[Soundy]

Well, I haven't updated this in a while...

We finished our first level with everyone learning to sniff around cars, with the help of bits of lunch meat. Second level has been actual odor training, using birch scent. Groucho has one more class in this "term", which will end with an odor recognition test... then the next day our teacher is hosting a "Sniff and Go", which is structured like a competition but is intended more as a social thing.

Ann is taking August off, and we're hoping to get back to it with her September classes!

For any of you looking to get into nosework, I HIGHLY recommend Ann's classes - I've been to and seen some training courses where the instructors seem to be quite rigid about how they expect things to go and particularly seem to get frustrated with the handlers... but not Ann. She stresses constantly that this is *the dog's* game, that it's up to the individual dog to find their own method of hunting and signaling... and she not only understands, but actual revels in all their unique behaviours. You can tell this is a person who really loves dogs, and derives more joy from just watching them than from their final accomplishments.