It's there! Somewhere...

Last night was week three for our new starters and time to introduce the scent! It was really fascinating watching the dogs and handlers working together. We have all sorts of breeds and ages in this group and each dog gave a different indication. At this stage in the course, we haven't taught an certain indication, we are just looking for the dogs to find a scent and for the handlers to reward at the right time...which can be difficult - too early and the dogs will lose what they are looking for, too late and you've missed the moment.

It was quite interesting watching from a distance at each dog when they approached the scent, some of the dogs were less confident in their approach and looked for reassurance from their handler, others confidently approached, knocked the scent and waited patiently for their reward.

As the evening went on, we started to see the dogs really getting to know the scent and saw several head turning moments, where the dogs walked past the scent but suddenly caught a whiff and turned as quick as lightening to go back to where they had come from.

Now is the time to start watching the dogs and their body language, each dog indicates differently, which is why we recommend watching the other dogs searching, you can learn from them too!

Brilliant work from all the dogs last night - well done all! So great to watch them progress week after week.