Perth Scent Work

13/12/2024

"Sometimes taking a moment to do 'nothing' is the best 'something' that we can do."
Craig Lounsbrough

07/12/2024

Charlie showing a clear change of behaviour and then working to source.

Throughout our scent work journey we can mark and reward the change of behaviour moment which communicates to our dogs that its about odour not an indication.

Rewarding this moment is particularly important in the beginning which lays good foundations.

02/12/2024

The importance of foundation exercises….too often handlers concentrate on searches similar to what they encounter in trials.

The majority of my training is foundation exercises. For example, Distractions - there is no point putting distractions in searches if your dog can’t ignore distractions in small foundation exercises.

Generally, when starting new concepts I go back to pipes as my dogs were taught odour initially via pipes. So for distractions I start with 2 pipes – 1 has odour and one has a distraction. Once my dog is ignoring that distraction then I would replace that with another distraction. Still only 2 pipes but rotating through as many distractions as I can find and then we build from there slowly increasing the number of distractions.

Too many rush these foundation steps in favour of larger searches. It is critically important that your dog understands the concept to ignore everything else but their imprinted odour. They learn through successful repetitions.

In this little clip with Charlie we have over 30 different types of distractions here - cat hair, chook feathers, sheep wool, guinea pig hair, dried sardines, alpaca wool, milk sticks, ziwi peak, liver treats, chicken bites, K9 naturals pellets, beef sticks, kangaroo jerky, beef jerky, lamb jerky, rabbit ears, dog hair, cow hair, goat hair, sweet potato chips & controls .As he has strong foundations he ignores them and works to odour. Just one part of the picture.

21/11/2024

The break between trial seasons is a perfect time to address any issues you may be having without the pressure of an upcoming trial. We have just put our final two workshops for the year in our shop.

Indications: 8.30am - 10.30am Sat 30th November SOLD OUT

Container Mania: 8.30am - 10.30am Sat 14th Dec -SOLD OUT

Just Released...
Container Mania: 8.30am - 10.30am Wed 27th Nov - SOLD OUT

Click https://www.perthscentwork.com.au/shop/ to register!

12/11/2024

"Commitment is an act, not just a word."
Jean-Paul Sartre

11/11/2024

10/11/2024

*** 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 ***

Last night, the Scent Work Club of WA held the first ever Ultimate trial in the state.

To be eligible to enter an Ultimate class, dogs need to have achieved 2 Element Titles (which is made up of 2 Novice, 3 Advanced, 3 Excellent and 3 Masters passes) or have their Scent Work Masters title.

Ultimate provides an integrated search environment combining at least 3 of the 4 elements (Containers, Vehicles, Interiors and Exteriors) in the one search. The number of hides are unknown to the handler but can be between 3 and 10. There are between 4 and 6 distractions and these can be comprised of food, non-food, mimic or human.

The total search area must be at least 200 but not more than 500 square meters. The search time is determined by the Judge and must be between 7 and 15 minutes.

Additional challenges include the maximum height of hides which can be 150cm, inaccessible hides and the inclusion of buried hides to a maximum depth of 5cm.

Teams must search the area and be confident they have identified all the hides present and cleared the rest of the area before calling ‘Finish’.

There were 5 dogs eligible for this class including Harry and Charlie. Harry achieved 2 element titles back in October 2023 but unfortunately due to illness was unable to compete yesterday.

Competitors had a walk through briefing just after 5.30pm with a 6pm start. There were plenty of spectators that came to support the teams.

Charlie was the 3rd dog to compete and I chose to do an off-lead option. The search area was just over 400sqm and made up of 2 classrooms, a playground and containers. The judge chose to have 6 hides and a time-limit of 15 minutes was given. Distractions included food, mimic, a human sitting in the playground and toys.

Unfortunately, Charlie and I did not pass –locating all but one hide. A massive congratulations to the two teams that did pass! Well deserved!

Big thanks to the Scent Work Club WA for hosting the trial at Armadale High School and to the all stewards who generously give up their time to enable the smooth running of the trial.

29/10/2024

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥!

At our latest trial Charlie obtained his last master container pass required to achieve his Scent Work Container title. He now has achieved all four element titles which qualify him for his Scent Work Masters title – the first dog to achieve this in WA.

