After the off-leash park snafu, I decided to get back to basics with Piper. While nose work/scent work was a very fun activity, it instilled a few problematic behaviors:
- One of the activities in nose work/scent work is handler discrimination (HD), and the first level of that competition is training the dog to find your sock hidden in a box. In hindsight, teaching a one-year-old puppy to hunt for my socks may not have been a great idea. Now I find my most scented dirty clothes items (underwear, bras, socks) strewn throughout the house. Yuck!
- In the element category of nose work/scent work, you use a long lead (leash) to allow the dog to walk in front of you to find the hidden scent item. This helps you stay out of their way so you don’t inadvertently distract them. When walking around the neighborhood, Piper tries to recreate this distance on her shorter walking leash, which means she pulls the entire way. Also, instead of focusing on me, she keeps her nose down trying to find various scents.
To remedy this, I decided to complete the AKC Fit Dog Challenge. In this challenge, you commit to walking your dog for at least 30 minutes, at least five times a week, for at least three months. We started in mid-July and are now on our very last week. If you’re doing the math, we took two weeks off in the middle for injury/illness (one for her, one for me).
With a more consistent walking schedule, Piper’s leash manners have indeed improved. Her first walk after a break is the hardest, so the chain collar usually has to make an appearance. After that, though, her form is pretty lovely. My favorite days are two- or three-walk days (yes yes, sometimes we have to play catch-up on the weekends) because she’s super calm. I can start imagining what she’ll be like as a mature adult doggo, and I love what I see!
- Update: Just submitted our AKC Fit Dog form on 11/18/19. Apparently the rules changed and you only need to do three 30 min. walks a week for 3 months. I guess we’re star students!