Zest Training Nosework 9-7-24 - Celhaus German Shepherds WyomingCelhaus German Shepherds Wyoming

Zest Training in Nosework
at Craftco Metalworks’ storage yard
9-7-24

Zest continues to struggle with focus and even interest in the game. She usually does better on the second search than on the first. On the first, I again quit when she finally indicated on one scent but refused to search for another. No ball session to end the search, just put in the crate with no praise or treats. My hope is that, as she sits in her crate in the car, she’ll connect the use of her nose to all the fun – ball session, delicious treats and special loving from me.

The young dogs do not yet wear the tracking harness, which is itself a pre-command (since I only put it on just before the starting cones, or in a trial, when the dog ahead of us goes into the search area). And I take it off as soon as we finish our search, so the dogs know when the serious work time has ended. Instead, their cue is a box with a cocktail of all 5 scents, set by the car, so that they come out of the car and have a reminder what we’re going to do. The other three pups now understand to go to the box and indicate, but I still have to remind my flibbertigibbet to look for the box. She is, thankfully, much less rough on the boxes than her sister, Zeal! (see Zeal on the containers today).

I used the 15’ lead (instead of the 6’ one) on both Zeal and Zest today, hoping they’ll begin working farther away from me. The idea is to gradually pay out line at the start after they pass between the cones (in a trial, they must enter the search area by going between 2 traffic cones). They still haven’t gotten the idea, so I have to gather up the lead so it’s short as we approach the start line. Zest is particularly difficult to guide. We finally make it through the cones, but then she often just gawks around and quits using her nose. Sometimes she absolutely refuses to scent in a particular area, so I just give up and move towards where the next hide is. I haven’t figured out why she refuses one and does well on the next. It’s never the same odor that she refuses to acknowledge. I’m clueless what it is. When she DOES indicate, she is now finally willing to stay on the scent and re-indicate after her treat-and-petting rewards, so that’s a big improvement. I’m still using roast beef for the treats. And LOTS of pets and praise, which she particularly loves.

One of the Craftco employees came to watch us. Zest was thrilled to visit with him when we finished. That was even better than a ball session. Too bad she’s not able to do Search & Rescue; she’d be a fantastic live-find dog.