A big thanks Jase & Lisa from K9 Solutions Australia for their support and continued training. A special thanks to Danielle Grosse who has handled Charlie in trials when I couldn’t and to everyone that has ever set up searches for us! It takes a village. 😊

Not many know Charlie’s backstory…

Charlie came to me in December 2020 as a working dog prospect, initially expected to stay for 3 to 4 months while we focused on his puppy socialization. Within a day, I noticed there was something not quite right. He wasn’t a lively Malinois puppy. He quickly went downhill and became lethargic and was showing weakness in his back end.

After a visit to the vet yielded no diagnosis, we were advised to return if his condition worsened. Unfortunately a few days later he did deteriorate, so we sought a second opinion. This vet also struggled to identify the issue but consulted with an experienced vet who suspected Neosporosis. Although a blood test was needed for confirmation, it could only be done once a week at the lab. We decided to start treatment based on this likely diagnosis.

Neosporosis is a parasite and infection is uncommon. It turns out that Charlie contracted this parasite while in the womb. Severe infections occur in young puppies in which they typically develop paralysis of the legs. The outlook for these puppies is long term damage to hind limbs and often death within a few weeks.

After several weeks of treatment Charlie's parasite levels decreased. He recovered enough to be out of danger but it became clear he would never become a working dog so it was determined to find him a good home. By this time, he was firmly entrenched in my heart so this was how I ended up with my first Malinois. 😊

Over the next 18 months we engaged in intense physiotherapy helping him regain most of his muscle tone. While he has some residual weakness he leads a normal life.

Charlie entered his first scent work trial in February 2022 and passed every trial that year. In 2023, he earned his Excellent title, followed by all four element titles and his Master title in 2024.

Charlie has achieved over 35 top three placings with 22 of them being first place. Charlie is an exceptional dog and I learn from him every day. I am truly grateful for him.

25/10/2024

New workshop!

24/10/2024

Wow! $8,000 raised for Working Paws Australia. It was a great night and a big thankyou to everyone that joined our table to support this worthwhile cause.

Another big thankyou to Pets Meat Suppliers for the awesome raffle prize!

22/10/2024

Start line focus is just one part of the picture....

New workshop coming soon!

21/10/2024

*** 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 ***

Yesterday, the Midland Dog Training Club Inc held a scent work trial at Ocean Reef Senior High School with a ‘Back to School’ theme. Classes on offer were Excellent and Masters Containers and Exteriors. We had lovely weather although a tad windy in the afternoon but the rain didn’t come until about 1 minute after the last presentations had finished!

At 10am, Excellent Containers and Exteriors ran concurrently. I was judging Exteriors. The search area was under the verandah near the classrooms with a size of approx. 100 sqm. The time limit for this search was 4 minutes. There were 3 hides to fine - Anise placed on the front side of the pot plant. Clove which was an inaccessible placed in the middle of the underside of the bin. I was accepting all sides of the bottom of the bin. Birch was a high hide behind the picture on a wall at an approx height of 1.1metres.
Two Distractions – Bell & Bone Beef and Coconut Puppy Dental Chew underneath the bench and a used Aqua Kong tied to the wooden slats. We had 14 teams competing with 8 passes resulting in a pass rate of 57%.

Excellent Containers were in the gym and this had some very difficult airflow challenges.
There were assorted containers placed in a formation of a smiley face! There was 15 teams competing and although all containers were found multiple times only 1 team found all 3 hides resulting in a 7% pass rate. The distractions were cuttlefish and fresh asparagus spears.

After Excellent presentations and a lunch break Masters commenced with Containers.
This search was also in the gym where there were assorted containers placed in a ‘A+’ formation. Teams had a search time of 3 minutes.
We had 13 teams compete with 6 qualifiers. Charlie was competing in this class and had the fastest time finding all 3 odours in 49 seconds however due to handler dropping food received a fault. Harry found 2 out of the 3 hides. There were some tough all food distractions in this class – prawn shells, goat tripe and doggy peanut butter which caught out a few dogs.

Then onto Masters Exteriors which was held in the canteen area. The conditions had changed from the morning substantially with it becoming quite windy! There were 3 hides in this search – a threshold hide placed in the crack of the paving, another at the bottom of the metal bars which were used for children queuing up at the canteen and a wall hide placed in a hole in a brick. Distractions included chicken hearts. There were 13 competitors with 2 qualifiers – Harry placed 1st in this search and Charie found 2 out of the 3 hides.

