Olivia and I had some scent work successes last Saturday and Sunday. After Olivia’s nose work trial Friday, we had scent work trials for two days at the Oakdale Business Center. I got to do four searches each day, and Olivia had just one. Just so you know, sniffing really wears a dog out mentally. It is hard work for our brains, so we slept a lot on Monday!
Olivia is at the highest level in AKC Scent Work, no surprise. She did two detective searches and qualified in the one on Sunday. Now she has nine Q’s. When she gets her next Q, she will have earned her Detective Title. Living with a detective means we can’t get away with stuff anymore I guess.
Mom is super proud of me and my sniffing. Olivia gives me lots of tips which sometimes I follow. I started my Saturday passing my Novice Buried Hide search (finding the correct bin with the odor buried in sand). This gives me my Buried Novice Title and my Overall Novice Title. Scent work starts with Novice, then comes Advanced, Excellent, Master, and Detective. The levels get more difficult as you move up and you need three Q’s to title and move to the next level. I’m super happy to have my Novice title at my age.
On Saturday I had two misses, Advanced Interiors and Advanced Containers but I passed Excellent Exteriors. Mom is still amazed that I did! I had to find three hides outside in a loading dock area with a lot of wind in just three minutes. It took me two and a half of the three minutes to find the hides. It was a lot of work, but I did it, my first Excellent Q.
Sunday I flunked out of Advanced Buried when I needed to find two hides in water. The rest of my day was great and I earned my first Q in Advanced Interiors, got another Q in Excellent Exteriors, and I passed my Advanced Container search placing seventh out of thirty two dogs which is also my Advanced Container Title.
I don’t know when I will get to sniff again, but it sure is fun! Olivia and I are both super thankful for our scent work successes last weekend.