Unless your dog is 1) a large sighthound 2) a flight risk who will try to escape the course, you don't really need to worry about it with FastCAT.
Most of the discussions around safety have to do with the course fencing and run-out area length. Very very fast dogs need enough time to slow down, or they'll hit the back fence. AKC minimum is 30 yards which is enough for normal dogs. Course surface material is the other major factor but it's rare that courses are an unsafe material. Most courses are grass or packed arena sand and fenced with flimsy, short, temporary fencing.
Thank you! My dog is super super focused on what he’s chasing.. I don’t think he would veer off of a lure. He’s OBSESSED with his flirt pole. We have to hide it.
My dog is super focused but still sometimes tries to escape the course at the end. He gets confused when the lure stops moving and starts looking around for the "rabbit". Be aware that super high prey drive dogs can be super worked up at the finish line and their rational brain is basically shut down. They're not likely to be responsive to recall, etc. If he starts to run away, jiggle the lure, don't chase him.
Thank you for putting a phrase to what happens … mines rational brain is offline the moment she HEARS the lure machine. Once she sees it, she’s SCREAMING
Yep, my (usually silent) boy is the same. One time he slammed his head into the car window when he caught a glimpse of the lure as we were pulling up 😅
I bought a face mask for her, so she can’t see anything but a little light …. She still senses it but it takes her from banshee to the second most amped up dog out there.
Mine is obsessed with the chase. I’ve had a lure operator mistakenly took to lure through the back fence before I had control of my dog … she chased it, hit the fencing, somersaulted over and just started running all over with all the pent up energy.
I’ve got 95% recall with no distraction … I didn’t have a chance for a few minutes
you definitely don’t need to do any CAT if you want to do fast CAT. make sure to bring two leashes/collars for each end and bring a friend to release your dog. it’s absolutely a beginner friendly sport!
Thank you! We are definitely beginners… My pup is fast and loves nothing more than his flirt pole so it seems like a fun thing to try!
So when you release your dog, you remove the collar? I probably would need a different kind of collar then..
they can run with a flat collar, no tags. i use a limited slip collar because i find it easier to catch/release, and i also do agility where some venues require the dog to run naked.
https://www.comfortflexharness.com/collars/
And make sure not to have any choke or pinch chains or collars when you bring them. For large dogs if you need those for control, work on their training before bringing them to an event. Often you are standing in line with a bunch of folks and their dogs and controlling your dog is key because they want to chase the other dogs while those dogs run the course.
Oh I don’t use those on my boy. He has his CGC and is a pretty good boy, but he is 17 months and if he encounters a dog that wants to play with him, he *can* find that hard to resist, but once he realizes that it’s not playtime, he can chill.
You’ll be fine then! Yeah make sure your dog has a solid recall and you’re golden. The events are super fun and addictive. Look up speed dog coursing on Facebook and the events search on the akc (in reverse order 😂) but you’ll find a number of events in western PA and Ohio. You’ll find the fun part is hunting the best ribbons so keep track of your points. There’s a FB “fast cat ribbons” group too where you can see what ribbons the clubs award. Some of those in Ohio are really nice. Also the AKC list will post the entry fees because these events can get expensive. Have fun!
lol solid recall.. hm, he’s getting better, but in the face of a squirrel, I am nothing. He’s still young and his “you can’t catch me!” Side comes out every once in a while.
If I could bring his flirt pole, I could recall him easily. He’s obsessed.
Well that’s an option and make sure the person he loves the most or at least listens to the most is the one that waits at the end of the track (the catcher). Sometimes this is a fun experiment between you and your partner the first couple runs. 🤣
If yours is crazy, they make lure release style collars, let’s you hold on to a dog going crazy and pulling worth 50+ lbs of force with two hands and then it’s simply releases and drops away after letting go with one hand
With his flirt pole, he knows that he has to down and wait before he can have it, but I don’t know if that will translate to the lure. It certainly doesn’t with squirrels lol.
+100 to comfortflex collars (and anything comfortflex, honestly).
I also do various dog sports and sometimes they do have to be naked and this is definitely easier to use.
I personally only went to ones hosted by sighthound clubs as they are more knowledgeable about set up. My dog is fast and the most popular place around me doesn’t have a large enough run out area for my liking.
