All registration will be done through Loving Paws, LLC. Please visit this website for additional details on the event and how to register your dog for this exciting event! http://www.lovingpawsllc.com/NoseWork/ORT.aspx

For questions regarding the ORT, you may contact Kathy at softailkat@gmail.com

Let's keep the sniffing fun going!

Stay well, stay pawsative and always train happy!

Kathy

Later that afternoon I took Mojo and Turbo over to my learning center to do some scent work. Mojo thoroughly enjoys this sport and all was going well. We came home, I fed the dogs and then something went terribly wrong.

Mojo is boundary trained on my property, so I've never worried about him going beyond the boundary he has learned. I don't leave my dogs outside unsupervised, as no matter how reliable a dog is, things can happen that can draw your dog away from his property. But, Mojo has been trained to go out and potty and return to the back door. He stays within the immediate yard and is only outside for five minutes for "potty-stops".

All seemed to be fine and then it happened. About thirty minutes after Mojo ate dinner, he was acting like he had to vomit. This is not uncommon, because dogs do vomit for a variety of reasons.  I wasn't overly concerned because Mojo is the type of dog that will vomit occasionally and then he's fine. But I noticed Mojo was not acting right. I recognized "the walk".

Mojo seemed a bit disoriented as he was walking through the yard, getting further and further away from the house. This was NOT normal! I recognized that walk from June 2010 when we lived in Texas. I just knew he was bloating. In June 2010, Mojo's stomach had filled up with gas and he was in so much pain that he didn't know what to do. He started walking and just kept going. At that time, in 2010 the stomach did not twist, so our veterinarian in Texas put in a stomach tube and decompressed the stomach. That treatment was successful with relieving the gas build up and emptied the stomach contents.

When I recognized "the walk", I got a leash and ran down the driveway where Mojo now crossed the boundary.  I knew something was terribly wrong. I walked him back to the house. As soon as I got Mojo inside, I could see his abdomen was becoming distended. From that moment, every minute counted.

I called the Milwaukee Emergency Center for Animals (MECA) and told them I was bringing in my 10 year old German shepherd who I believed was in the early onset of bloat. I loaded Mojo into my vehicle and off I went for the half hour drive, knowing that every minute was critical.  We were about ten minutes from our destination when I could hear Mojo retching. He was trying to vomit. This may seem unpleasant, but I was very much hoping when I arrived at MECA, I was going to find contents from Mojo's stomach on the floor and he'd be feeling so much better.

The fear set in when I opened the door and there was no vomit. I knew at that instant Mojo's stomach had twisted, also called torsion and now every minute was truly critical. I rushed Mojo into the waiting area and within a minute, a technician arrived and took Mojo away.

I was very distraught because I know that bloat is a fatal condition if not caught early. I prayed I caught it in time and the medical staff at MECA would be able to save my sweet boy. And so the story unfolds.

I had the privilege of interviewing the veterinarian, Dr. Roz Elliott who saved Mojo's life by performing an emergency surgery, a gastropexy. Dr. Elliott was very kind to take the time to work with me on this article so that not only can I share Mojo's story, but also educate dog owners on the severity of bloat and hopefully provide enough information so dog owners can recognize the signs of bloat early, as I did.

Paws-A-Tive Choice (PC):  Where did you receive your veterinary degree? 

Dr. Elliott: University of Wisconsin Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, class of 2001

PC:  How long have you been practicing veterinary medicine and do you have a specialty?

Dr. Elliott: I have been out for almost 11 years. After graduation I did a 1 year rotating medicine and surgery internship at the Cornell Veterinary Teaching Hospital, and then a 1 year surgery internship at a private practice in Albany, NY. Since then I have worked exclusively in 24-hour emergency and referral hospitals.

PC:  Why did you choose to work at an emergency veterinary hospital such as MECA?

Dr. Elliott: I have always enjoyed the 'unknown' of emergency medicine. You never know what is going to walk through the door. I get the opportunity to work with specialists, manage critical cases, and do emergency surgeries, all of which I find immensely enjoyable.

PC: When Mojo arrived at MECA on January 1, 2012, what was your first impression upon examination?

