# Pixel in Nose Work class



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Pixel has just started doing nose work. She has had three lessons so far, and she LOVES it!!! Here are her runs from class today.

When she appears to be leaving the ring at one point, it was because she caught odor from the table just outside the ring. (You'll hear the instructor say, "she's not wrong!") i just called her once, and she came right back to the search area and found the hide quickly.






This is so much fun, both for the handler and the dog!

BTW, I posted this here, because I realized we don't have a section for "other" sports besides obedience, rally, agility and conformation.


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## Ollie"s Mom (May 23, 2014)

Good job Pixel. Well done.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Looks like she is is taking to this nose work quite nicely. What a good girl!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Molly120213 said:


> Looks like she is is taking to this nose work quite nicely. What a good girl!


She's having a blast!!!


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

Pixel is too smart for you guys! :wink2:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Karen Collins said:


> Pixel is too smart for you guys! :wink2:


Actually, the only dog in the class who is finding hides faster than Pixel is an English Cocker... who is basically a nose on legs.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

I love these videos. Pixel (and Sophie too) are doing great with their nosework. Ricky LOVES nosework too. We have not done any formal training yet but we will this summer. I know that Havanese are not known to be scent hounds, but I swear, on our walkies, Ricky will put his nose to the ground like a Bloodhound and start tracking some wild animal. He will be totally focused on that scent!

I found it interesting that the instructor said not to use the "come" command in nosework. Ricky knows the come command means come straight to my feet. So when practicing his nose work and I want to redirect him, I use the "find it" command. He looks to me for direction and sometimes I will give him a hand signal to go in a certain direction (which he follows), but not always. I feel this is good practice for Rally and Agility competitions later on.........after we get at least ONE qualifying round in Obedience!

Something else interesting, Ricky always likes to lead Momi and Popi to our front door when we come in from outside. It is his "follow me" command to us. Last night we were outside on a potty break when our guests arrived, people Ricky had not seen in a year. Rather than leading them to the front door, he followed behind and started herding them in the direction of the front door! :surprise: They recognized immediately what was happening and started wandering off the path a bit to confuse him and Ricky would have none of it. He would come along side and herd them back onto the path!

This Havanese breed continues to amaze, day after day!

Ricky's Popi


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Ricky Ricardo said:


> I love these videos. Pixel (and Sophie too) are doing great with their nosework. Ricky LOVES nosework too. We have not done any formal training yet but we will this summer. I know that Havanese are not known to be scent hounds, but I swear, on our walkies, Ricky will put his nose to the ground like a Bloodhound and start tracking some wild animal. He will be totally focused on that scent!
> 
> I found it interesting that the instructor said not to use the "come" command in nosework. Ricky knows the come command means come straight to my feet.


She has made it very clear that we want to keep obedience and nose work COMPLETELY separate. I don't use my formal recall word (for me, that's "Front!") in any other setting but a formal recall. Any other time I need my dogs to come back to me, I either just use their name (that was all that was necessary here) or "Kodi, Here!" if we're in the woods and I need him to come back to me.

Nose work isn't about controlling the dog... It's about teaching the dog to think for themselves, then YOU need to learn how to "read" the information the dog is giving you. Also, as you get more fluent in your obedience exercises, you will probably find that your instructor will start having you "proof" behaviors by doing the exercises in a situation that looks very similar to this. We often do "drop on recall" or dumbbell retrieves in a ring strewn with toys, or have to heel past sit boxes or bags of food, paying them HANDSOMELY for success, so they learn that it pays to stick to the exercise rather than going wandering off to check what might be around. You can see the bare BEGINNING of this type of work in the videos of Panda last night.



Ricky Ricardo said:


> So when practicing his nose work and I want to redirect him, I use the "find it" command. He looks to me for direction and sometimes I will give him a hand signal to go in a certain direction (which he follows), but not always.


If you are just playing around with finding food, and don't want to do more than that, what you are doing is fine. But if you want to do serious nose work, you can't direct the dog, other than to remind them to stay in the search area. (particularly if they've made a "mistake" like Pixel did at the table... She found the right scent, it just wasn't in the search area, and she's just beginning to learn)



Ricky Ricardo said:


> I feel this is good practice for Rally and Agility competitions later on.........after we get at least ONE qualifying round in Obedience!


I've been meaning to mention to you that Rally Novice is really MUCH easier than even Beginner Novice Obedience. You are on leash the entire time, and you can talk to the dog as much as you want. You have to learn the signs, but that's really not hard. You might want to give that a try. I bet Ricky could finish his Rally Novice title easily and quickly. (while still working toward your formal obedience goals!) The only thing to remember is that if you want to do rally as well as obedience, hold to your higher, formal obedience criteria for heeling. Don't let it get sloppy, just because you can get away with it in Rally!


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