I was lucky enough to be there from the beginning – when nosework started in Denmark. Emma was about 4-5 years old at the time, and she is now 10 years old, and we train hard at NW3 level 😊
At that time we were training agility, and she also followed Schweiss's trail (a beagle LOVES to use its nose) 😊 but Schweiss just takes a really long time, and I don't always have that, and her eyes (has KCS - read my previous blog post about this eye disease) don't thrive with so much time in the forest floor.
We trained about once a week, and agility was NOT a sport for Emma or me. I have no arm/leg coordination, so it wasn't pretty to watch, and Emma had no party.
For those of you who don't know what nosework is, it's a sport you do with your dog, because yes, it IS teamwork. It's NOT just the dog that has to work. On the contrary. It's the two of you who have to work together.
We started in 2018, I think. Because I can see that I took my first NW1 exam in April 2019.
The great thing about nosework is that everyone can participate in one way or another. Small/big, young or old, and not least dogs that have challenges, as there is space. I often find that we are told that we should just give it space - and everyone does! 😊
In short: The dog must use its sense of smell, and it is the coolest activity, because it tires both mentally and physically without overloading. It must find a learned scent (we compete on 3 scents in Denmark: lavender, eucalyptus and anise). You transfer the scent to a felt tip – the end of a cotton swab or similar, and it is then hidden. And it is the dog's job to find it – in cooperation with the dog handler.
The 4 searches (also called the 4 moments) that you need to learn in connection with competing are:
1) Visit (e.g. office – meeting rooms – classrooms or other)
2) Search outside (a marked area outside)
3) Container search (pizza-like – plastic containers or similar)
4) Vehicle search (car - trailer - tractor - skid steer etc.)
In the NW1 test, 1 source of scent must be found in each moment = 4 scents – before the time runs out. The judge has set x number of minutes of search time per moment. You will be told this before you start.
In NW2, 1-2 sources of traffic must be found per moment, and the judge informs you before you start, so you know how many you need to find.
In NW3 there must be 0-3 sources of movement per moment, and you will NOT be told anything other than how much time you have. And you must remember to stop the time yourself with the word "finished" before the time runs out (the timekeeper must say 30 seconds, so you have an idea of when you report finished).
In addition, you can have a maximum of 3 faults in total. It can sometimes be tricky, because there are many things you can get faults for 😊 If the line hits the ground, if the dog steps on a container (deliberately), if you reward with a treat too close to the source, drop a treat, have a tight line, etc.
Once you have passed an NW1 with 100 points and a maximum of 3 errors, you can continue up and start taking NW2 tests, or you can continue a little longer taking NW1 tests. It depends a lot on how and how much you have trained (difficulty level).
(Images taken by the Dog Symphony)
Where I train – and have trained since Emma was 12 weeks old – is Hundesymfonien in Hillerød. Here we always train “above level” – meaning that even if you haven’t passed a NW 1 test, we often train at NW2 level, as it is super important that the learning curve is smooth and steady. This means that you can often easily move on to NW2 tests right away.
I have always chosen to move on immediately after passing a test because I train as I do (i.e. am ready to try). I personally think that I learn the most by TRYING to take the test. I do NOT go to the test with the expectation of passing, because then you will be badly disappointed, because it IS difficult to pass a NW test because there are SO many different factors that come into play – wind/weather/sun in the morning, shade in the afternoon / the weather (which brand is used) etc. etc.
When I have been to a test, I spend a lot of time reflecting on the mistakes I have made (that is 90% dog handler mistakes 😊) …and use that learning to get better. And that is why it is so cool to go to the next test with those reflections in my bag and say that my success criteria for this test are, for example, “no error markings” – and then reflect afterwards on whether it was successful 😊
We have a great time socially, both during training and at the tests – and the dogs are having a great time. They do what they love: use their noses, get lots of praise/treats and come out to the car and have a "grandpa" in the soft blankets before going back in for the next search – what's not to like <3.
I could go on, because I spend a lot of time on it and I LOVE IT! 😊
But PLEASE WRITE me a message – if you have any questions or are curious about the sport. Because this is just a short description of the sport 😊
A little about the blogger.
Her name is Lotte, she is in her early 50s. She works as a project coordinator and spends most of her free time training with her dog Emma, who is a 10-year-old beagle. They have trained and competed in Schweiss tracks for several years. Agility without much success (you can't tempt them with treats) and now they train Nose Work 2-3 times a week if they can get to it. They compete at NW3 level, and they have a party together when they apply <3 – because the most important thing for this dog handler is that the DOG has fun, and that you learn the most from the mistakes you make. So instead of being angry/disappointed about a test that didn't go as planned, learn from it! - in most cases it's not the dog that makes the mistake <3
Nosework – what is it and is it for us?