Dr. Elliott: His history of acute 'unproductive retching' is classic for a bloat dog, but after my physical exam I was a little skeptical that his stomach was truly twisted. His abdomen was not palpably distended and his heart rate was not elevated above normal, both of which you usually see in a GDV dog. This is because they are in shock from the pressure of the distended stomach on the venous blood return. We do see quite a few dogs that come in for suspected bloat but turn out not to be. I think Mojo's clinical presentation was so subtle because you brought him in so quickly after he showed his first symptom.

PC: What did you find when you radiographed his abdomen?

Dr. Elliott: His stomach was filled with gas and had the classic 'double bubble' look. This indicates that the stomach has twisted on itself.  The film left no doubt that Mojo had gastric dilatation and volvulus or GDV. This is the medical term for bloat.

PC: Upon diagnosing him as having bloat, what was your next immediate step? 

Dr. Elliott: If a dog comes in with the obvious gas distended stomach and there is a high index of suspicion for bloat based on history and physical exam,  we place 1 or 2 IV catheters and give rapid intravenous fluid boluses. This is because bloat is a cardiovascular emergency first, and a surgical emergency second. A bloated dog usually comes in to the hospital in some degree of shock and IV fluids are used to treat this. Once they are more stable and pain medications have been given, then the films are taken to confirm the diagnosis. In Mojo's case he was so stable on presentation that we placed an IV catheter and started fluids after the film confirmed bloat. He received pain medications, blood was drawn for pre-operative lab work, and he was prepped for surgery.

PC: How critical was Mojo's condition at the time you examined him?

Dr. Elliott: He was one of the more stable bloats I have seen, but he still needed to go into surgery as soon a possible. The longer the stomach is twisted, the more likely that stomach tissue will die due to deprivation of normal blood flow.

PC: Had he not been brought to you immediately at the onset of bloat, what would Mojo's chances of survival been?

Dr. Elliott: Without surgery he would have died, probably within hours. Had treatment been delayed and he had come in as a more critically ill patient, his chances of survival decrease and the chance of complications during and after surgery increase.

PC: In your professional opinion, when a dog suffers gastric dilatation, regardless if the stomach has not twisted, do you automatically perform a gastropexy?

Dr. Elliott: Just so there is no confusion - the term 'bloat' is commonly used to refer to the condition where the stomach fills with gas AND twists on itself (gastric dilatation and volvulus or GDV). This is different than just gas in the stomach (gastric dilatation) which is not uncommon and is not a surgical emergency. We will refer to this as 'gas bloat'. What Mojo had in June 2010 was gas bloat and would not have needed to be treated surgically since the stomach was not twisted.

PC: How long was Mojo in surgery and did you encounter any complications?

Dr. Elliott: The surgery time was about 1.5 hours. This is a little longer than a typical GDV surgery because I found that Mojo had pieces of Kong in his stomach. This is not a typical finding during GDV surgery and was the only 'complication'. (Note from Kathy: All of my German shepherds have been power chewers, also known as "German shredders". I have always done my best to supervise my dogs when they are chewing on toys. I was extremely surprised to learn that Mojo had actually consumed pieces of Kong toys and those two pieces were still in his stomach. We have no idea how long those pieces had been in there. The photo shows the pieces that were removed from Mojo's stomach during surgery. When my dogs start to shred toys, the pieces are immediately picked up and discarded along with that toy. So you can imagine my surprise to find out that those pieces had been consumed.)

PC: Upon finding the two pieces of Kong toy, is there any chance that those contributed to his bloat?

Dr. Elliott: There is a possibility that it contributed. If the Kong really had been in there for over a year, who knows why he all of a sudden bloated.

PC: Was any damage done to Mojo's internal organs?    

Dr. Elliott: Once the stomach was decompressed and rotated back into it's normal position, I found no major damage to either his stomach or spleen. The spleen is often twisted and displaced along with the stomach, and if the blood supply is disrupted we sometimes have to remove it. Mojo's spleen was fine.

PC: From the time a dog begins bloating, approximately how much time does the dog have before damage is done to the organs and then possibly dies?

