Ole's nose knows

Yesterday (Wednesday) I got to spend about 30 minutes trying to get on the email sign up list for the nose work trial next month in San Pedro. It's a first come first serve and there are a limited number of spots so I don't know if Elmo and I will get in or not. I didn't try to sign up Shelly as they photo graph and video tape the whole trial and Shelly shuts down in the presence of cameras. Donna also signed Ginger up but doesn't yet know if she got in or not. Next, Ole and the gang got to go to Dusty Rhodes for 20 minutes with me and then we went over to the studio to do more work on the art piece. After that, the car was very dirty so I took them and it over to the car wash to get it spiffied up. It had been a while since Ole's last trip in the car through the car wash and he was a bit startled at first but quickly relaxed and ignored the whole event. He disliked me vacuuming the car more than going through the wash machine. We went home after that and got packed up for class in Tustin, and then drove over and picked up Donna and little Ginger.

Class was a little stressful tonight for some of the dogs but my three had a good time. Shelly was even happy to be in the training room while other dogs were working didn't get nervous at all. Elmo was confident and happy to work and Ole was a maniac to find his hot dogs. This time, Desiree and Julie (the instructors) did not hide his hot dog container in boxes at all, instead they hid in back inside shelves and under a chair (the container is magnetic so it sticks under the chair) and a couple of other places that I can't remember. Ole was ON! He did not quit until he found the container and I said "Yes!". I then would run over and open the container and give him a handful of hot dogs. He loves his nose work. The more experienced dogs also got to do an exterior search and a vehicle search. Shelly was great found her containers and Q- Tip no problem. Elmo had a little trouble with his exterior search as it was a Q-tip with Birch scent on it and was hidden in the handle of a bucket that was in front of a dumpster. There were a ton of big nasty horse flies buzzing around the area and Elmo decided that it was up to him to rid the planet of them varmints! It took quite a bit of persuasion to get him back on track and searching. I only hope if we get in the trial next month that there are no horse flies!

Today, (Thursday), Elmo and Shelly got massages by Ann and then I did some house work and shopping for dinner and also for class treats and some doggie ice cream for a doggy birthday party that my three dogs got invited to on Saturday morning.

Then we came home and I got ready for a private lesson with Fiona the lab mix and her two owners. Fiona is a bit dog reactive when on leash so we fitted her with one of my old Gentle leaders and walked her around the trouble spots in her neighborhood working on her owners handling techniques. We also worked on interrupting her barking at dogs that walk past her house and redirecting her.

I came home after that and put together a big pot of homemade spaghetti , fed the dogs and then put Ole in the car to go to his beginning obedience class. The trip that usually takes 30 minutes to drive took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get there. The traffic was hideous. Fortunately I wasn't the only one 30 minutes late for class. Ole loves clss. We worked on coming when called, leash work , stays and attention. He did very well and after class I let him play with Cooper a little pit mix. His owner and I practiced letting them play and then calling them away from each other to us to sit. It was difficult but we got them to do it.