A Big Day with my Faithful Friend

Some of you may have noticed that I rarely blog about my eldest rescue, Leah. You see, Leah is the best behaved of all of our dogs, both past and present, and while this makes for an ideal companion – as far as writing material – my sweet senior is about as boring as a brick.

However, tomorrow is a particularly special day for Leah and me. On Sunday, we will be participating in our first Odor Recognition Test (ORT), which will enable us to compete in the sport of K9 Nose Work – if we succeed. At the trial, there will be twelve identical boxes set out in two rows of six, and within one of them will be hidden a few q-tips that have been saturated with the scent of Birch. All Leah needs to do is pick out which box harbors the scent – and all I need to do is call out the word “Alert” when she does.

Sounds simple enough – right?

Hopefully, it will be – as we have been training for this day since August. When Leah and I first walked into Susan Scelzi’s Nose Work class together, I didn’t think Leah would do well. She was wary of being in a new place, she did not want to go inside a crate, (she’s not normally crated), she was uncomfortable about Sue approaching her to reward her while her head was inside the boxes, and she was leery of the boxes themselves – going so far as to back up over one of them and ‘christen’ it.

Fast forward eight months…and a new, more confident dog has emerged.

Leah walks into class and greets Sue with a wag and a wide grin. She shoves her head inside boxes, sometimes lifting her face up with one stuck on her muzzle, then she shakes it off, and dives into it again (see photo below). She has no issues with searching inside drawers, under chairs, alongside ring gates, and into strange looking objects like CD racks.

Recently, one of the other students allowed us to do a ‘mock’ search inside her office building – and Leah entered this new environment with a confidence I’ve never seen in her. She searched without any signs of fear, and even stayed outside with another handler while I set up one of the hides. Most surprisingly, she did not even whine in my absence, the one thing that nearly made her fail her Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test back in 2007.

The only thing that hasn’t changed is her displeasure at being crated while waiting her turn, something she isn’t afraid to speak up about, again and again, aroooing at (and startling) many a passing handler. Because of this, she needs to wear a red bandana on Sunday, so other handlers know she is 'reactive.' But hey, nobody's perfect, right? Besides, Leah looks good in red!

Leah no longer needs food to entice her to search, but she is still having a hard time ‘staying’ on the Birch once she finds it – so at the ORT I am going to have to be quick about calling that “Alert” when I see it. We have three minutes, during which I need to determine which box Leah shows the most interest in, and then call it as soon as I’m relatively sure – before she loses interest again and moves on.

I am hoping to have some good news tomorrow when we return - so make sure you check back to see how we fared. But even if we strike out, one thing is certain – I will cherish spending today with my faithful friend.

Here are some photos of us practicing during Leah's most recent Nose Work class:

Is it in here?

Nope, what about this one?

It wasn't in this one either....

Wait a minute...I forgot to check one over there....

I found it!! (See Mommy getting a treat from her pouch to throw in the box so I stay there?)

Thanks for the treats, but now I need help! My head is stuck!  (Plus Mommy hog-tied me - I think she needs leash-handling lessons!!)

Despite my handling skills, Leah did very well at class, (she even found the birch in less than a minute!), so keep your fingers crossed for us tomorrow! In the meantime, for those of you who might be wondering why I started Leah with a new sport so late in life, (she’s 11 ½), I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a little more about my loyal girl.

Nick and I adopted Leah in December of 2003, shortly after we lost our beloved Doberman, Harley. At that time, Leah was thought to be four years old, and although she was most likely a yard dog in desperate need of socialization, I balked at the idea of taking her to training classes due to a horrific experience with Harley, a punishment promoting trainer, and a shock collar.

But Leah peed if we spoke to her above a whisper, seemed afraid of everything from vacuums to baby strollers, and acted as if she had never seen a television in her entire life. Soon, I gave in. I signed her up for a basic class with a new trainer, and although she wasn’t brutal like the last, I did not enjoy the classes, scarred as I was from my experiences with Harley. Additionally, since it was a beginner’s class with lots of puppies, there were also lots of children – the idea of which Leah did not approve. She barked at them as they raced around before each class as if to say, “No running! No running!” Worse, one of them ran up behind her and hugged her. Luckily, I grabbed hold of Leah’s collar and asked the little girl to let go. As the child toddled off, there was no parent in sight.

I can only imagine the tragedy that had been so narrowly averted.

That was the last obedience class I brought Leah to for a very long time. Much later, after Toby joined our household and I was training him towards my goal of making him a therapy dog, I learned that it might be beneficial for Leah to earn her CGC. Many homeowner’s insurance companies were dropping people who's dogs were of certain breeds (even mixes), but some of those same companies would make allowances for dogs who had passed their CGC tests. Since Leah’s German roots made her suspect, it was back to school, and by that time, I had found a good positive trainer, Ritsa Galitsis, so the classes were no longer a chore.

As my hands were full with Toby, Nick took Leah through her paces – and she easily earned her CGC with him (except for the ‘leaving a dog with a friendly stranger' part, through which she quite literally just squeaked by). Afterwards, since Leah was so well behaved – yet was way too cautious to make a good therapy dog – I had no reason to pursue further training.

That is, until the spring of 2008, when I discovered dog sports, specifically, Rally obedience. Within a few months I was hooked, and Toby and I were working hard as a team. At that point, I often said, “I wish I knew of things like this when Leah was younger. She would have made a great competitor because she’s so obedient.”

Alas, Leah was starting to show her age; she was having difficulty getting up, and often limped. We thought her hips were going, but as it turned out, our vet announced that her hips were just great and that Leah had actually torn her Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). Between time of injury, diagnosis, the first surgery, healing time, and a second surgery to remove the material that Leah ended up being allergic to, my sweet old girl was out of commission for two years.

This brought her to ten years old – a grand old age for a ninety pound dog. 

Once Leah felt better and began racing around the yard like a pup again, I began to feel guilty about constantly taking Toby places, while she stayed home and watched over the house. However, a dog that has torn one ACL is often at risk of tearing the other, and I was not willing to take the chance of allowing her to jump, especially considering her age. This excluded Leah from many dog sports, that is, until I found out about Nose Work – the perfect sport for a senior dog. Low stress, no risk of injury, and I have yet to see a dog in class that does not love it, including Leah.

And as they say, “The rest is history.”

Don't forget to check back to see how we did! We have quite a drive ahead of us, so if I don't get to it on Sunday night, I'll make sure to post our results by Monday at the latest.