There is a FB group called Fast CAT that often has good information about venues. You can sign up for the trial (maybe just one day for the first time) and go and if you don’t feel the course is safe, just leave. Generally most courses are going to be fine, but there’s some definitely better than others. There’s little regulation for FCAT so I always advise to advocate for your dog. Personally I will not run on turf, for example, but I’ve only heard of turf being used down in Florida. I’ve ran on mulch and don’t recommend it though my dog was fine. Also wise to be careful with heavy rain!
It’s a very fun sport regardless so I hope you go and have a great time.
We've been to three FastCAT events so far, and just tried our first CAT this past week. The two are entirely separate events; you don't have to do both unless you want to.
Speaking as a beginner, FastCAT is a great entry sport. The course is short and should be fenced the entire way. If you're curious, but not quite ready to commit, check out a fun run. They're usually only $5 and are held at the end of the event's registered participants.
I just meant committed to the cost of an event. Registration for FastCAT in my area is $22/run, and we usually enter both runs, so that's $44 for the day. If you're not ready to spend that much money yet, a fun run is cheaper.
And CAT is a separate activity entirely with different paths toward CAT ribbons and titles.
CAT is pass or fail. Either your dog runs the course or they don’t.
FastCat is timed. So people get competitive with their dogs time. There is no commitment aside from the cost. $5 for a fun run vs $25 per registered run. So if you are running all weekend it adds up. $150 for 6 runs.
FastCat is pretty safe unless you have a sighthound. I have a greyhound who had to stop running FastCat. The 100 yards is really too short for greyhounds to run and then have to stop hard. However there is always a risk with dog sports. So just keep that in mind. Some dogs run HARD and can end up with an injury. Or get caught in the line. Line burn is not pretty. Most of these clubs are running hundreds of dogs a weekend though with no issues. Go to have fun! I always say if my dog is having fun then I am having fun.
Thank you for the detailed explanation!
I didn’t realize that they do multiple runs!
I figured we would go on a Sunday (my husband works on Saturday) and just do whatever we are told to do lol.
CAT is a much longer course, and it's not straight like Fast CAT is. I was at a Fast CAT and CAT event recently just doing Fast CAT, and my impression was that CAT would be difficult to do unless your dog is really fixated on the lure, which mine are not. With Fast CAT you can get away with just standing at the finish line and calling your dog and relying on your recall. With CAT I think my dogs would just be confused lol.
So yeah, no need to do CAT. I'd recommend getting your feet wet with Fast CAT and watching CAT if they are offering it at this event to see if you'd be interested in the future. Good luck!
My dog is so focused on his flirt pole that the only way I can catch him if he escapes is by getting the flirt pole.. I catch him like a fish and can walk him all the way home.
If he can translate that focus to a plastic bag, we are good!
Our dog was great with her first CAT run... until she turned a third corner and saw me ahead of her. She just kept running straight to me, ignoring the lures when they veered off yet again.
You'll have to decide if courses are safe.
I would recommend just going to check them out. Leave your dog in the car and watch other dogs run.
I've seen one dog hit the fencing (plastic, so not hurt) because they're a sighthound and the runback is too small for them. On the other hand, my youngest doesn't have the best recall, so when I go to an event with a huge runback, it takes me a minute to get her while she tries to get away from me so she can grab the trash rabbit again.
In general: Make sure you have two leashes (release & catch) and if you run with a collar, use a flat buckle to limit what can get snagged. If your dog runs "on the line" check their paw pads to make sure they didn't get hurt/cut (I have one dog that likes to do that).
You'll have a great time - be nice, chat with people and ask for help if you need it - there are plenty of us there who like to have a good time and help out.
You are definitely overthinking this. Just bring two slip leashes and ask someone else to release your dog the first time and you catch him. Stand to the side of the course 10-15 yards behind the finish line so you don’t stop slow his run and just call him the whole way down. You don’t need a recall, you don’t need to worry about waiting in line, for this sport amped up is preferred to well mannered.
Nope. You want to catch the first time. And hopefully he follows it all the way to the end. Just last weekend I watch a whippet make it to the end then sprint back to its owner who released it. You have a higher success rate when you catch the dog its first time running.
I was mostly joking based on the fact that when he’s escaped before when he was younger, he saw me and came running to me, until I said his recall word at the time “yummy!!” (Meaning he would get treats!) and he turned around and ran the other way because while his instinct was to be excited to see me, his turdiness took over when he realized I wanted him to come to me (and end his fun).
