New Fun Nosework Video!

Here's a short video of the "Intro to Odor" Class. We are having a great time in Boxford.

So far there are twenty-five Nosework students enjoying the experience with their dogs.

We are working towards having trials and kicking the butts of all visiting nosework competitors

from the left coast.

Beyond The Leash has been invited to give a K9 Nosework Seminar at MasterPeace Dog Training in Franklin, MA. on Sunday December 6th, 2009 from 9am to 4pm.

The title of the seminar is "Introduction to Canine Nosework". There have been 12 to 15 slots made available. I have been told that they have a spacious 8000 square foot training room to hold the seminar in. A description of the event is as follows:

Dogs have an amazing sense of smell and a natural desire to hunt. The sport of K9 Nose Work and Fun Nose Work classes are designed to develop your dog’s natural scenting abilities by using their desire to hunt and their love of toys, food and exercise. It’s a great way for your dog to have fun, build confidence, and burn lots of mental and physical energy. Find out just how good your dog's nose really is!

Scott's approach to teach dogs to do scent work is based on some of the foundation techniques used in K-9 detection. This unique curriculum promotes a positive, fun and motivationally-based methodology.

To sign up for this exciting event please contact MasterPeace Dog Training at 508-553-9300 or visit them online at masterpeacedog.com

Boxford Nosework in the news.

Beyond The Leash dog training in Boxford, MA. recently was featured in the TRI-TOWN TRANSCRIPT. The article focuses on the new dog sport called K9 Nosework orFun Nosework. A link is provided within the text above. But if that fails I have copied and pasted the article below.
BOXFORD - In a world where dogs are used to wearing plaid sweaters and eating treats that look like miniature T-bone steaks, one Boxford resident is offering to guide your canines back to their primal instincts.Using some of the same methods that teach dogs to search for bombs and drugs, Washington Street resident Scott Williams has begun teaching “nose work” classes at Lincoln Hall. The lessons, he said, have the potential to turn a pampered Pomeranian into a hunter.“You’re really trying to channel the dog’s natural instincts and drives,” said Williams, who moved to Boxford in June. The classes are recreational activity for both the dog and the owner, Williams said.While it has been gaining momentum on the West Coast, canine nose work isn’t well known in these parts. Williams, a certified nose work instructor, is running one of only a dozen or so classes in the country, and is the only certified individual teaching on the East Coast.Using the downstairs in Lincoln Hall, the former Los Angeles resident begins by setting up small cardboard boxes in a line down the length of the room. Putting a dog treat or food in one box, he has the owner walk his or her dog down the line until it finds the right box.“We teach them to search and hunt using food,” Williams said.Nose work is contradictory to most types of training in the sense that you are trying to push the dog to follow itself and not the owner. He said owners have to be careful about giving subconscious visual cues to their pets, such as slowing down around the box with the food in it.“Ultimately, we want the dog to follow its nose,” Williams said.The class work ranges from finding a piece of food in a line of boxes to eventually letting the dog off the leash on a vehicle search to find a birch-scented Q-tip.Since starting Boxford classes in late August, Williams has seen enough interest in the lessons that he will also be offering them at the Community House in Hamilton.In the four months since moving to the area, he has received requests by a number of dog trainers to give tutorials on nose work teaching. Last week, the dog trainer was invited to the state police academy in Vermont to take part in a detection-training workshop.The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Boston has also shown an interest in training, he said. Williams said since nose work focuses on improving a dog’s motivation and autonomy, it’s ideal for helping abused dogs that are timid and afraid.The next set of classes in Boxford begins on Sunday Oct. 18 at Lincoln Hall. Williams is offering advanced classes, which begin at 1 p.m. and the introductory course that begins at 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Classes in Hamilton begin on Monday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Community House.The course includes six classes.

Cane is out...Malinois really do sleep. I have proof!.

As the saying goes "A picture is worth a thousand words..." I'm going to bed. Good Night!

Intro to K9 Nosework Graduates!

Well, The very first session of "Intro to Nosework" has ended. We had two classes running back to back. The first class had six dogs and the second class had five. Out of eleven dogs, nine dogs graduated and are moving on to our "Intro to Odor" Class that starts on Oct. 18th. I am very pleased with the commitment of the handlers and I am always impressed with how quickly dogs learn when given the freedom and guidance to do so.

These first classes have really been a great experience for me as an instructor. The New Englanders that I've met through these classes are the best. I don't consider myself a "people person" but when dogs are the common denominator, I have no problem chatting for hours on end about dog related stuff. That's why I started Beyond The Leash!

