Today is the 11th anniversary of the beginning of the nose work addiction in our family, and we are all thankful for it. None of us can imagine our lives with our nose work, even Bailie enjoys it at home. Mom is always fascinated at what we can do with our noses and she is so grateful she got started in this sport. All of us except for Katie have done nose work, and I have earned the highest title there is, Summit Dog, which makes me and Mom super proud.
Emma is partially at fault because Mom heard about nose work in a friends blog back in 2013. Bailie is the other at fault party as she was in puppy obedience and Mom saw a sign for a tracking class. At home she looked up that dog school and found out they had nose work. Emma and Bailie attended their first class on January 9th, 2014. The school had, as you can see, been doing nose work classes for a while. Sadly, the owner of the school was murdered in 2016 which closed the school, but we have continued on at other schools.
This is a photo of Emma on the first night, sniffing for treats in boxes. Our instructor asked each student what their plan was with nose work. Mom said definitely not competition, no odor, just learn how to sniff for treats and then do that at home. What? I can’t believe she ever said such a thing! Well, that didn’t last and after the second class, Mom was hooked, bought harnesses, ten foot leashes to match, and the rest was history! Another funny is a few years later when another instructor asked the students in the class if they would ever travel for nose work. Mom said, “Maybe, but not more than three to four hours driving.” Well, we all know how we travel, so Mom really should stop answering these questions as she has no idea!
On the 8th of September 2014, Emma entered her first trial, an NW1. She passed the first three searches but missed the hide on vehicles. The video above is a video of her container search. As you can see, Mom had not yet started the team color theme yet, but it would not be long until she got that started. Emma was Team Red.
The very first nose work title earned in our family was Emma, an L1V, Level 1 Vehicle Title on May 3rd 2015. It is also the first NACSW title earned by a GBGV. Our family has all the NACSW titles earned except for two. We have this picture of Emma on our photo wall. Who knew at the time we would have so many titles and do so many sports?
Bailie’s first title was also an L1V, Level 1 Vehicle Title which she earned on April 3, 2016. Guess what? That was also the very first nose work road trip! Mom was nervous about it and drove down with two other nose work friends in a caravan. It was a four and a half hour drive and that my friends began the nose work travel adventures! The trial was at a real working farm and this photo is still one of Mom’s overall favorite title photos as it is rather silly, horses in the background and all.
Madison earned her NW1, and first title in Joliet, Illinois on July 15th, 2018. Mom remembers really thinking over if she could do a six and a half hour road trip with two dogs on her own. Do you see the trend…the circle gradually expands, and now look at us! Mom started to figure out if you travel, you can do trials at fun venues, see interesting things, and that is what drives us.
My first title was an L1I, Level 1 Interior Element Title, just a half hour or so from our house. I earned that title on August 23rd, 2020. My nose work beginning was a bit messed up with all the COVID things going on.
Then we have the fifth nose work dog in the family, Nelson. His first title was NW1 and he earned that on March 12th 2023 at a local trial location.
This nose work addiction has been Grand for our family. Sports expanded to tracking, scent work, barn hunt, FastCAT, and Madison even did agility for a few years. Our home office has three walls of our awards, the smaller wall we share with Mom who insists on hanging up her two marathon medals and certificates. The fourth wall is our photo wall of fame. It is cozy, and motivational to have our office done this way. We strive to get more ribbons and Mom knows she needs to work a lot to support this nose work addiction that has spilled into other sports. All of us are thankful for our opportunities and we look forward to many more years to come!
We’re joining Brian’s Home Blog in the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
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