More Nose Work

I have moved into the next tier of Nose Work...paring the odor of food with the odor of birch.  Ever wonder what birch smells like?  Well, it smells like winter-green, whatever that is.  My mama says it smells goooood.  However, she can only smell it when she puts her nose in the jar; I can smell it from several feet away.

Our instructor, Miss Pam, gave everyone several q-tips (cut in half just in case some silly dog eats them) soaked in birch oil.  She says they will smell for a long, long time if they are kept in an air tight jar.  

Glass jar with scented q-tips

When we want to play "search", the q-tips are moved to a metal container with holes in the top so I can smell the birch. 

Not just another Altoids tin!

At first, the metal container is paired with a lot of treats.  When I find the tin, I get the treats and then my mama or papa give me more treats, right on top of the tin, so I smell the birch while I'm gobbling up the treats.  Each week Miss Pam uses less food and now I only get one tiny piece of food on top of the tin, but I get lots of treats on the tin when I find it, which just makes me want to search again.  That's what makes the game so much fun.

Pay attention to the 53 second mark where I "alert" to the "find".  Those are all Nose Work terms in case you didn't know ;o)  This exercise is called chasing the squirrel.  There are two tins and every time I find one, Miss Pam takes it away and I search for the other one, so I never have to stop.  It helps dogs like me that aren't very fo-cust.

I'm not exactly all business at class but I sure do have fun and get rid of a lot of energy!  You can tell I'm having fun because my tail.never.stops!

Until next time...Sir Titan of Nottingham, CGC TT