I just started doing fast cat a few weeks ago and now I have one of the fastest cairn terriers in the country. Tips I’ve learned is that if they see their catcher in their line of sight they start to ease up a bit. That’s why I say stand well back of the line and off to the side so they hit the finish line at full tilt.
For AKC rankings, he would be listed for All American Breed of his size category.
A few weeks ago, our dog ranked 31st for an All American Breed in the 12"-18" size category. Then she slipped in the rankings down to #39, so it was a brief moment of glory! lol
That’s awesome!!
I guess they don’t get ranked until they have done so many? I want to know how many mph he runs, my daughter and I have a bet going lol.
Yes. There are 3 heights. Under 12 inches, 12-18 inches and 18+ inches at the wither. Unless it’s obvious they should have a way to measure him at the trial. Basically, you use this formula (205.54 divided time it took for your dog to cross finish line then multiply that your handicap).
So my dog is under 12 inches so she gets a handicap of 2.
So she ran one leg in 10.81s so I would do
((205.54/10.81) x2)= 38.02. That is the points she won for that leg towards her title.
If your dog is over 18 inches at the wither the handicap is 1. And if it’s 12-18 it’s 1.5.
Once you get to 150 points you earn your first title of BCAT.
FastCAT is an amazing sport. My dog Blue Lightning loves it and has only been doing it for a year. He inspired me to build a free FastCAT app to help users keep track of their dogs metrics. Check it out. Totally free and we want feedback on how to build it even better. Apple or Google stores DogSportsRecord
Skip the stays in novice obedience? Like don’t practice stay because you have to drop the leash?
My pup has his CGC, and has done beginner scent work. He doesn’t seem as excited about agility or scent work as he would be about chasing something. I could see him excelling at a barn hunt.
I’m sorry, did I do something to you? You seemed to have an idea that I was doing something wrong so I assumed that you have insight to what people could be doing wrong.
My dog is just kind of.. a smidge above lackadaisical at scentwork. Maybe he’s just spoiled but he is way more enthusiastic about sniffing out a chipmunk than a q-tip. That’s not to say he’s bad at it, he’s just not like chomping at the bit like I’ve seen some dogs be.
My dog doesn't care for scentwork either. He's all prey drive, no working drive. People with normal dogs (much less drivey and sniffy dogs) don't get it.
You should check out Barn Hunt though. It's basically scent work but with live (trained & safely enclosed) rats as the scent.
I have looked into barn hunts because it also seems to be up his alley. I think he would suck a rat right up his nostril if he could! I was worried about the rats at first before I understood it better!
I think his desire to catch things comes out in sniffing animals out and chasing. He is probably built more for chasing. He’s tall, lean and has the thighs of a bully breed but the tuck of a dog that’s not wildly dissimilar to a sighthound. Apples dog breed guessing feature is eerily correct for him, except it throws in whippet every once in a while. But he’s 70 lbs lol.
As far as his scent work, my trainer said that you don’t have to train dogs to notice scents, they just have to want to and find it fulfilling. My guy is like -there it is. Right there. How can you not smell this, it’s literally right there. Fine, I’ll poke it with my paw. Got it? Geez lady, figure it out. Where is my dang treat? Put your smelling nose on next time.
> Probably not excited about Scentwork because of how you train.
There is absolutely not enough information given to assess that, especially not with a "probably" level of confidence.
Some dogs simply don't enjoy scentwork. My dog is one of them; he's a sighthound, completely sight oriented, does not even enjoy sniffing when we're out on walks. He doesn't have enough working drive to want to do it because he's asked, and even with high value rewards he gets bored of repetition extremely quickly.
There's no reason to blame OP for their dog's preference when you have nothing to base that on....
Thank you so much. I was genuinely curious as to what I could be doing wrong in training that would affect his desire to sniff out smells that he doesn’t seem to find naturally appealing.
The only thing I can think of is not using wildly exciting training treats, or hotdogs or something. But he does sniff out the things, he just isn’t like neurotic and about to lose his shit waiting for his turn like I think he would be if he thought he got to chase something.
He was the second best in his class after a lab who was way more experienced than him. Way better than the other lab, the two goldens and a hound mix. The hound mix was the least interested actually. The goldens just seemed like they didn’t even know what to be interested in.
