A Grand Nose And Strong Paws Powered Nelson To Success

My Grand nose and big strong paws powered me to a “Banner”, my newborn name, year in my dog sports. I sniffed like crazy and ran like a wild hound all of which was a ton of fun and made a successful sports year while being three. Are you ready? Let’s get started.

In March I earned my Elite2 Title in Wisconsin as well as a third place in one of my four searches that day. It was my first placement in the Elite level.

May means FastCAT. I ran hard all weekend and earned my FCAT2 Title. It is especially fun since I earned my very first FCAT Title, BCAT at the same place with the same club with my same Releaser and Catcher two years before! Note my speed increased as I got older too!

June 1st I earned my Level 2 Interior Element Title.

One week later I did two more element trials in Wisconsin, a Level 3 Interior trial and a Level 2 Container trial. I did great and got a title in both trials.

June 19th I earned my Elite3 Title as well as another placement in one of my four searches.

Fourth of July weekend we went to Illinois where I earned my overall AKC Scent Work Masters Title, which included my Master Interior Title. It was a fun trip.

Because Mom was in charge of the AKC Temperament Test in September for the club we are a member of, she thought I should give it a try. It is not a sport but it tests a dog’s temperament and adaptability. Two passes earns a title and I nailed both tests!

On the third day of that trial weekend, I tried to earn a Farm Dog Certification which is also two tests to title. I did a great job and had no trouble passing both tests and earning my FDC Title. Olivia also earned the title that day.

The first weekend in October we went up north where I earned my Elite Champion Title. Most dogs are at least a year or so older than I was but Mom says I’m good enough to compete and I do well, so let’s do it all!

In October I came out of FastCAT retirement to run in the AKC FastCAT Invitational 2025. I did great, had a blast and earned the Best of Breed. It is always good when we can represent our breed at big events. Mom likes that I had my Releaser and Catcher for this title since they are the same people that were there when I ran my first and last FastCATs. Mom even had a shirt made for her for the event…see my name on it?

Ending my year in October, I finally earned my AKC Detective Title which is huge! I needed ten perfect searches with an unknown number of five to ten hides and a time limit determined by the judge in each search. Even Olivia didn’t earn hers until the day after she turned four. Finally I managed to top her!

It was a super busy year with lots of trials and travel but it was all worth it! The next year won’t be as crazy since Olivia and I are both at the top level of our sniff sports. My fancy name now is: Ethos Let’s Go Crazy TD SWM SWD RATO FCAT2 TKN CGC ATT FDC ELT-CH L2C L1V L3I I’m very proud of my accomplishments at my age and because I love my sports so much.

Since I did a lot of outdoor sniffing and FastCAT is outside, we are joining: Living Laughing and Barking in Our Backyard for their Nature Friday blog hop.