As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I wanted to use a video camera instead of the Action Cam to record the whole environment. Unfortunately, the camera had to be set further away to capture the whole picture and there were moments lost. Luckily, I did use the the Action Cam until the battery died while handling Tarot, but in some cases, it saved the day.
Area order was House, Garage, Dumpster, Shed. Torch went first, followed by Niven. After waiting half an hour, Tarot was finally able to work, but had to wait for an Ambulance and Oil Delivery truck to leave because both were parked in three search areas. Tarot's order was Garage, House, Dumpster, Shed.
To be expected, the dogs did fantastic despite serious challenges and I think they appreciated the spur of the moment training. For me, having two different views of the sessions has enabled me to evaluate my own handling. So while the dogs did their thing and get critiqued, they still pass with flying colors. In a separate post, it is me that I am going to beat up on because there were a number of things I caught while editing the video that I think I need to change.
The Four Search Areas
Dog Evaluation
The House
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| Fire Damaged in April 2015 |
Three Clove Hides:
Pillar Base (2nd from left) - Flexible Tubing
Far Wall (decking screw) - Metal Canister
Pillar Deck Hole (1st from right) - Straw
A bit of brick cleaning and other chemical processes have removed the fire damage smell, but there is still a lot of debris around the porch area. In their own working styles, Niven, Torch, and Tarot had little difficulty finding them. The threshold was the concrete walkway and each picked up the Pillar and Wall hide quickly. It was cool to see they all had to go to the plastic buckets to work the higher Pillar hide.
Torch - 2 minutes / 3 Hides
Niven - 1.5 minutes / 3 Hides
Tarot - 2.6 minutes / 3 Hides
The Garage
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| Functioning Garage with Groundhog |
Two Clove Hides:
Door Lock (5' up) - Metal Canister
Bottom Step - Flexible Tubing
This area is a functioning garage with a lot of great motor and natural smell. I also counted on the resident Groundhog to pose a problem, but I do not think it did. What did throw Torch and Tarot was the Hide's five foot height and long scent plume which had to be worked for great length. None of the dogs had any issues with locating the hide at the bottom of the rear steps.
In fairness to all three dogs, the garage door hide was set on a master lock, canister holes facing inward, and five feet off the ground. Both Niven and Torch did investigate with a jump up, but chose to continue searching without indicating. Tarot had the hardest time and is the most inexperienced with this type of hide. I cannot fault a long search given the negative factors stacked against the dog nose. I am proud each continued to work and use the drain and gravel to finally locate source.
In fairness to all three dogs, the garage door hide was set on a master lock, canister holes facing inward, and five feet off the ground. Both Niven and Torch did investigate with a jump up, but chose to continue searching without indicating. Tarot had the hardest time and is the most inexperienced with this type of hide. I cannot fault a long search given the negative factors stacked against the dog nose. I am proud each continued to work and use the drain and gravel to finally locate source.
Torch - 4 minutes / 2 Hides
Niven - 1 minute / 2 Hides
Tarot - 6.5 minutes / 2 Hides
The Trash Dumpster
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| Used Daily |
Two Anise Hides:
Lift Bracket (right side) - Straw
Under lip (back left side ) - Metal Canister
At first Torch missed the cue to begin working, but soon picked up on the container search. When it was Niven's turn, our neighbor pulled up into the search area which changed it dramatically. Tarot needs to realize she has to stick on containers or vehicles and not find the furthest point away.
I am not sure why this dumpster provided such an issue. I realize both odors were converging, it was hot on the asphalt, and the truck(s) caused "odor chutes", but in my mind, this was basic. Maybe there was a lot of awesome smelling trash adding to the problem? (Trash pick up is Tuesday and this was Thursday)
I am not sure why this dumpster provided such an issue. I realize both odors were converging, it was hot on the asphalt, and the truck(s) caused "odor chutes", but in my mind, this was basic. Maybe there was a lot of awesome smelling trash adding to the problem? (Trash pick up is Tuesday and this was Thursday)
Torch - 2 minutes / 2 Anise Hides (converging)
Niven - 50 seconds / 2 Anise Hides (converging with change of search area)
Tarot - 2 minutes / 2 Anise Hides (converging)
The Shed
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| Tomato Plants & Neighbor's Dogs |
One Birch Hide:
On the ground (3/4 left) - Chapstick Tube
Considering we have used this area a few times before, I thought the dogs had more trouble locating the one Hide. Perhaps it was the grass area under summer conditions, plastic tube container, or the neighbor guest's two dogs barking in the window, but it took everyone longer than normal to find it.
While working Torch, I realized there was a Cherry Tomato plant growing along the shed wall. If you have dogs and vegetable gardens, you know they do not go well together. I was surprised none of the dogs even looked at it.
Torch - 50 seconds / 1 Hide
Niven - 25 seconds / 1 Hide
Tarot - 20 seconds / 1 Hide
Video
Links to YouTube Video for each of the dogs.
My original intent of this post was to separate the search areas and discuss the whole. I realized this was not the greatest idea, as there are two themes, one of the dogs' performances and one of my own. I decided to split the post in two and use the same video for discussion.
Each link will take you to the dog's YouTube posted video and in the Part Two, I will use the same video from a different point of view.
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