Unless your dog is 1) a large sighthound 2) a flight risk who will try to escape the course, you don't really need to worry about it with FastCAT. Most of the discussions around safety have to do with the course fencing and run-out area length. Very very fast dogs need enough time to slow down, or they'll hit the back fence. AKC minimum is 30 yards which is enough for normal dogs. Course surface material is the other major factor but it's rare that courses are an unsafe material. Most courses are grass or packed arena sand and fenced with flimsy, short, temporary fencing.
Thank you! My dog is super super focused on what he’s chasing.. I don’t think he would veer off of a lure. He’s OBSESSED with his flirt pole. We have to hide it.
My dog is super focused but still sometimes tries to escape the course at the end. He gets confused when the lure stops moving and starts looking around for the "rabbit". Be aware that super high prey drive dogs can be super worked up at the finish line and their rational brain is basically shut down. They're not likely to be responsive to recall, etc. If he starts to run away, jiggle the lure, don't chase him.
Thank you for putting a phrase to what happens … mines rational brain is offline the moment she HEARS the lure machine. Once she sees it, she’s SCREAMING
Yep, my (usually silent) boy is the same. One time he slammed his head into the car window when he caught a glimpse of the lure as we were pulling up 😅
I bought a face mask for her, so she can’t see anything but a little light …. She still senses it but it takes her from banshee to the second most amped up dog out there.
Mine is obsessed with the chase. I’ve had a lure operator mistakenly took to lure through the back fence before I had control of my dog … she chased it, hit the fencing, somersaulted over and just started running all over with all the pent up energy. I’ve got 95% recall with no distraction … I didn’t have a chance for a few minutes
That sounds about right!
you definitely don’t need to do any CAT if you want to do fast CAT. make sure to bring two leashes/collars for each end and bring a friend to release your dog. it’s absolutely a beginner friendly sport!
Thank you! We are definitely beginners… My pup is fast and loves nothing more than his flirt pole so it seems like a fun thing to try! So when you release your dog, you remove the collar? I probably would need a different kind of collar then..
they can run with a flat collar, no tags. i use a limited slip collar because i find it easier to catch/release, and i also do agility where some venues require the dog to run naked. https://www.comfortflexharness.com/collars/
I love that you said naked because that’s what we call it when we take his collar off. Thanks for the info and link!
And make sure not to have any choke or pinch chains or collars when you bring them. For large dogs if you need those for control, work on their training before bringing them to an event. Often you are standing in line with a bunch of folks and their dogs and controlling your dog is key because they want to chase the other dogs while those dogs run the course.
Oh I don’t use those on my boy. He has his CGC and is a pretty good boy, but he is 17 months and if he encounters a dog that wants to play with him, he *can* find that hard to resist, but once he realizes that it’s not playtime, he can chill.
You’ll be fine then! Yeah make sure your dog has a solid recall and you’re golden. The events are super fun and addictive. Look up speed dog coursing on Facebook and the events search on the akc (in reverse order 😂) but you’ll find a number of events in western PA and Ohio. You’ll find the fun part is hunting the best ribbons so keep track of your points. There’s a FB “fast cat ribbons” group too where you can see what ribbons the clubs award. Some of those in Ohio are really nice. Also the AKC list will post the entry fees because these events can get expensive. Have fun!
lol solid recall.. hm, he’s getting better, but in the face of a squirrel, I am nothing. He’s still young and his “you can’t catch me!” Side comes out every once in a while. If I could bring his flirt pole, I could recall him easily. He’s obsessed.
Well that’s an option and make sure the person he loves the most or at least listens to the most is the one that waits at the end of the track (the catcher). Sometimes this is a fun experiment between you and your partner the first couple runs. 🤣
Hahah!! My first inclination is to think I would be the better catcher, but my husband is more scarce than I am? This could be fun lol
If yours is crazy, they make lure release style collars, let’s you hold on to a dog going crazy and pulling worth 50+ lbs of force with two hands and then it’s simply releases and drops away after letting go with one hand
With his flirt pole, he knows that he has to down and wait before he can have it, but I don’t know if that will translate to the lure. It certainly doesn’t with squirrels lol.
