As you know I was in my first nose work trial on September 8, but because of the secrecy of it all, photos were not allowed. The organizers did have a photographer that took some photos of the exterior and vehicle searches as they were outside and it did not distract our searches. These photos just came out and I wanted to share them with you. The photos below were taken by Caprise Photography and I have permission to use a few of them on my blog. If you would like to see all 22 photos, you can go to this link. I am dog B1, the exterior search I passed, the vehicle search I did not. In the vehicle search photos you can see in the last photo where I look at Mom as if I found it, but you can also see the trailer hitch where the hide actually was.
This was the start of my exterior search. Every search has a start line and the time starts when my nose crosses the start line. For this search, I had three minutes. The start line was the door threshold, you can kind of see the blue tape.
Right off the bat, I caught a whiff of odor by the table. There were trash cans, tires, the table and chairs in the search area, all potential hides.
How about this look? I was saying, “Mom, this is serious business isn’t it?” with my eyes.
After conferring with Mom, I felt I should check out that metal chair. I knew I smelled birch, but wasn’t ready to alert Mom just yet.
At this point, we decided to take a spin around the perimeter to eliminate any other areas that could hold odor. Odor can be hidden anywhere, even in a crack in the pavement, so I need to check everything out. Those humans can be real sneaky!
We quickly toured the search area and returned to that metal chair. This time we came at it from a different angle and my nose was on the odor like a magnet. Alert!
Yes, we did it, we passed the exterior search and I received my reward at the source of the odor! Who would think of finding odor in the frame of a metal chair?
After the reward, we headed back to the car to wait for our next two searches. Mom and I were super happy and proud! I was ready for a break. It may seem easy, but two searches is hard work and it really tires out us dogs! Thank you again to Caprise Photography for the fun photos and for allowing me to use some of them in this post.
I have one great thing I wanted to share today! My sisters and I all eat Merrick Dog Food. They make such tasty and healthy food. Merrick is also a really fun company, always coming up with crazy product names and special products for different times of the year. Well, they are now offering limited edition seasonal dog food recipes that give pet parents an opportunity to share a taste of the holidays or season with their dogs. They have just introduced a very special canned recipe called “Forever Home” that will benefit homeless dogs. For every can of Forever Home purchased during this holiday season, a meal will be donated to our shelter partner PAWS Chicago. To find out more about this program click here.
Disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation or product to talk about Merrick Forever Home. I am sharing because I like the company and love the idea of sharing food with shelter pets. I receive no benefits for talking about this program.
Today I’m joining the Barks and Bytes Blog Hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like a Dog! Join up and share in the fun, or just visit a few new blogs!
So sorry you didn’t pass your vehicle test, but congratulations on the exterior search!
Well, it was really early for me to even try, so passing 3 of the 4 searches was huge and we also learned a lot through the experience for next time.
Hi Y’all!
Hmmm. That scent work sounds like more fun than retrieving hidden bumpers. Only, I get to race and run full out in finding and retrieving bumpers. Wonder if my Human can figure away to combine the two?
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Sounds like you might like tracking better. You could use the bumper as your reward. Bailie will be posting on tracking tomorrow for FitDog Friday.
Great pix and sorry you did not pass the vehicle test but good on the exterior. Onwards and upwards. Have a tremendous Thursday.
Best wishes Molly
It is old news now and since I tried the trial at such an early stage in my nose work career, it was incredible to pass 3 of the 4. We were happy regardless.
This looks really neat! You look like you have a pretty good sniffer- I’m not so sure I could do that! Keep up the good work, Emma, and have a wonderful Thursday!
Sadie 🙂
Any dog at any age can do it, some are better than others, but it is a great sport for all dogs.
those are some great photos and wonderful you have some memories of the event to keep – well done !
Thank you. It was fun to see photos of us working. We can learn a lot from them too for next time.
So proud of you. The vehicle search gives you something to look forward too!
The bummer is you have to pass all 4 on the same day in the same trial, so next time I have 4 new searches, but that is okay. I keep practicing and improving all the time.
Good job Emma – love looking at the photos. You’re right, those humans can be sneaky, but they can’t fool you can they!
It is pretty tough to fool my nose 🙂
The Red Man sends Paw Snaps and Twirls to Emma Dog for her excellent work sniffing for odors. A metal chair is mighty tricky!! Good for you!! You deserve the best in cuisine every day…:)
LOL, you are so funny. Thank you. We had a blast even though I didn’t get my title. I will make it next time.
I love the look you gave your mom. Looks like you enjoyed it, and next time for sure you will pass all the tests.
I’m practicing and practicing and getting better all the time. We learned a lot just experiencing it all, so next time will be even better!
I think you did a great job despite not passing one. Way to go!!!!!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
For only being on odor for six months, I did great!