Dr. Elliott: That is very variable. I have seen dogs bloated for hours and come walking through the door like nothing is really wrong, and I have seen dogs come in soon after clinical signs started and find at surgery that there is extensive tissue necrosis. I don't think they could live much longer than 8-12 hours or so with a fully bloated stomach.

PC: According to the article, "Bloat - The Mother of All Emergencies" by the Veterinary Information Network, Inc. , it states if the stomach is tacked in place, the recurrence rate drops to 6%. How many gastropexys have you performed and do you have any statistics on the success rate of dogs living out their lives without suffering gas-bloat again?

Dr. Elliott: Wow. I've never thought about how many I have performed. If I had to guess I'd say somewhere around 75-100. I don't know of any of my GDV surgery patients that have had a recurrence, but one of the disadvantages of being an ER doctor is that I don't often know what happens to my patients once they are discharged. I have only seen one dog in my career whose gastropexy site broke down and he bloated again (this was several years ago) but our hospital had not performed the original surgery.

PC: Mojo is a 10 year old German shepherd. What was your overall assessment of his health?

Dr. Elliott: Other than his propensity for eating Kongs and his history of gastric dilatation (gas bloat), I'd say he seems in excellent health. He recovered very well Mojo - less than 24 hours after his emergency surgeryfrom surgery, especially for an older dog.

PC: What is his chance of developing any additional medical conditions due to having bloat?

Dr. Elliott: The only possible problem he could continue to have is gas bloat. The surgery doesn't prevent gas build up in the stomach, it just prevents the stomach from twisting.

PC: Mojo had a nasogastric tube put in 3 days following his surgery. Is this common for bloat patients?

Mojo with the NG tube 3 days after his gastropexyDr. Elliott: I'd say about 25% end up needing them. I have worked at other practices that do not routinely place NG tubes in patients so in-hospital post-op recovery can be longer. We don't like to send them home before they are getting some form of nutrition and an NG tube is great for this if they do not want to eat on their own.

PC: During the five days Mojo was at MECA, what were the daily care procedures Mojo went through? Was he hooked up to IVs? Heart monitor?

Dr. Elliott: He had IV fluids up until the day of discharge. He had blood pressures, EKG's, and vitals checked several times a day. He was on IV antibiotics and a constant rate infusion (or CRI) of pain medication to keep him comfortable. The NG tube was used to give him liquid food and between feedings was suctioned to keep his stomach from filling with too much fluid. And of course he was walked outside several times a day as well!

PC: What advice can you provide my readers on what they can possibly do to prevent this condition from happening to their dogs?

Dr. Elliott: For the most commonly affected breeds, we usually recommend that you limit your dog's activity for 1-2 hours after eating. There is still a lot of debate as to what does and does not contribute to the development of GDV.

If you have a dog that is a high-risk breed, please consider having a prophylactic gastropexy done. It is the same 'tacking' of the stomach to the body wall that we do during GDV surgery, but it is done in a healthy dog to prevent it from happening, not after it has already happened. It is far less risky to perform surgery on a healthy dog rather than one in crisis. An ounce of prevention is most certainly worth a pound of cure in this case!

PC: Can any breed and any size of dog bloat?

Dr. Elliott: Technically the answer is 'yes', but it is almost exclusively seen in large or giant breed, deep-chested dogs. I have read reports of it happening in some smaller breeds but I have not seen it myself in an atypical breed.

PC:  Is there any other information you'd like to share regarding Mojo's case or your experience with working with dogs that bloated?

Dr. Elliott: My best advice to your readers - know the clinical signs of bloat and get your dog to a veterinarian immediately if you suspect that your dog may have GDV.

The classic signs are unproductive retching (sometimes they will bring up white foam) and a large, gas distended and painful abdomen. When in doubt, have your dog seen by a veterinarian. I would rather take 100 films on dogs that come in for bloat and find with relief that they are not a true GDV, than to have 1 dog sit at home suffering.

PC: According to the article on VeterinaryPartner.com, "Bloat - The Mother of All Emergencies", several statistics were noted. Apparently dogs weighing more than 99 pounds have an approximate 20% risk of bloat.

