Two weeks ago, I dipped my paws into my first Summit Trial. You know what they say about guys with big feet and big noses? They are clowns and I was kind of more of a clown than a hard working, nose work hound.
My trial was basically all outdoors at a Renaissance Festival grounds in Hammond. Mom saw a side of me come out that she had never seen and it wasn’t a good side. Still, we are not quitters and we worked through a lot of things that we need to improve on in future Summit Trials. Olivia was mad she was not the one in the trial but Mom took her for many walks to calm her down.
All the crazy building fronts were interesting as was the security shack at the entrance. Everything looked old but was not all that old.
My best search of the weekend was the Vino search just down the hill from where I posed for this photo while waiting my turn. There was only one hide and I finished fourth out of all the dogs. Only five dogs got the one hide. Mom was super proud of me for that once we found out there was only one hide.
Each day at a Summit Trial is four searches. My day started with a huge area. I didn’t catch any odor when I started, so I decided to wander and eat grass. They have fabulous fresh grass for munching on. Since we haven’t had good grass for a while with winter, I took advantage of the opportunity. Mom was not amused and was almost in tears after that search as there were six hides and I found one. I have never done such a thing and she was too in shock to get me to move to a different area to find odor. The photo is from a search later that day.
I only found half the hides on day one. Mom was very sad about it and I was exhausted from everything and it was hot out too. After dinner in our room, I crashed.
Day two was better. We had fun searching even though Mom felt we were not doing as well as we could. Do you see all that luscious green grass? I could not help but to snack on it pretty much all weekend.
This search was a fun one and Mom loves the sign post. Yes, there was a hide up high on that post and I did find it. My last search of the day I was hot and tired and got back to grass eating rather than finding the last hide. It was far from a good trial for Team Lime Green but we are not upset about it. Mom and I learned a lot about our team and my searching. There are things we will be working on before I try another Summit. I’m very young to be at the level and I have a lot to learn. We are all glad we went as it was fun overall, Mom met some new people and saw others she has seen at trials around the US in the past. Team Lime Green didn’t come in last we placed fifteenth out of nineteen. Better luck next time and maybe less tasty grass would help too!
I’m joining my friends at Living Laughing and Barking in Our Backyard for their Nature Friday blog hop.
You were really far from home in Louisiana! Molly used to love eating spring grass too, Nelson. Congrats on your wins!
Yeah, the grass was a big problem that Mom has never experienced. Having not seen grass for months, I could not help but munch on it when I wasn’t finding any hides to sniff out.
wow how interesting… and nexrt time you will be the best nose in the trial… we are glad the dragon-gator from the picture was no longere there
We are glad we didn’t see any gators!
As is said at these times – great effort!! Hope you still had fun.
We had a lot of fun in most of the searches and we learned a lot. Summit is the highest level of nose work and is not easy. I can do two more of these trials this year so we will see how they go.
We think the venue is so very cool AND you got to put a new state on your map!
xoxo,
Rosy & Sunny
I got a lot of new states on this trip which was fun and we enjoyed searching in a different place in a fun venue. Mom saw some people she has met before from other places and most of all we had fun in most of our searches and we learned more about our team and what we need to work on.
Not every day can be a perfect day.
More of a clown than a hard working, nose work hound – love it!
It wasn’t really funny for Mom at the time but we learned a lot 🙂
Nelson I would love to go to Louisiana…especially for the food
Hugs Cecilia
Mom doesn’t like anything fish or seafood so it isn’t really her place. She was in New Orleans for Mardi Gras a few times on layovers when she was flying but now she says she has seen enough.
Well, you had fun and it was a new experience, that is always a good thing!
We didn’t expect to earn a title but I did really mess up a big search which is something I have never done before.
You learned and that’s important.
Seriously, you were less than an hour drive from me, if you ever get down here again, I’d love to meet you outdoors for coffee or something.
It was pretty much a whirlwind of a trip with driving, Mom working and the trial, no navigator to help out with the work thing. If we are down that way again we will let you know.
Sounds like that sweet grass was a big distraction but that’s ok, it was good experience for you guys. You’ll do better next time!
We learned some good things and we had a lot of fun too. Mom liked running into people she has met at trials before that are from different places too.
Hey team Green, YA both had fun, YA both learned some stuff you weren’t the lowest scorer, you got new states, and I’d bet you were one of the youngest dogs searching! SO, I say WAY TO GO!!!
I am usually the youngest at my trials and that is alright. Normally I still do pretty well.