# C-wags Nose Work trial



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

BTW, C-wags is welcoming to dogs that are handicapped. One of my friends also participated at this trial with her dog which was born with 3.5 legs.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Congrats, Skylar! And thank you for sharing the experience. I know so little about nose work, but I signed Maizie up for it next month after hearing from so many how much fun it is.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I think Maizie will love it. It’s so different from rally, obedience and agility. First there’s tons of treats when they find the scents, and I mean tons. Bring far more treats to class than you think you’ll need. Second, unlike most dog sports where the dogs have to watch your body’s movement for clues on how they should move, here it’s reversed and you have to watch them and figure out if they are telling you that they found the hidden scent. It’s amazing how difficult it can be to read subtle behavior in your dog at the beginning.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Maizie does barn hunt, so I know exactly what you're talking about, re: reading subtle cues in your dog! Tons of treats, huh....she is _really_ gonna love this class!


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## scooterscout99 (Dec 3, 2015)

Congratulations! That is a feat to earn Qs the first time out, and with unplanned distractions. Good to hear the lessons learned from volunteering. My spoo also scratches, and stomps the correct box in containers/ORTs. No NQs for it but our instructor said that we can try to eliminate that.

Do you have any plans for trying another venue? NACSW is supposed to be the best at running trials, but in high demand and therefore not easy to get into.


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

Pretty neat sounding! I know nothing about nose work but think it would be a really good thing to do with your dog. It sounds like you and babykins both learned a lot. Thanks for sharing, I'm going to investigate it more. Though we aren't any where near to trying it out.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

zooeysmom said:


> Maizie does barn hunt, so I know exactly what you're talking about, re: reading subtle cues in your dog! Tons of treats, huh....she is _really_ gonna love this class!


I forgot, Maizie does barn hunt so she will quickly learn that finding various scents = treats too.

I found reading the subtle cues the hardest - even when watching other people with their dogs.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

scooterscout99 said:


> Congratulations! That is a feat to earn Qs the first time out, and with unplanned distractions. Good to hear the lessons learned from volunteering. My spoo also scratches, and stomps the correct box in containers/ORTs. No NQs for it but our instructor said that we can try to eliminate that.
> 
> Do you have any plans for trying another venue? NACSW is supposed to be the best at running trials, but in high demand and therefore not easy to get into.


Thanks Scooterscout. I enjoyed reading your post about your experience working a nose work trial. 

The dog that was NQ was excessively destructive. They didn't care if a dog rolled a tin or box around out of position or if they pawed excessively at it - but when it's damaging the container, ruining the course - that's not acceptable. The owner trains at that venue and the judge was her teacher and said she has been told many times in class to not allow her dog to get so destructive.

It was fun to watch some of the dogs - one dog jumped up on all the chairs and sat down on them (there was a hide under one chair). One dog went under a fabric elf that was draped over a fence section in the middle of the room and got their leash tangled up - it was good to see the owner asked if she could touch her dog to untangle the leash - judge said yes. I had a leash problem on a rally run, Babykins went into her down position on top of her leash and when she stood up to heel to the next sign, her leash was trapped between her front legs which she detests. I continued to complete the rally course with her because I didn't know at the time I should ask the judge if I could touch my dog to fix the leash - which is the correct thing to do.

C-Wags and AKC are the only nose work competitions locally right now. I didn't think we were ready when they had the local AKC - and it filled up quickly. NACSW is what many people locally aspire to compete in but their trials are far. Very long drives with hotel stays. Plus factoring in the lottery - whether or not your application is accepted is a turn off for me. If their trials were closer I would apply. I'm hoping with the huge interest here in nose work and the fact that there are several local trainers who are doing well in the upper levels of NACSW that maybe they will do trials here in the future.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Mufar42 said:


> Pretty neat sounding! I know nothing about nose work but think it would be a really good thing to do with your dog. It sounds like you and babykins both learned a lot. Thanks for sharing, I'm going to investigate it more. Though we aren't any where near to trying it out.


Thanks Mufar. I highly recommend taking a beginning nose work class - of all the dog sports we've done or I know about, I think this is the most fun for the dog and easiest for the handler to get started in.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I don't know much about nose work other than that it is growing in popularity.


It seems from reading about the experience of those of you who are working this sport that you need to learn to read your dog's tell (indication signs) and that sometimes they are really subtle. I have had that issue with Lily and tracking. Her natural article indication is just a dip of her head and is hard to read when she is out in front of me on a long line. If we have snowed in days in January I will have to work on getting her to give me a better sign.


Skylar more clubs need people like you who not only come to class to train but also enter trials and beyond that most importantly volunteer to help out. Volunteering helps the club but is very instructional for the volunteers!


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Good job, but more importantly it sounds like you had fun and learned something! That's GOOD!!!! I expect to hear more great results in the future! GO BABYKINS!!!!:cheers2:


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

lily cd re said:


> I don't know much about nose work other than that it is growing in popularity.
> 
> 
> It seems from reading about the experience of those of you who are working this sport that you need to learn to read your dog's tell (indication signs) and that sometimes they are really subtle. I have had that issue with Lily and tracking. Her natural article indication is just a dip of her head and is hard to read when she is out in front of me on a long line. If we have snowed in days in January I will have to work on getting her to give me a better sign.
> ...


Lily dipping her head is tricky. Some of the dogs indicated by turning their head and looking to their handler but then they would sometimes look just to see where they were. Some dogs changed the way they wagged their tail. I do find it easier to read Babykins when she is out in front of me rather than when she’s next to me in heel position because I can see her full body. 

As for volunteering, I realize that lots of people volunteered so I can participate in dog sports. Untold people who started the clubs and are no longer with us, my trainers who all teach for free in exchange for free training time in the building and the people who put on competitions, those people work extremely hard. If I want to be part of the community then I need to give my time to help make things happen both for me and others. I’m finding to that my friendship with other members is deepening. When I first started to take classes I didn’t know any one and felt like an outsider but now I’m part of this close knit community.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

MollyMuiMa said:


> Good job, but more importantly it sounds like you had fun and learned something! That's GOOD!!!! I expect to hear more great results in the future! GO BABYKINS!!!!:cheers2:


Thanks Laurel, you’re a wonderful cheerleader encouraging us and others here in our dog sports.


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