Little Madison passed her birch and anise ORT on Saturday! She did an awesome job and was super proud of herself as she should be! To celebrate, she got a kneecap to chew on, and Mom got a double marshmallow Oreo fudge Concrete Mixer. When any of us pass or title, there is a celebration which includes treats for dogs and the human!
Back in August, Madison took her first stab at an ORT, doing birch, anise, and clove. It was the first time she “competed” at nose work and it did not go well. She did get clove, which is useless without birch and anise. Mom and Madison both learned a lot and were determined to get the missing two odors this time around. Thinking it over, there are five reasons Madison did so well Saturday.
1. Exposure to new environments
Since day one with our family, Madison has been taken all over creation, and she has done some nose work in different locations as well. At the first ORT, it was evident to Mom that Madison was more interested in people and the new place than she was in nose work. In the past two months, Madison had been practicing nose work in all kinds of new places, even places with dog and human distractions. She still gets distracted, but she also knows she needs to do her job.
2. Maturity
The last ORT was two months ago which is like a full year in dog years. Madison is still 100% puppy, but she has matured a bit, and going into heat last month nudged up her maturity level a few big notches! She still wants to check out the new place and meet all the people, but she is able to do it faster and get back to work. From the look on Madison’s face, I think she knows she did well! What a proud, smiling face!
3. Practice
Another lesson learned at the first ORT was that Madison didn’t really have a clear alert and she did not stay on odor. She found the boxes with odor but moved on right away. After the ORT, they had a few weeks off from class and really worked hard, a few short lessons every day to learn to stay on odor. Mom tried an online class for some assistance as well as getting tips from various instructors. Nose work camp was also very helpful getting opinions and help from instructors we don’t normally train with. Within a few weeks time, Madison learned to stay at the odor when she finds it, and she has now started to give Mom “the look” as well. Practice does help to make perfect.
4. Teamwork
In August, Madison and Mom were not on the same team. Mom was panicked because Madison wasn’t searching, and Madison just wanted to play. They have worked on the team aspect and seem to be learning to work much better together. In nose work, the dog has the nose, but the human needs to be able to read the dog and know how to help them if they struggle to find the odor. Patience is a big factor and with a young social dog like Madison, allowing her a short time to check out the environment and people really helps her to get back to work with focus.
5. Mental management
Mom’s mental management has not been the best of late. Between Bailie not performing well, and Madison bombing her first attempt at nose work, it has been tough for Mom to be positive. Yesterday, Mom went into both tests ready to work with and trust Madison. One thing stuck in her mind all day and it was what one of the camp instructors, Phil said several times. Phil is a law enforcement guy with detection dogs. He said when you get to the search area, size it up and then think to yourself, “Is this all you’ve got? You couldn’t come up with anything better? We can do this!” It’s so true! All they have for the test is twelve boxes in two rows with one holding odor. Of course, team Madison can do that! Mom took the mental management seminar in 2016, but now I think she has the thing that works for her in her mind at the start line for trials for all of us.
No matter how Mom and Madison got their last two odors on Saturday, the main thing is Madison is done with ORT’s and can now start entering level 1 trials when she wants to! We are excited to see where her nose takes her!
Congrats madison!!! or MAGNIFIQUE like your french cousins would say… and magnifique starts with the same letter like your name… for a reason I bet ;o) enjoy the knee cap ;O)
Thank you. The kneecap didn’t last long!
I think Mom passed her test!
It’s hard for the human to really know their dog and each of us is different which makes it even more difficult for Mom.
Hi very good article
Thanks for sharing up the good work
Thanks for the insight. We are studying scent work also and can use all the tips, too!
And Congratulations to Madison. (hmmmm that kneecap looks yummy)
Maybe if you pass your ORT, you too will get a kneecap!
Horray. Congrats to Madison!!!
She’s our little superstar!
Way to go beautiful Madison, we are very proud of you!
We are so proud of her too!
Congratulations to Mom and Madison! What a great feeling to work so hard and be rewarded with such great success! Yay!
Love and licks,
Cupcake
We do put a lot of work into our sports which makes it really nice when we are successful!
CONGRATULATIONS !!! GRRRRREAT NEWS…
She is one smart little hound!
Congratulations to you and your mom, Madison! You should both be so very proud.
We also want to thank you for your well wishes for our pup Astrid!
Thank you. It is scary when a furry one has to have any procedures so we really hope it all goes well.
Five very good points for me to keep in mind when working with Elbe. Thanks
There are always a lot of things to work on and things change all the time too. The challenge helps keep it all interesting.
Huge congratulations to Madison and Mom! Your Mom works really hard with you girls, and doesn’t give up on something unless she thinks you girls really don’t like it. We think that is a big factor as well…she’s always thinking of you and how you can work better together!
Thank you. Hopefully they are on the road to some even bigger successes!
Go Madison!! Mama really likes the idea of Mental Management and is going to try bringing it into Rosy’s training!
xoxo,
Jakey, Arty & Rosy
It can be really hard for humans, but it works well if Mom can get it going.
We are so proud of you, Madison! Thanks for providing today’s sport segment on the news!
Hopefully she will have even more sports news in the future. Thanks for featuring her.
Great job Madison!! ?
She is one smart little dog cookie!
Madison has such a sweet face and looks so cute. Sounds like Madison will be giving Ballie a run for her money. Good work.
Mom told Bailie she better hurry and pass her NW2 or Madison will be at the same level!
Congrats! We’re so proud of you <3
Mom says she was like a different dog this time around. It shows that training pays off.
Congratulations!!!
Thank you.
Awesome job! All the hard work paid off for your guys – congrats.
Thank you. Little Madison is now a real nose work dog! We will see how she does in trials. Her goal is a trial in the Chicago area in the summer so she can conquer the beach again 🙂
Way to go Madison and mom that is fantastic!
Their practice seems to be really helping out!
Bravo little girl. You are a real super star.
She is super smart and is good at knowing when she needs to work.
I’m glad your mom got a treat, too! You dogs don’t always make it easy on us to know when you’ve found the odor, so it’s definitely a team effort. I’m glad that their team did so well!
At the first ORT in August there was zero alert, but the weeks of hard work paid off and now she stops and goes still. If that doesn’t work she gives “the look”. It is a work in the making, but that is part of the fun of dog sports.
I think she’s doing a fabulous job for her age! All their hard work is paying off. I also think she will get even better as she ages and matures more. Good job to Mom and Madison!
Having her first heat really jolted her maturity level up! She will no doubt get better with age, but for her age, she has a serious work ethic just like me which Mom loves!
Congratulations to Madison and your mum!
They are pretty happy about passing.