furrykidmom
Completely Boxer Crazy
We just went to our second nose work class. My Boxer puppy has caught the bug and so have I. I love to watch him work. And I love to watch the other dogs work. Each dog has their own approach. For Christos, it is a slower more methodical search. You can sense when he is getting close by the change in his sniffing. The blind and deaf Great Dane slows down dramatically when he is in the zone. The Springer is so fast that it is hard to tell sometimes what the change is. She is just lightening fast. But you can notice a change in mouth breathing to nose breathing when she is in the zone.
Last week the class was huge. This week the trainer split us into two different class times. we are in the early group. We worked off lead with the boxes. Not a single dog left the search area to visit other dogs. They were so intent on working. The Springer whined most of the class because she was just itching to work. She was so excited.
Last week all the dogs had to be crated. It was very stressful for everyone. Between my puppy crying because he wanted out with the people, and the Springer whining to work and so on you could barely hear. But some of the dogs are dog reactive I think. Two are timid. One is the Dane that is blind and deaf. The other is a Lab who arrives in a Thundershirt.
I posted a video of my 5 and a half month old puppy working his area last night and someone posted. What is the point of this? He sticks his head in boxes until he finds a treat. She owns a Maltese so she just does not seem to get it. He is a relaxed laid back dog. I explained that it gives him a job, a purpose and it releases energy as well as deepens the bond between the two of us and we just really enjoy it.
I am so afraid of overwhelming him. We have obedience class on Tuesday nights and Nose Work on Sunday afternoons. I intend to start him in agility on Friday nights. I was thinking that I would not that this might be too much but in retrospect to him it is just all fun and for me it is fun and exercise. My thoughts are as a puppy I should expose him to every situation. I do not intend to compete in anything. I dont have the time. I work full time also and I work a lot of weekends. Plus I cannot stand how serious people get and the political aspects. I just want someplace to go where my pup and I can play and he is stimulated by more than a game of fetch in the yard or a walk in the park.
I hope that this encourages others. If you are considering a class just go and see what you and your dog think. When I first sat down at the nose work class my first thought was I am bored. This is not going to work for us. Then he had his first run and we were both hooked.
Last week the class was huge. This week the trainer split us into two different class times. we are in the early group. We worked off lead with the boxes. Not a single dog left the search area to visit other dogs. They were so intent on working. The Springer whined most of the class because she was just itching to work. She was so excited.
Last week all the dogs had to be crated. It was very stressful for everyone. Between my puppy crying because he wanted out with the people, and the Springer whining to work and so on you could barely hear. But some of the dogs are dog reactive I think. Two are timid. One is the Dane that is blind and deaf. The other is a Lab who arrives in a Thundershirt.
I posted a video of my 5 and a half month old puppy working his area last night and someone posted. What is the point of this? He sticks his head in boxes until he finds a treat. She owns a Maltese so she just does not seem to get it. He is a relaxed laid back dog. I explained that it gives him a job, a purpose and it releases energy as well as deepens the bond between the two of us and we just really enjoy it.
I am so afraid of overwhelming him. We have obedience class on Tuesday nights and Nose Work on Sunday afternoons. I intend to start him in agility on Friday nights. I was thinking that I would not that this might be too much but in retrospect to him it is just all fun and for me it is fun and exercise. My thoughts are as a puppy I should expose him to every situation. I do not intend to compete in anything. I dont have the time. I work full time also and I work a lot of weekends. Plus I cannot stand how serious people get and the political aspects. I just want someplace to go where my pup and I can play and he is stimulated by more than a game of fetch in the yard or a walk in the park.
I hope that this encourages others. If you are considering a class just go and see what you and your dog think. When I first sat down at the nose work class my first thought was I am bored. This is not going to work for us. Then he had his first run and we were both hooked.