Good job at being nosey and great pictures! So, you were labeled as dog B1 – do you now wish to be called Thiamin? (that’d s mom joke) Love you, Emma. XOXO Sparkle the PBGV
Oh goodness, I already have the official name of Debucher Baguette, not sure Thiamin would sound real good 🙂 We loved seeing the photos of us in action. Team Emma and Mom!
You look very serious and professional in your pretty harness. Good job finding the scent in that chair!
Red is my color, so I have all red stuff for nose work, Bailie has purple stuff.
What a hard worker. You look like a real pro sniffin around
Lily & Edward
It is hard work. After two searches I had a nice nap. It wears me out mentally.
Great action shots! I’ve been meaning to ask, do you train for vehicle searches differently? What makes a vehicle search harder/easier/different?
For vehicles you have to kind of “hoover” the vehicle, stick to it and sniff all around as a hide can be in so many places plus the air flow can make you think it is on the passenger side when it is really on the driver side for example. There were three vehicles to search and one hide. We need to just stick our nose to vehicles and nothing else unlike exterior where a hide can be anywhere in the search area. It is kind of a test of focus.
Got it, that makes sense – a more precise search. Thanks for the explanation.
Each of the four search types have their own challenges. The cracks in a car frame (doors, trunks, etc) also carry odor like a road especially depending on the wind making it more challenging.
That was very nice of them to allow you to share the photos Emma. Nosework is hard, while not a lot of physical exercise it is mentally stimulating which is probably MORE tiring! Keep up the good work.
After class Bailie and I both go home and crash out. We love it!
Such cool photos, Emma! It would be really neat to get to experience a nose work trial. Looks so interesting!
Hopefully next time I will experience getting a title.
I guessed it, that chair looked suspect. You have a fabulous nose and I bet now all french scent hounds will bark you a giant BRAVO over the channel. I like the idea with the forever home food and I hope for a lot of sold cans, for a lot of meals and for a lot of furever homes for all who are in need.
France can be proud of me 🙂 Merrick is awesome, and giving so many meals is great!
Well, we think you are darn amazing no matter what a test grade is!
I amaze Mom all the time too. For me it is pretty easy once I hit the odor trail.
Great work Emma! I am so proud of you and your mom. Looks like you had a lot of fun, and I can imagine how tired you were afterwards.
Nose work makes Bailie and I so tired, it is crazy! Actually, Mom gets tired too from concentrating I think.
Very impressive Emma congratulations! Love Dolly
Thank you. Did you start your class yet? Many dogs do it just for fun and I know you and your mom would love it.
Way to go on your searching fun! We love Merrick too! So thank you for posting about their new campaign, we didn’t know that!
Thank you. Merrick is so awesome and we love to help out shelter pets when we can.
Those are great photos and we love seeing you at work, Emma. We’re so glad you were able to share them.
We feed Merrick food here as well, but didn’t know about the Forever Home food. We will be sure to pick some up now, so thanks for letting us know.
Thank you. It was fun to catch a glimpse of how we looked hard at work. Make sure and try that Forever Home food, it is as good as all their other flavors if not better!
Wow! Nose work looks so exciting!! Great job, Emma!! <3
It’s more like watching baseball, not so fast moving, but we sure enjoy it.
That looks like fun. Exactly what are you looking for? Drugs? Rabbits? Bodies?? Treats? I know a couple dogs who are trained for search and rescue and one that is a cadaver dog. I hope they never have to call out the cadaver dog to find me.
Great work Emma!!
The official K9 Nose Work with the NACSW is all about searching for the odors of birch, anise, and clove. The first odor we learn is birch, then we move on to the other two and after the first trial level, the odors can be mixed together as well. I will ignore other smells like food or dog pee to find one of the three odors because I have learned I receive rewards for finding those. I also know when I am “working” because Mom and I follow a procedure before every search. It is different from search and rescue work.
That’s my sweetie Emma! I am so proud of your great nose work. You look beautiful in your red halter. XXOO Huggles, Bentley ♥
Red is my accent color for sure! Racing hot red!
The pictures came out really great. It is nice to have some memories from your search. 🙂 Brown dawgs tried Merrick food a few years back, but unfortunately it did not work for them. Great idea they have for a fundraiser. Thanks so much for joining the hop!
We were thrilled to get photos of two of the searches! Every dog has their own food needs. We have tried lots of brands, but for now Merrick works best for us.
Emma, we love these pictures!! So interesting. Did you do the body shake like you did in the videos before? I bet you get it the next time. You are really good at this!
Thank you! I did do some shaking and I still do most of the time when I do nose work. I just love nose work.
These photos are nice! Glad you got permission to use them! 😀
I think since we aren’t allowed to take photos in a trial, they let us borrow them.