A little less than a week after his second birthday, Aidan achieved not just one, but two, American Kennel Club (AKC) novice scentwork titles.
On Aug. 3, we got a very early start – at 5 a.m. – and drove up to Midland in the dark through ground fog. My first time attempting to drive in the dark with one eye, which took some major adjustments. But I had a great co-pilot, my friend Nancy Jennings (and her Toller, Gopher).
We didn’t get back home until almost 6 p.m. and at its conclusion, Aidan and I had a pretty dismal 3-8 qualifying day.
On the bright side, he qualified in the classes that mattered to attain two of the four novice titles.
Nancy and Gopher were the stars of the day – qualifying in all four classes. Plus, she was the only novice handler to accomplish this feat.
So, time to admit it, I’m not sure my heart’s 100-percent into this sniffing sport. I decided to try it for Buzz in his retirement from Rally, but with him crossing the rainbow bridge in June, the goal of trying to reach the highest level – Detective – went with him.
Add to this I’m also trying to navigate this new-to-me sport with no depth perception and one eye. Let’s just say I’m not at my best and am easily frustrated.
Buzz spoiled me when it comes to qualifying. All he wanted to do was make me happy. The food reward was secondary.
Aidan, however, is a very different dog. I haven’t determined what food reward really tickles his fancy (so far, it’s cooked chicken) and he waits to see what’s in it for him. Some days he’s game to play with me; other days, not so much.
For all the years I walked into the Rally ring with Buzz, I had every confidence that we would not only qualify but more times than not, win the class. And we did. Over and over and over again – in fact, more than 300 times.
An unheard of accomplishment – because even the best dogs have a bad day.
All the best dogs … except Buzz. He was Mr. Consistency.
Is it fair to compare Buzz to Aidan? Nope.
Is it fair to compare Rally to Scentwork? Nope. Training for Rally, a sport in which I am quite familiar, requires precise commands and executions of movements. I know what I’m doing and how to train them.
Aidan joined the household as my future Rally dog and he’s really light on his feet and quite good at it. When his head’s in the game. I have high hopes for him, but I also know that we will either go into the ring and sparkle or crash and burn. That’s just how Aidan trains at this young age. Unfortunately since April, I really haven’t been able to train in Rally because I can’t consistently walk a straight line and footwork cues are quite important in Rally.
Buzz and I trained constantly to perfect the hundreds of different signs. I haven’t been able to do this with Aidan because of my eye.
In scentwork, although you train by hiding scents in all kinds of places, the end result is totally up to the dog.
You can’t make a dog sniff for something. And a young, inexperienced hormone-driven male dog has a lot going through his little brain all at the same time. Especially in new locations, it’s a lot for him to process. Did I mention I’m not driving much so training in new places has been hit and miss?
Buzz was a trooper by the time I started this new sniffing adventure with him. He qualified 6 out of the 8 times. The two times he didn’t qualify were completely my fault. And I knew it. It was on me and not on him.
Aidan and I are still learning about each other and our new normal without Buzz, so, both of us are bound to hit some snags. And I need to learn as much from our failures as I do from our successes.
In scentwork, it’s my job to stay out of Aidan’s way and figure out how to give him the best chance of finding the scents when I have no clue where they might be hidden by the judge. He’s in charge. But with my still limited eyesight and lack of depth perception, I’m not at my best for Aidan.
And I’m sure that my vision frustrations travel right down that 10-foot leash.
I’m really hoping that I will get good news on Sept. 10 and I can cross lack of eyesight off the list of our obstacles. And, as the days go by, Aidan and I will continue to develop our unique bond.
Learning to train the dog you have at the end of the leash and not the one you had such an unbreakable bond with – it’s a process with a steep learning curve. But I’m working on it.
All this said, Mr. Aidan now has sniffing titles in interiors and in buried. He’s now known as Wildphox’s Football Phanatic, SIN, SBN. His first two AKC titles.
The first of many more to come I hope.
We’re entered in sniffing trials again at the end of September as well as in October. Our Rally debut will have to wait until next year.
