[Dailydrool] Nose work

[Alice Haley]

I have a little experience with trailing and my bloodhound, Hope.  She has
an excellent nose and is also afraid of her own shadow.  This is why she is
a police drop out.

My first exposure was to hide in the woods and a bloodhound found me.  I
rubbed a tissue on my hands and face, then put it in a plastic bag.  Next I
walked off and hid by a bridge.  The handler had the hound sniff the tissue
and off they went.  Once the bloodhound's nose touched the tissue, she had
the scent.  They were doing "air trailing" rather than "ground tracking."

The police officer who gave me the BH Hope has helped me a couple of times
to practice, even though I don't think I will compete.  Ninety pounds
pulling me through rough terrain is hard.  In trailing it's not good to
correct the hounds' speed. Hope loves it!

She is possibly the smartest dog I have ever had.  She knows that when I put
her harness on, it's time to trail and when I put on the chain it's time to
heel. She got heeling in a couple of minutes. I refuse to be dragged around
by a dog.

The basset, Daisy, being a retired conformation Champion knows leash work
very well.  Today, for the first time, I used a double ended leash to go to
the mailbox.  They did great!

Have a good weekend everyone!

The Jersey Girls,
Alice, the human; Daisy the Basset; Hope the Bloodhound; Annie and Candy the
horses.