I was lucky enough to be there from the beginning – when nosework started in Denmark. Emma was about 4-5 years old at the time, and she is now 10 years old, and we train hard at NW3 level 😊
At that time we were training agility, and she also followed Schweiss's trail (a beagle LOVES to use its nose) 😊 but Schweiss just takes a really long time, and I don't always have that, and her eyes (has KCS - read my previous blog post about this eye disease) don't thrive with so much time in the forest floor.
We trained about once a week, and agility was NOT a sport for Emma or me. I have no arm/leg coordination, so it wasn't pretty to watch, and Emma had no party.
For those of you who don't know what nosework is, it's a sport you do with your dog, because yes, it IS teamwork. It's NOT just the dog that has to work. On the contrary. It's the two of you who have to work together.
We started in 2018, I think. Because I can see that I took my first NW1 exam in April 2019.
The great thing about nosework is that everyone can participate in one way or another. Small/big, young or old, and not least dogs that have challenges, as there is space. I often find that we are told that we should just give it space - and everyone does! 😊
In short: The dog must use its sense of smell, and it is the coolest activity, because it tires both mentally and physically without overloading. It must find a learned scent (we compete on 3 scents in Denmark: lavender, eucalyptus and anise). You transfer the scent to a felt tip – the end of a cotton swab or similar, and it is then hidden. And it is the dog's job to find it – in cooperation with the dog handler.
The 4 searches (also called the 4 moments) that you need to learn in connection with competing are:
1) Visit (e.g. office – meeting rooms – classrooms or other)
2) Search outside (a marked area outside)
3) Container search (pizza-like – plastic containers or similar)
4) Vehicle search (car - trailer - tractor - skid steer etc.)
In the NW1 test, 1 source of scent must be found in each moment = 4 scents – before the time runs out. The judge has set x number of minutes of search time per moment. You will be told this before you start.
In NW2, 1-2 sources of traffic must be found per moment, and the judge informs you before you start, so you know how many you need to find.
In NW3 there must be 0-3 sources of movement per moment, and you will NOT be told anything other than how much time you have. And you must remember to stop the time yourself with the word "finished" before the time runs out (the timekeeper must say 30 seconds, so you have an idea of when you report finished).
In addition, you can have a maximum of 3 faults in total. It can sometimes be tricky, because there are many things you can get faults for 😊 If the line hits the ground, if the dog steps on a container (deliberately), if you reward with a treat too close to the source, drop a treat, have a tight line, etc.
Once you have passed an NW1 with 100 points and a maximum of 3 errors, you can continue up and start taking NW2 tests, or you can continue a little longer taking NW1 tests. It depends a lot on how and how much you have trained (difficulty level).
(Images taken by the Dog Symphony)
Where I train – and have trained since Emma was 12 weeks old – is Hundesymfonien in Hillerød. Here we always train “above level” – meaning that even if you haven’t passed a NW 1 test, we often train at NW2 level, as it is super important that the learning curve is smooth and steady. This means that you can often easily move on to NW2 tests right away.
I have always chosen to move on immediately after passing a test because I train as I do (i.e. am ready to try). I personally think that I learn the most by TRYING to take the test. I do NOT go to the test with the expectation of passing, because then you will be badly disappointed, because it IS difficult to pass a NW test because there are SO many different factors that come into play – wind/weather/sun in the morning, shade in the afternoon / the weather (which brand is used) etc. etc.
When I have been to a test, I spend a lot of time reflecting on the mistakes I have made (that is 90% dog handler mistakes 😊) …and use that learning to get better. And that is why it is so cool to go to the next test with those reflections in my bag and say that my success criteria for this test are, for example, “no error markings” – and then reflect afterwards on whether it was successful 😊
We have a great time socially, both during training and at the tests – and the dogs are having a great time. They do what they love: use their noses, get lots of praise/treats and come out to the car and have a "grandpa" in the soft blankets before going back in for the next search – what's not to like <3.
I could go on, because I spend a lot of time on it and I LOVE IT! 😊
But PLEASE WRITE me a message – if you have any questions or are curious about the sport. Because this is just a short description of the sport 😊
A little about the blogger.
Her name is Lotte, she is in her early 50s. She works as a project coordinator and spends most of her free time training with her dog Emma, who is a 10-year-old beagle. They have trained and competed in Schweiss tracks for several years. Agility without much success (you can't tempt them with treats) and now they train Nose Work 2-3 times a week if they can get to it. They compete at NW3 level, and they have a party together when they apply <3 – because the most important thing for this dog handler is that the DOG has fun, and that you learn the most from the mistakes you make. So instead of being angry/disappointed about a test that didn't go as planned, learn from it! - in most cases it's not the dog that makes the mistake <3