In 1993 a study was conducted at the School of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, Germany involving 134 dogs: 88 of the dogs were treated with decompression and surgery; 9 of those dogs died during surgery; 16 dogs died in the week following surgery and 63 dogs went home in good health. Of those 63 dogs, 4 dogs had a second episode of bloat later in life. For full details on the statistics of this study;  visit www.VeterinaryPartner.com.

I would like to include from that article the factors increasing the risk of bloat:

• Feeding one meal per day (Mojo is fed twice daily)

• Dogs in the same bloodline that had a history of bloat (There were some distant relatives in Mojo's bloodline that had bloated)

• Dogs that eat rapidly (Mojo is a speedy eater)

• Dogs that are thin or overweight (Mojo is at a healthy weight)

• Feeding from an elevated bowl (Mojo's bowl is not elevated)

• Restricting water before and after meals (Mojo has access to water at all times)

• Feeding dry diets with animal fat listed in the first four ingredients (Mojo is on a good quality diet with the first four ingredients: fresh chicken; chicken meal; pearled barley; oatmeal)

• Fearful or anxious temperament (This certainly fits Mojo. He is a very high-drive, intense dog. He can go from 0 to 60 within a matter of a few seconds. I thought that personality profile for increasing the risk of bloat was interesting.)

• History of aggression towards people or other dogs (This also fits Mojo. He is a dog-reactive dog.)

• Male dogs are more likely to bloat than females (Mojo is a male)

• Older dogs (7-12 years) were the highest risk group (Mojo is 10 years old)

Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent GDV in a dog. But taking a few simple steps may at least lower the risk of bloat.

1) Break up your dog's meal into two or three meals rather than feeding one large meal.

2) Do not allow your dog to exercise heavily for one hour prior to eating and for at least one to two hours after eating.

3) Try adding canned dog food to your dog's diet.

4) Keeping your dog calm before, during and after eating a meal. (I now feed Mojo in a separate room and give him "quiet time" for about an hour following his meal so he can digest it and stay relaxed.)

Mojo - 3 days after his surgeryThank you for reading Mojo's story. He spent 5 days at MECA where he received the very best care. I was highly impressed with the entire staff at this emergency hospital. They truly saved my sweet boy's life! I am so grateful to each person who directly cared for Mojo; especially Dr. Roz Elliott. She is an outstanding surgeon!

Mojo on Jan. 12, 2012I am thrilled to report that at the writing of this article, Mojo appears to be 100% recovered. He's back to enjoying life and seems healthier now than he has in a very long time.

Milwaukee Emergency Center for Animals is located in Greenfield, WI at 3670 South 108th Street. www.erforanimals.com

We're just about through the month of January and really, we've had a great winter so far. I know folks who enjoy snow sports haven't been too happy because we haven't had much snow, but this is Wisconsin. We still have a couple of months yet of winter. Snow always comes, sometimes later in winter and almost always in early spring. But for me, I've been thoroughly enjoying the winter we've had so far.

I just wrapped up my first 8-week session of winter classes. The next session of classes begins the week of February 6th. Please visit the Class Schedule page to view the list of all classes being offered and the times for those classes.

Also, watch for an upcoming article on "Bloat". Sadly, my 10 year old German shepherd, Mojo suffered an episode of Bloat on New Year's Day. I rushed him to the Milwaukee Emergency Center for Animals where an emergency gastropexy was performed on him. This surgery saved his life. Had I not known the early signs of Bloat, Mojo would have died within a matter of a couple of hours.

I had the privilege of interviewing the surgeon, Dr. Roz Elliott for the article I will be writing on this often fatal condition. I want to get the word out on how serious this condition is and to educate dog owners on the early signs of Bloat so their dogs' lives may be saved too.

I'm wishing all of my wonderful students and friends of Paws-A-Tive Choice a very Happy, Healthy and Safe 2012. And if you're looking for something fun to do with your pooch during these remaining winter months, join one of our many fun and family friendly dog training classes. Your dog will thank you for it!

Stay pawsative and train happy!

Kathy

Thanksgiving has passed and now we're gearing up for the Christmas season. Not only are the holidays upon us, but so is the WINTER SCHEDULE here at Paws-A-Tive Choice. (Visit the Class Schedule page for details.)

Originally I was going to be back in Texas to teach for the winter, but the marvelous opportunity was given to me to stay here in Wisconsin and continue teaching dog training classes at my learning center in Union Grove.