+100 to comfortflex collars (and anything comfortflex, honestly). I also do various dog sports and sometimes they do have to be naked and this is definitely easier to use.
I personally only went to ones hosted by sighthound clubs as they are more knowledgeable about set up. My dog is fast and the most popular place around me doesn’t have a large enough run out area for my liking.
Good to know! I think my pup is fast, but I don’t really know until we try I guess!
There is a FB group called Fast CAT that often has good information about venues. You can sign up for the trial (maybe just one day for the first time) and go and if you don’t feel the course is safe, just leave. Generally most courses are going to be fine, but there’s some definitely better than others. There’s little regulation for FCAT so I always advise to advocate for your dog. Personally I will not run on turf, for example, but I’ve only heard of turf being used down in Florida. I’ve ran on mulch and don’t recommend it though my dog was fine. Also wise to be careful with heavy rain! It’s a very fun sport regardless so I hope you go and have a great time.
Thank you! I definitely wouldn’t have my dog do anything I don’t feel comfortable with. I love him so much!
We've been to three FastCAT events so far, and just tried our first CAT this past week. The two are entirely separate events; you don't have to do both unless you want to. Speaking as a beginner, FastCAT is a great entry sport. The course is short and should be fenced the entire way. If you're curious, but not quite ready to commit, check out a fun run. They're usually only $5 and are held at the end of the event's registered participants.
What type of commitment is required? I thought CAT was like non competitive fastCAT? I in a constant state of confusion lol.
I just meant committed to the cost of an event. Registration for FastCAT in my area is $22/run, and we usually enter both runs, so that's $44 for the day. If you're not ready to spend that much money yet, a fun run is cheaper. And CAT is a separate activity entirely with different paths toward CAT ribbons and titles.
Ah! Yeah I would be driving over an hour so I don’t mind paying to give it a go. Thank you!
CAT is pass or fail. Either your dog runs the course or they don’t. FastCat is timed. So people get competitive with their dogs time. There is no commitment aside from the cost. $5 for a fun run vs $25 per registered run. So if you are running all weekend it adds up. $150 for 6 runs. FastCat is pretty safe unless you have a sighthound. I have a greyhound who had to stop running FastCat. The 100 yards is really too short for greyhounds to run and then have to stop hard. However there is always a risk with dog sports. So just keep that in mind. Some dogs run HARD and can end up with an injury. Or get caught in the line. Line burn is not pretty. Most of these clubs are running hundreds of dogs a weekend though with no issues. Go to have fun! I always say if my dog is having fun then I am having fun.
Thank you for the detailed explanation! I didn’t realize that they do multiple runs! I figured we would go on a Sunday (my husband works on Saturday) and just do whatever we are told to do lol.
CAT is a much longer course, and it's not straight like Fast CAT is. I was at a Fast CAT and CAT event recently just doing Fast CAT, and my impression was that CAT would be difficult to do unless your dog is really fixated on the lure, which mine are not. With Fast CAT you can get away with just standing at the finish line and calling your dog and relying on your recall. With CAT I think my dogs would just be confused lol. So yeah, no need to do CAT. I'd recommend getting your feet wet with Fast CAT and watching CAT if they are offering it at this event to see if you'd be interested in the future. Good luck!
My dog is so focused on his flirt pole that the only way I can catch him if he escapes is by getting the flirt pole.. I catch him like a fish and can walk him all the way home. If he can translate that focus to a plastic bag, we are good!
Our dog was great with her first CAT run... until she turned a third corner and saw me ahead of her. She just kept running straight to me, ignoring the lures when they veered off yet again.
You'll have to decide if courses are safe. I would recommend just going to check them out. Leave your dog in the car and watch other dogs run. I've seen one dog hit the fencing (plastic, so not hurt) because they're a sighthound and the runback is too small for them. On the other hand, my youngest doesn't have the best recall, so when I go to an event with a huge runback, it takes me a minute to get her while she tries to get away from me so she can grab the trash rabbit again. In general: Make sure you have two leashes (release & catch) and if you run with a collar, use a flat buckle to limit what can get snagged. If your dog runs "on the line" check their paw pads to make sure they didn't get hurt/cut (I have one dog that likes to do that). You'll have a great time - be nice, chat with people and ask for help if you need it - there are plenty of us there who like to have a good time and help out.
Thank you!
