This is the third in a series focused on Skill Building by working through a set of challenges each week. We will stretch our skills and comfort zones using drills and exercises geared towards improving the Nosework team. Each Nosework Challenges class is standalone so don't fret if you missed an earlier one! I basically just have more ideas than I know what to do with. The theme of Nosework Challenges Series 3 is ELEVATION!!
The challenges we will play with will give your dog specific puzzles to help build their natural capabilities. Our dogs come to us as college grads in Olfaction... through puzzles and challenges we help to turn them into Olfaction Rocket Scientists.
In general, the Nosework Challenges classes are not as dense as my other classes. I do that on purpose! You will be given a set of exercises each week to work through. Although this is a Series, please remember that the classes DO NOT need to be taken in order. I hope you can join me!!
Elevation is just another type of Inaccessible hide... however, because of the way scent works, it's especially challenging. We can't train it by simply putting out a super high hide and throwing our dogs to the wolves... Instead, we need to stretch our dogs in multiple dimensions with purpose. In this course we will start with careful introduction and work our dogs up the scales. Ultimately, with practice, our dogs will be able to source the highest of Elite hides.
Careful elevation work wouldn't be complete without the lows. Be prepared to also work ground hides in this class. In doing so we can keep our dogs balanced in their training.
See you in class!!
Here's a video of Judd working Extreme Elevation... we won't start here... but this is ultimately a skill we want to work towards!!
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Gold Level includes access to all course materials and the ability to post questions and videos to the course forums. Students will receive instructor feedback on written and video assignments.
Silver Level includes access to all course materials and the ability to participate in the discussion forum. Students may ask GENERAL questions about course materials and may submit two, one-minute videos for instructor feedback. Any questions specific to your dog MUST be accompanied by a video.
Bronze Level includes access to all course materials and the ability to read all questions and answers posted in the class forums. Students will not post questions or submit written or video assignments.
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You've likely joined this class because either (1) your dog struggles with high hides or (2) high hides are the next thing for you to train. Either one works and we will address both in this class. This class is about skill building from the ground up... and in this class that's it exactly! We will be teaching BOTH high and low hides.
Before we get started we need to discuss a few Key Concepts that will form the basis of our approach, including when and why to reward. Being consistent with these aspects and having a common philosophy will help us to train consistently and effectively.
In this video I set a hide in the top story window of my house and let Judd work the hide from the ground, off leash. You'll notice that I rewarded FAST and I wasn't directly below the window when I rewarded. Everything I did to reward Judd in this hide was with PURPOSE and it WORKED because he has since gone on to find every high hide in every Elite trial he has attended!
So to develop skills that allow our dogs to pinpoint hides 15+ feet in the air, we need some basic key concepts in place. Once we have established these key concepts and we see them in practice and apply them, training elevation becomes pretty easy!
(1) FOLLOW THE FOUR CORNERSTONES OF TRIAL PREPARATION
This is perhaps my favorite topic because I base ALL of my training decisions based on this framework. Over time and working with a lot of different dogs I realized that a framework was necessary in order to be successful in training both foundations and advanced concepts. I call this framework The Four Cornerstones of Trial Preparation. Essentially, it is a relationship between 4 fundamental elements of training Nosework: Confidence, Motivation, Skills and Stamina. I envision this as a pyramid with the bottom layers supporting the top layers. Notice where Skills fall!
This means that you need to care for CONFIDENCE and MOTIVATION above and beyond ANY skill work... including Elevation!!
(2) REWARD FAST FOR MOTIVATION
The faster you can give your dog a reward for finding a hide, the more motivation he will have for finding that hide! By rewarding "fast" in elevation, we mean erring on the side of rewarding sooner rather than later. If you are too late in marking and delivering your reward, your dog's confidence in his skills, confidence in you and motivation overall might suffer. Whoa! That's a lot of responsibility! It is... but it's not insurmountable. Know that Confidence and Motivation work like gears... if you affect one you will absolutely affect the other. If we can reward quickly, we (1) improve motivation, (2) build the dog's confidence in his skills and (3) build the dog's confidence in his handler.
(3) KNOW WHAT YOU WILL TAKE A YES PRIOR TO RUNNING THE HIDE
This comes down to understanding Scent Theory (which we will talk about in length this week!). What you DON'T want to do is to contemplate as you search and then think, "I wonder if I should have rewarded 30 seconds ago". What you take as a YES may vary depending on the dog's confidence, motivation and skill levels. And that's OK! The important thing is that you contemplate what constitutes a YES ahead of time.
(4) BALANCE TRAINING HIGH HIDES AND LOW HIDES
This is pretty important... what you DON'T want is a dog that defaults to UP behavior. First of all, it will impact his searching ability and ability to source quickly. Second of all, when you're in a blind situation, it may affect your ability to read your dog! It's all about BALANCE....
(5) DON'T JUMP STRAIGHT TO SEXY
What this means is GO SLOW... don't run the sexy 15 foot hide at the beginning. Your dog may have been born with a Harvard degree in Olfaction, but he's not a NASA Rocket Scientist yet! Think PROGRESSION. Take steps, small ones if necessary. And above all else, be thoughtful in your hides.
HOMEWORK:
I like to include written as well as video homework in my classes. In this case I would like you to reflect on these Key Concepts. Where do you think you're strong? Where do you think you might need additional focus or attention when you train?
A sampling of what prior students have said about this class ...
Thanks Stacy. I have taken a variety of your nosework classes and they are always well laid out and provide exercises that I can build on as my dog's skill improves.
Stacy, I really loved this course on elevation. I know Renny & I have a lot more to do in this area and are not ready for the more advanced exercises with elevation. Your lectures and exercises are very clearly written so working on my own with these concepts will be no problem. So glad we started our nose work adventure.
Great class, I am seeing improvements in accuracy and enthusiasm with the searches!