Even though I am sad that I won't be having fun this winter with my students in Texas, I am very excited to keep the fun going with all of my dedicated Wisconsin students.

It has been such a thrill for me to reconnect with each of my wonderful students here. I feel honored to have the on going opportunity to train with them and their lovely dogs.

I'm working on some fun things for the winter that should help shake off those cold-weather blues. I will post more information on that later.

On December 16th at 6:30 p.m. I'm hosting a Cocoa & Cookies Holiday Pooch Party. This will be a fun evening of dog socialization and for their people to get together and enjoy sharing the holiday season with fellow dog-lovers. There will be cocoa and goodies for the party-attendees. Each person who would like to participate in the doggy-cookie exchange will go home with a bag of goodies for their pooch.

This Pooch Party is open for all dogs that are dog/people social. If your dog is shy, fearful, sensitive or reactive toward other dogs or people, this would not be the appropriate event for your canine companion to participate in. However, people are welcome to join in the fun and leave their pooch at home to relax in the comfort of their own home.

There is a $5 Pooch Party Fee for NON-ACTIVE Students of Paws-A-Tive Choice and no charge for currently active students. If you are interested in joining in this holiday fun, please contact me no later than Wednesday, December 14th as I will need a final count on participants for the doggy-cookie exchange. Email: softailkat@gmail.com

I'm looking forward to keeping the fun going here in Wisconsin!

Here's wishing you and yours a very Happy and Safe Holiday Season.

Kathy

Paws-A-Tive Choice

I have to say I have the most loyal, patient students as well. They are always willing to wait for my return. Of course my Wisconsin students don't want me to go back to Texas and my Texas students don't want me to head up to Wisconsin. At least I can say that I feel very appreciated by each of them. They are the reason I do what I do! My students and their dogs bring so much joy to my life. I can't imagine doing anything else as a profession.

One of my Texas students just sent me this lovely letter sharing her thoughts about the K9 Scent Work-Fun class she took with her Standard poodle, Bella earlier this year. She wanted me to share this with all of my web readers.

Thank you, Kimberly for taking the time to express your enjoyment of training with me. You and Bella make a great team.

_____________________________________________________

Hi Kathy,

Hope you are missing us here in the blistering heat…LOL  We miss you, and can’t wait for your return!

I wanted to take time to thank you so much for the K-9 Scent Work-Fun class that Bella and I were so lucky to participate in. I’m not sure who had more fun, Bella, the other dogs or me! Rig, my better half of course would laugh every night on our way home asking that very question.

What a great activity for us to participate in during my convalescence. You were right; this is definitely a sport for all ages and physicality of our canine buddies and human friends alike. And what FUN we had, the term Pure Joy definitely applied for me!

Bella, who loves to play, was going through a tough time with losing her companion in December and then her mommy getting sick in January. She really needed that extra stimulation she received and enjoyed with K9 Scent Work.

Bella, finding the "hide"It was absolutely thrilling to watch how quickly Bella and all of her other buddies caught on to the sport.  What a beautiful thing to experience when you actually see their little minds working for the goal. How they tune everything and everybody out, and are so intent on what they need and want to do. They didn’t even mind the over excited human, clapping her hands, and awing for their finds!

I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the different reactions of each dog when they picked up the scent of their hide, or how they knew ok, got this one where’s the next one! And let's not forget to mention how the excitement level would increase as we progressed through our training. It was like, well I have a job to do, let's getter done! Especially Phoebe, she was one hard gal to fool! (Phoebe was a Labradoodle in the class.)

Your love and passion for what you do shines through, and we were completely blessed to find you. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication! I can’t wait for Scent Training 201 when you return from Wisconsin.

Warmest Affection,

Bella, Kimberly and Rigaud

It's that time of year again when we're kicking off summer fun for you and your dog at Paws-A-Tive Choice in Union Grove, WI.

The class schedule has been set. (Please visit the Class Schedule page to view classes offered and times for each class.) All classes begin the week of May 23rd, so if you want to jump start your summer fun, enroll NOW. Class size is limited with only a few openings left for each of the classes. Enrollment deadline is Friday, May 20th.

