the shout out.
I don’t really have any comments on my own blog post.
I kinda miss the scentwork Diana and I would do. I really should see if I can rig something in the yard for her to see if she’s interested in doing it again. Maybe Freyja will watch and learn and pick up on it.
It is Reward Yourself day so I guess, if you love roast leg of lamb, have some. No holiday required. Maybe with a slice of National Coconut Cream Pie day.
Today is National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day. I’m not as prepared as I should or have been in the past. I should get on that.
I think Diana would really enjoy resuming scentwork, even on a limited basis, if given the chance, and Freyja could try it as well. I know that if given the chance, Franklin would be amazingly terrific at scentwork, given his genetics, but he is a little too exuberant still in terms of his social interactions to try it in a more organized setting.
Diana actually has her working gear, her “uniform”. She has a special harness (purple because it was on sale), booties for her feet (because she is sensitive to some floor surfaces) and even special treats, usually cut up hot dogs, for when she has a correct alert. When she is suited up she knows she is going to play the “smelly game”. She is very food oriented, which made training her easier.
I’ll be Franklin is also food oriented and would be a fast learner.
I’ll bet once he got going and figured it out he would focus just fine. He’s old enough. Diana started around 6 months but couldn’t take her ORT until she was a year old.
There are things you can do at home to get him started. Snuffle mats to begin. Then hiding his treats in assorted containers. Eventually you pair the treats with the hides (essential oil drop on a q-tip in a small tube or metal box). Then the scent alone with a treat if he finds it. He’ll let you know when he finds one. It might be a sit or a tail wag or just looking at you. You’ll know his signal. Once he can find the three basic scents you can look for a NACSW chapter in your area and sign up for an ORT. Once he passes he can then start going to trials. They may even have classes or trainers in the area to help him progress. AKC also has Nosework trials listed on their website. You can read there rules there. They work slightly differently but it’s still basically the same. They add Cypress scent at the more advanced level.