Big thanks to the Midland Dog Training Club for hosting the trial at a great new venue and to the all stewards who generously give up their time to enable the smooth running of the trial.

Photo credit

17/10/2024

*** 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 ***

Yesterday, we had a trial held at the Serpentine Pony Club. Classes on offer were Excellent Containers and Vehicles and then the rescheduled Master Vehicles. We were all a bit worried about the forecast rain but it ended up being quite a hot morning and the rain didn’t start to late afternoon!

At 10am, Excellent Containers commenced. There were 25 assorted containers shaped in a ‘M’ with a line of containers crossing through this pattern. The time limit for this search was 3 minutes and the 2 distractions were cooked chicken and a chewed wooden dog toy both hidden inside containers. We had 28 teams competing with 15 passes resulting in a 53% pass rate. I handled Charlie and passed and the lovely Cass handled Harry and placed 2nd.

Then at 10.30am, I commenced judging Excellent Vehicles. There were 4 Vehicles - Trailer, ride on mower and two cars and teams were given 4 minutes to complete the search. A high hide was placed on the trailer, an inaccessible under the seat of the mower and the last hide was in a car door seam. All hides were found a minimum of 9 times but unfortunately only all 3 hides were found by one team. Distractions were orange blossom and fish biscuits.

Around 1ish, the last class for the day got started - Masters Vehicles. We had 4 vehicles – 2 x 4wd’s, a horse float and a dog trailer. The judge for the day chose to have 2 hides – both on the same side of the horse float. Teams were given 4 minutes to complete the search. Distractions were cooked chicken, a teddy bear and dog biscuits. There were 13 teams competing with 4 passes. Both Charlie and Harry competed in this class and found the first hide but unfortunately didn’t find the second. Always an awesome day and full of learning!

Big thanks to the stewards for generously volunteering their time, to those who offered their vehicles for the search and to the Scent Work Club of WA for hosting the trial.

12/10/2024

*** 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 ***

This morning we the rescheduled Master Interior class at the lovely location of Willandra Primary School.

After running the demo dog successfully, the trial started around 10.30am. There were 3 search areas - each a separate classroom. Each room had unknown odours but can have a maximum of 3 in one area whilst a maximum of 5 for the entire search.

The first room had a time limit of 3 minutes and there were 2 hides alongside the entry wall.

The second room had no hides but did have 3 distractions - cheese, dog hair and chicken roll. It also had a time limit or 3 rooms.

For those teams that made it to the third room - again with a 3 minute time limit there were 3 hides to find.

All odours were found but unfortunately not by the same dog. With 8 teams competing there were no passes. Both Harry and Charlie were competing in this class. Harry and Danielle Grosse made it to the last room finding 2 of the 3 odours. Unfortunately Charlie and I were unsuccessful in the first room.

Big thanks to the Work Club of WA for organizing and hosting this trial. Special thanks to the stewards for generously volunteering their time and to Willandra Primary School for being available at short notice.

11/10/2024

Repost from 2023

Transitioning from Advanced to Excellent classes is a significant step in ANKC Scent Work trials. Let’s examine some of the distinctions.

Number of Hides: The number of hides increases from two to three.
Height: The maximum allowable height for hides rises from 90cm to 120cm.

Distractions: a second distraction is introduced which can now include food.

Search Times: Maximum search duration are increased. For instance, the time allotted for vehicle searches increases to 5 minutes. Interiors can have up to 6 minutes across two areas. This necessitates dogs to have search fitness and endurance.

Larger Search Areas: As you progress through the classes, search areas expand significantly. For instance, Advanced Exteriors span 35-75 square meters, while Excellent Exteriors cover 75-140 square meters. The team needs employ strategies so that they make sure all areas are searched.

Time to First Hide: Dogs may experience a significantly longer search duration before locating their initial hide. If dogs are unaccustomed to lengthier search periods before their first find, they may mistakenly alert due to their internal time clock.

Time Management: Due to the larger search areas, handlers must develop effective time management skills to ensure complete coverage of the search area within the allocated time.

Strength of Hides: Judges at the Excellent level are more likely use a variety of scent tips (usually 1, 2 or 3 tips) to challenge competitors.

Inaccessible Hides: At Excellent level, one hide can be placed in an inaccessible location within, requiring dogs to excel in precision and problem-solving.