If you are interested in registering for a class, please email me at: softailkat@gmail.com or call me at: (262) 994-3487.

I'm so looking forward to having fun with all of my students and sincerely welcome all of you new students to the Paws-A-Tive Choice family.

If you're looking for something new to do with your canine pal, enroll your dog in the K9 Scent-Work Fun class. This is a brand new class being offered at Paws-A-Tive Choice. This is a sport that any breed of any age can enjoy. The dogs use their natural ability to smell in order to search for a scent, (food) in the introductory class. In advanced classes, the dogs learn how to search for a particular odor. The dogs love this game and their people have a great time watching their dogs do what comes naturally, SNIFFING! (Please visit the Services and Classes page to read about the class descriptions.)

Classes offered: Agility (Beginner through Advanced); K9 Good Neighbor Program (Adult doggy manners, based on the AKC Canine Good Citizen criteria); K9 Scent-Work Fun and Puppy-Love Beginner Puppy class.

Private lessons are also available if the class time of your choice does not fit your schedule, or your dog has special needs. Call me and I'll happily work with you to help you and your dog achieve a harmonious relationship and be successful each step of the way.

Let the games begin!

Until next time, be well and train happy!

Kathy

Phoebe searching boxes

"I didn’t know what to expect when Kathy mentioned rolling out her new class, K9 Scent Work-Fun. The information Kathy provided stated this was a new sport and is a fun game for the dogs to use their keen sense of smell. All the dogs in our class have so much personality and really enjoyed their turns at the game. They are so smart and I like to think each one knew they were entertaining all of us pooch parents.

My 4 ½ year old dog,  Phoebe has so much energy to Phoebe finds the hide under the laundry basketbegin with; this was a great way for her to release her energy while figuring out where the treasure-treat was hidden. It was also comforting to see Phoebe become more confident putting her cute little head into the boxes and objects each week, since she was pretty timid at the beginning. We play the game at home and she just loves it!

Allison rewards Phoebe for finding the hideI appreciate Kathy giving us the opportunity to try out this new and special class. Kathy does all the hard work to study, stay on top of everything that’s going on in her field, prepare and create an environment where our dogs and us can just have fun."  Allison Verstappen



Nellie finding the hide in the box

What is a dog to say about scent training with Ms. Kathy? I gotta say that the best part about it is all of the treats, treats, treats and more treats. During my first scent training class, I was unsure what I was supposed to do. I got to roam around in a partitioned area (first with a leash and then without a leash!) There were some other dog owners watching me explore and boy did I love all of this attention. There were lots of rectangular brown things (boxes) in the room. Then I started to walk near a certain rectangular brown thing (box) and smelled that there were some goodies hidden in it. Ms. Kathy wrote "Food" on that one box but after a little bit, I got really good at sniffing to find that box. (My owner thinks that I learned how to read. I just couldn't break it to her that it's just that I quickly learned how to smell for treats. The nose knows.....) 

After the first week of class, I totally looked forward to going back to scent training class. As my owner The hide is behind the bag that Nellie is searchingand myself drove to class, the closer that we got to Ms. Kathy's training facility, the more excited that I got. My tail would wag quicker the closer that we got to her property. If my owner had a tail, I'm sure that hers would have been wagging too. 

As the scent training weeks went on, there began to be new strange objects placed in the training area like cones, a small trashcan, a mop bucket, dog bowl, paper shopping bags and so forth. On a typical day at home,  I would have been afraid of these unidentified objects. (Underneath all of my fur and big nose was a real fraidy cat. Don't tell too many people that I was the type of dog that startled and then barked at new things in my environment.) However, I learned that these new objects were fun to search because the humans would tuck away yummy treats in some of them. I'm not as scared as I used to be and have become what humans would say as "more confident".

Nellie being rewarded for finding the hide on the step of ladderDon't get me wrong. The scent training class was work. Using my nose required quite a bit of concentration. I was completely exhausted by the time that I got home from class. As my "smart" owner tried to tell me, the mental challenge was healthy for me and my brain. After getting home from class, I would go right to sleep right next to wherever my owner was sitting.