Thank you all again for your support. I love what I do and am so fortunate to be able make a living doing it. These are lean times for all of us these days and I will continue to work hard to make your experience in K9 Nosework well worth the time and money. THE FUN IS JUST BEGINNING!

"Cane" takes 1st Place in Competition!

On Saturday, September 26th 2009, I put my dog Cane into my RV and drove up to Wells, Maine for the first Mondio Ring Trial that "Maine-ly Ring Club" has hosted in eight years. They have an excellent field and a nice group of low key dog enthusiasts that love both the sport and their dogs. This group has also managed to avoid the politics that seem to go hand in hand with these types of activities. To briefly summarize the sport I would say it is a blend of off-leash obedience, agility (jumps) and protection-based biting exercises all mixed together with a theme. The purpose of the "theme" is to create new and unusual scenarios limited only by the imagination of the hosting club and the judge. The end result is a physical and mental challenge of each dog's character and training. Mondio Ring is quite unique. Saturday's theme was "Vacation in Maine". There were lobster pots and buoys on the field. One of the challenges was the dogs' ability (ie self control) to ignore plastic lobsters being tossed around them while remaining in the down position with their handler out of sight. The retrieve object was a stuffed toy that resembled a whale. A life-sized styrofoam deer stood in the field along with a fairly tall lighthouse. It was really well done without being totally over the top.

I arrived at the trial location at 9am, just in time for the rounding up of competitors and the review of the days activities. Numbers were drawn from a hat to decide the order that the dogs would be competing in. In my catagory "Mondio Ring 1" there were seven competitors. I drew number 4. Anyone that has competed with animals knows that your're not going to "fix" anything right before a trial so what you have is what you're going to get. Cane's obedience is good. His retrieve is not perfect but solid and his bite work is also not perfect but solid. This is the result of beginning training at seven weeks old and working with him almost everyday from the day I got him until his first birthday. After that I gave him almost a full year off just to be a dog.

The trial began around 9:30am. The first three competitors did not pass. Before I entered the field I was instructed to remove my dogs leash and collar and hand it to the "Deputy Judge". This is the person that basically walks you from one exercise to another. They remind you where to stand and usually it's a big help to have a knowledgeable Deputy Judge at a trial. I handed off my gear and heeled my dog to the predetermined spot before the Judge, placed him in a down stay and introduced myself. While I was doing this another one of the Judges helpers was tossing a big piece of raw Chicken in front of my dog. Food refusal was the first exercise. Cane ignored the tossed food and was good about all of the exercises. The only one that he blew completely was the "Send Away". This exercise is when you tell your dog to "Go Out" and the dog takes off straight into the field before you. I had started that with him but never finished it and had he done it I would have been extremely surprised. It was a twelve point exercise so it's a big one to loose.

In the end my dog scored 183.5 out of 200 possible points. He lost a point here and there and the 12 big ones for no send away. On that day Cane was the best of seven dogs. It's really nice to win a trial. Even if it's a small local trial. It confirms to me that my training is on the right track. It tells me about my dogs character and it tells me a lot about myself when I do these things. I must keep my nerves in check and be a good sport win or loose. Friendly competition in any venue should only bring out the best in us.

Canine Detection with Randy Hare

I recently had the honor of being one of the only civilians invited to participate in an intensive Canine Detection Training course sponsored by the Vermont Police Academy. The instructor was Randy Hare of Alpha K9. In the world of Law Enforcement Randy is recognized as a leader in the business of Canine Detection. His ground breaking techniques have not only advanced the quality of the training but the speed that dogs are capable of learning. It is not often that one can do things faster AND enhance the quality of the end result. More importantly, Randy is able to teach others how to implement his techniques quickly and effectively.

It does however take a high-drive dog to utilize Randy's techniques. It takes a dog with high "fight-drive". I guess it's easiest to describe this as the strong desire to play tug with you. There are many dogs that are "high-drive" but the drive may be stronger to retrieve than fight or play tug. It takes a very specific dog to take advantage of this methodology. But when starting with the right dog for the job, progress moves at lightning speed.

Fortunately for me, my dog Cane falls into the category of having (at least moderate) fight-drive. I am enjoying K9 Nosework with Cane and this course really helped to give me a deeper understanding of the canine mind. Good training seams to always be simple-not easy. Channeling a dogs natural drive into a productive task is both rewarding for the dog and the handler. It takes the genius of simplicity and the patience of a Saint to stand back and let the dogs learn on their own. It goes against 100 years of traditional dog training and catapults both man and dog into the New Age.