Unknown Hides: In Interiors, there are now two separate search areas with three hides between them. Handlers must decide whether there's one or two hides in their first area, which adds an extra layer of complexity.

Additional Odour Challenges: Expect to encounter more advanced odour challenges, including converging, channelling, pooling and low odour availability.

Handler Stress: Although we can get stressed at any (or all :) ) levels. The further we progress in levels, handlers can focus on the pass rather than the enjoyment of the search with our dogs.

Transitioning from Advanced to Excellent levels may initially appear daunting, but the key is to break down the components and train each aspect individually. Consistently revisiting foundational training principles will establish a strong base for conquering the challenges associated with Excellent level trials.

29/09/2024

*** 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 ***

Yesterday, we had a Vehicle trial held at Armadale Senior High School. Classes on offer were both Novice and Excellent.

At 10am, Novice Vehicles session began with two vehicles—a tandem trailer and a quad bike. Twenty-four teams participated with a 3-minute time limit given by the judge. The session saw 21 successful passes resulting in a pass rate of 78%. Following presentations, there was a lunch break and preparation for the Excellent search.

Just after 1pm Excellent Vehicles commenced. This search featured four vehicles - a car, trailer, quad bike, and ride-on lawn mower. Distractions included sheep wool in the car's wheel arch and a stinky sausage on the mower. The main challenge of this search were two hides on the trailer which caused pooling and convergence. Teams were given a 4-minute time limit by the judge to find the three hides. 32 competitors participated, with 14 successfully passing. I handled Charlie and the delightful Cass handled Harry both of whom passed."

Big thanks to the Work Club of WA for organizing and hosting this trial. Special thanks to the stewards for generously volunteering their time, to those who offered their vehicles for the search, and to the dedicated organizing committee for their tremendous efforts."

27/09/2024

*** Latest Trial Update ***

On Wednesday, we had a Scent Work trial held at the Royal Show – On offer were Advanced Exteriors judged by Karren McCluskey and Advanced Containers judged by myself.

The dogs have to work through the massive distractions at the show - the children's carnival rides right next to the search area and the search area had also been used for other performance sports during the days preceding.

First up was Advanced Exteriors starting at 10am. It was set up on the grassed area in front of the dog pavilion. The search area was 65sqm and the judge gave 3mins 30 seconds as the time limit to find the two odours. The distraction was sheep wool placed in a magnetic key holder placed under a wooden work horse. The dogs worked very well through these distractions and all 8 entries passed!

At 1pm we ran Advanced Containers. 15 Containers placed in a U shape with a time limit of 2 mins 30 seconds. A toy fluffy pig was the distraction which was placed in the middle of the containers. There were 6 passes and 1 incorrect alert.

We also ran two mock searches throughout the day so that the general public could watch our dogs at work.

On Thursday, we came back to do it all again – this time for me as a competitor. 10am saw the start of Excellent Exteriors. 122sqm with a search time of 5 mins. The theme of this search was working in the garden. The hides were placed in one of the joiners in the hose pipe, these had a hole in them to allow odour to escape. Hide 2 was in the blue keep cup in the chair and the third odour was in the side of the plant pot. The distractions for this search was a sheep wool blanket and dog biscuits inside a tin underneath some coir hanging baskets. We had 10 competitors with 5 passes. Charlie placed 1st in this search and the lovely Cass handled Harry for me and qualified.

The day was really starting to heat up with a top of 28 degrees and we had the Excellent Container search scheduled for 1pm. It went ahead with 25 assorted containers laid out in serpentine curves. We had a 3min 30 sec search time. The distractions were sheep wool and dog biscuits hidden inside some containers. For this search we had 9 competitors with 6 passing. Charlie placed 1st and Cass again did an awesome job handling Harry and came in 3rd.

In between searches there was a Hoopers display which some of the dogs had a go at and loved!

Many thanks for the Royal Agricultural Society of WA for holding a Scent Work trial at the show and to the stewards that volunteer their time. Thanks also for the sponsors of the 2024 Dogs Competition.
Slobberlicious
Laucke Mills Stockfeeds
Orivet Genetic Pet Care
Simply Seaweed
Moorholme Pet Transport
Plush Puppy Australia

25/09/2024

The boys ready for a fun day at The Perth Royal Show! 🤣