I think that this scent training class has made me even closer with my owner. I am so grateful that she took me to this class. My owner is pretty awesome and I gotta thank Ms. Kathy for organizing this class for us and for making it so much fun!! I still can't quite figure out why Ms. Kathy threw a party for me every week.  

The scent training class made me happy, and also Nellie is rewarded for finding the hide while doing a vehicle searchmade my owner happy. The other people in the room looked pretty dog-gone happy too. The scent training class was great but let's just keep it a secret.  There's not enough room in this world for very many smart, confident, and happy dogs like myself!!



Throughout the six weeks, I continued my correspondence with one of the founding members of the National Association of Canine Scent Work, Jill Marie O'Brien. Jill graciously provided input and guidance on my weekly sessions. Every week we added more challenging searches for the dogs and every week the confidence levels noticably increased with each dog.

1st K9 Scent Work Class at Paws-A-Tive Choice in Dripping Springs, TXI so enjoyed my first group of K9 Scent Work participants. The people and their dogs had such marvelous enthusiasm and every one got involved throughout class. This was definitely a class like no other I've taught or attended personally.

Since we wrapped up our 6-week session, I've received some very nice correspondence from my students, the first from a student whose dog was painfully shy and fearful of new situations. My student has granted me permission to post her letter to me to share her and Cappie's experience with the K9 Scent Work class.

 Hi Kathy-

Here are some comments on the nose work class. I appreciate your generosity in giving myself and Cappie the opportunity to reach another level in our training together.

I was not sure what to expect when I signed up for the "nose work" class earlier this year. The ideaCappie finding the "hide" under a box
of my dog, Cappie learning about seeking and working for her treats made me think it would be a good exercise to learn and have as an alternative activity or game.

The class has turned out to exceed my expectations. The game has also turned into a kind of awakening in my once painfully shy companion. Her curiosity and confidence in everyday life have both been pushed to a whole new level.

She is generally much more engaged and eager to explore her environment, "nosing" around with her tail high and wagging, seeing what might be in and around, even when we are not playing any games. The change has been noticeable over the weeks since we started with the "party in a box" pursuits.

Her problem solving, and her communication with me have both benefited from the positive reinforcement. This intense weekly exercise has made Cappie a better companion and her life that much more fun!

Cappie finding an elevated "hide"As a result of both the nose work and Paws-A-Tive Choice agility training, my little Cappie dog is ready to present herself proudly and respond to a variety of situations and feel safe and well adjusted. It is hard to believe such an inexperienced dog, if properly worked with, can transform and come to find their way to interact with such charm and good manners.

Thank you so much! It's great work you are doing with the dogs AND the people! I hope things go well back home in Wisconsin. We look forward to seeing you again in the fall.

Warmest regards,
Judie

This is going to be an exciting weekend for me. I'm headed to Pearland, TX for a K9 Nose Work workshop. I have my 9 year old German shepherd, Mojo enrolled in a working spot. This is a brand new sport for me and my pooch.

I first learned about K9 Nose Work when I attended the Association of Pet Dog Trainers conference this past October. After hearing the presentation by two of the founders of this sport, Amy Herot and Jill Marie O'Brien, I was totally hooked!

For those of you who are not familiar with what K9 Nose Work is, it's a new dog sport that allows your dog to use his natural ability to detect scent and determine it's source. The dogs learn to find a novel scent anywhere in a room, a field and a car search.

The downside is that because this sport is relatively new, there are not many classes available around the country. My intention for attending is to learn more about this sport, gather information about what it would take to start holding K9 Nose Work classes, but mostly to give my dog another fun activity.

Even though Mojo is still healthy and is a wonderful agility dog at 9 years old, there will come a time when he will no longer be able to do this intense sport. I want to give him another outlet that will be enjoyable and will utilize his natural skills without taxing the physical body.

This sport has so many positive characteristics. Dogs of all ages can participate; any breed can do this; even dog-reactive and people-reactive dogs can do this sport and be successful. Dogs that lack handler focus, are shy or dogs that are not physically able to do high-drive sports can participate. This almost sounds like a "dream sport".

I am very much looking forward to this weekend and will post an update next week. If I'm allowed to post pictures of my dog working, I will do that as well.

Until then, be well and train happy!

Kathy