It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Yes, I know I’m plagiarizing, but it fits our situation perfectly. Nemo and I are at K9 Nose Work camp in the mountains of Pennsylvania. We’re here to take our Odor Recognition Test (ORT) – a requirement before we can start competing in Nose Work trials.
Nemo passed the ORT with flying colors. He did better than me, if we’re telling the truth here. (What else is new, right? The dog’s stellar performance props up handler.
I was as high as I could be – we did it! We’re now ready to start training for competition. We have a long way to go before we compete, but it was satisfying to accomplish that milestone.
Contrast that high with today, which was filled with some pretty low lows. Nemo, who has never had trouble crating, actually busted out of his soft crate during our working sessions today. A few rakes of his paw against the mesh opened the front hatch right up. A few teeth placed just right, accompanied by a few tugs, and that hole was just the right size for Nemo to fit through.
Thankfully, he didn’t actually escape, thanks to some of my alert teammates. But his crate is now worthless for the remaining three days of camp.
A ripped up crate and half-escaped dog doesn’t sound all that bad?
I’m not done with the rest of my story.
So we’re out searching for a hide on the exterior (fancy way of saying the hide is outside). Nemo, a dog who’s *never* peed on a search stops to pee. In the world of Nose Work, that’s one of the biggest no-no’s out there. If that happens in a competition, you will fail that part of the test (and therefore will not earn your title that day).
So Nemo’s peeing in the middle of a search. After he’s destroyed his crate. Still not bad enough for you? Wait, I’ve got more.
I went to interrupt Nemo, and got my shoe right in the way of the pee. You got it: I also got pee all over my shoe (and my sock) today.
Thank goodness yesterday was a good day. That’s what’s keeping me up and running.
How does the song go? Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug. Today I was the bug. No matter, we’re still having fun, still learning a ton. And I now have a camp story that will make people laugh.
hoo boy, that’s a whole lot of highs, and quite a few lows to go with!
Maybe he got stage fright? 😉
It’s never boring with Nemo, that’s for sure! 🙂
Thank goodness for your someone’s alertness or you might have been “Finding Nemo.” Sorry, couldn’t resist.
But this is a great reminder that dogs (and people) have good and bad days and that training never goes in a straight line.
Look forward to hearing more. Hopefully your next day will be better.
love the comment “sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.” My favorite is “sometimes you’re the dog, sometimes you’re the hydrant!” Guess that one applies to your day!!!! Go Nemo – try to behave for mom.
Hope your weekend went well overall! Congrats on passing your ORT – that’s a big step! At least Nemo was in good company in the “Escapees Camp” – you certainly weren’t alone! Riker found out that if he pushed hard enough on the zipper of his nylon crate, he could open the door and come find me! Oops!
Yes, “Finding Nemo” would have been bad! 🙂 Thankfully, I think he would have come to find me, rattled as he was. Poor guy. He recovered, but I learned my lesson: Nose Work camp can be pretty stressful for a dog who’s not used to it!
Hi Steph!
What good company Nemo and I have in the “Escapees Camp!” We’re a tight sisterhood! Hope to see you around the Nose Work events and classes, would love to have a chance to just sit and chat.
How long does a search normally last? I live in the UK so not familiar with the discipline you have in the US. I’m curious as you say the dog is not allowed to pee on a search.
Hi Caroline, thanks for the question. There is a pre-defined search area and your dog has 3 minutes to find the source(s). Most dogs have the hardest time with the “no pee” rule during two of the four elements: vehicle searches, and exterior searches. It was completely my fault (of course), that I didn’t give Nemo a chance to pee before we searched. The mantra is “pee-search-pee.” I was so discombobulated over Nemo’s scratching out of his crate that I temporarily lost my mind and didn’t follow the pee-search-pee mantra. My bad.