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Continue reading →: The Perfect Master Interior Search Areas
7/31/2024 When I got the email announcing the venue change for the trial, I was immediately apprehensive. I had chosen to enter this trial specifically because they were holding it in a school, which is my favorite type of trial site, and the judges’ panel was well chosen. I am…
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Continue reading →: Preparing for the Master Buried Class
July 9, 2024 I have been prepping for my runs in Master Buried in a week or so. Although Yeti does have a leg towards his Masters title in this element, his performances have been inconsistent, and I would rather go prepared rather than leave it to chance. On his…
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Continue reading →: What I Wish Trial Chairs Knew (Part Two: Interiors)
July 4, 2024 One word: Walls. You need walls for dogs to search interiors effectively. Particularly if the number of hides are unknown and the handler is being asked to make a decision about when the dog is finished searching. A partial area of a room is ok for the…
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Continue reading →: What I Wish Trial Chairs Knew (part one–the buried element)
June 14, 2024 I want to preface this post with the caveat that I have the greatestrespect for the folks who volunteer to chair a trial or work on a trialcommittee. It can be a difficult, thankless job, and it very, very tough to findgood venues that will meet all…
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Continue reading →: Debugging Containers & Odor Concentration
Last week I had a friend set up a containers search for Yeti: 15 plastic containers with 3 hides, 4 food distractions and two toy distractions (in the containers). We have been doing a lot of container work, and I was pretty sure that Yeti would get these hides quickly,…
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Continue reading →: Retiring the Scent Work Dog
Eleanor Frisbee on a search Today, for a change of pace, I am publishing a piece by my good friend andfellow judge, Julie Morton. This topic of when to retire nosework dogs is nearand dear to my heart; it is something that all of us must consider sooner orlater, and…
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Continue reading →: The Challenges of Master Interior
This post is dedicated to those of you venturing into the Master Interiors class for the first time. I have started trialing Yeti seriously again, after a bit of a hiatus. We have our Excellent Interiors title, plus a few extras, and the time has come to proceed into Master…
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Continue reading →: Why We Are All So Stupid At Trials Part Two
I was talking to a former student of mine at a trial recently.“How did you do in buried?” I asked. “Well he did great! He got third place!” and then her expression fell. “but the judge said that I didn’t call them quickly enough, he said Pookie got them both…
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Continue reading →: Why We Are All So Stupid at Trials
Last week I was trialing with Yeti, and I made a handling mistake. This is a mistake that I have made before. In fact, I would say that it’s a mistake I have made a number of times. So we failed the search, and I went back to my car…
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Continue reading →: More About the Buried Element
I ran Yeti in a local trial last weekend, and although we had not worked on buried for quite a while, I entered him in the Master level. This was a “what the heck lets see what happens” kind of move, atypical for me because I like to over-prepare for…
Hello,
I’m Ellen
A Scent Work trainer, instructor, competitor, student, and judge. Welcome to Sniffing Around Scent Work, a blog where I write about my experiences, thoughts and musings on my favorite past time.
Sniffing Around Scent Work 