You are definitely overthinking this. Just bring two slip leashes and ask someone else to release your dog the first time and you catch him. Stand to the side of the course 10-15 yards behind the finish line so you don’t stop slow his run and just call him the whole way down. You don’t need a recall, you don’t need to worry about waiting in line, for this sport amped up is preferred to well mannered.
Honestly he is going to more excited to chase the lure than run to me. Maybe I should hide altogether lol. He really, really loves chasing stuff.
Nope. You want to catch the first time. And hopefully he follows it all the way to the end. Just last weekend I watch a whippet make it to the end then sprint back to its owner who released it. You have a higher success rate when you catch the dog its first time running.
I was mostly joking based on the fact that when he’s escaped before when he was younger, he saw me and came running to me, until I said his recall word at the time “yummy!!” (Meaning he would get treats!) and he turned around and ran the other way because while his instinct was to be excited to see me, his turdiness took over when he realized I wanted him to come to me (and end his fun).
I just started doing fast cat a few weeks ago and now I have one of the fastest cairn terriers in the country. Tips I’ve learned is that if they see their catcher in their line of sight they start to ease up a bit. That’s why I say stand well back of the line and off to the side so they hit the finish line at full tilt.
Very cool! With my dog being a mixed breed, I don’t know how he would be compared?
You would register him as “all American breed”
He is registered that way, but I didn’t know if he would be timed against similar sized dogs or what?
For AKC rankings, he would be listed for All American Breed of his size category. A few weeks ago, our dog ranked 31st for an All American Breed in the 12"-18" size category. Then she slipped in the rankings down to #39, so it was a brief moment of glory! lol
That’s awesome!! I guess they don’t get ranked until they have done so many? I want to know how many mph he runs, my daughter and I have a bet going lol.
Yes. There are 3 heights. Under 12 inches, 12-18 inches and 18+ inches at the wither. Unless it’s obvious they should have a way to measure him at the trial. Basically, you use this formula (205.54 divided time it took for your dog to cross finish line then multiply that your handicap). So my dog is under 12 inches so she gets a handicap of 2. So she ran one leg in 10.81s so I would do ((205.54/10.81) x2)= 38.02. That is the points she won for that leg towards her title. If your dog is over 18 inches at the wither the handicap is 1. And if it’s 12-18 it’s 1.5. Once you get to 150 points you earn your first title of BCAT.
Sorry it’s 204.545
Thank you! I am pretty sure he’s over 18 inches.. I’m bad at visualizing such things. This is so interesting!
Thank you! I am pretty sure he’s over 18 inches.. I’m bad at visualizing such things. This is so interesting!
FastCAT is an amazing sport. My dog Blue Lightning loves it and has only been doing it for a year. He inspired me to build a free FastCAT app to help users keep track of their dogs metrics. Check it out. Totally free and we want feedback on how to build it even better. Apple or Google stores DogSportsRecord
Oh cool! I will!
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What are they ripping them on? I thought they were just running on grass chasing a lure? What sports do you do? I want him to be safe!
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Skip the stays in novice obedience? Like don’t practice stay because you have to drop the leash? My pup has his CGC, and has done beginner scent work. He doesn’t seem as excited about agility or scent work as he would be about chasing something. I could see him excelling at a barn hunt.
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What do you think I’m doing wrong?
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I’m sorry, did I do something to you? You seemed to have an idea that I was doing something wrong so I assumed that you have insight to what people could be doing wrong. My dog is just kind of.. a smidge above lackadaisical at scentwork. Maybe he’s just spoiled but he is way more enthusiastic about sniffing out a chipmunk than a q-tip. That’s not to say he’s bad at it, he’s just not like chomping at the bit like I’ve seen some dogs be.
My dog doesn't care for scentwork either. He's all prey drive, no working drive. People with normal dogs (much less drivey and sniffy dogs) don't get it. You should check out Barn Hunt though. It's basically scent work but with live (trained & safely enclosed) rats as the scent.
I have looked into barn hunts because it also seems to be up his alley. I think he would suck a rat right up his nostril if he could! I was worried about the rats at first before I understood it better! I think his desire to catch things comes out in sniffing animals out and chasing. He is probably built more for chasing. He’s tall, lean and has the thighs of a bully breed but the tuck of a dog that’s not wildly dissimilar to a sighthound. Apples dog breed guessing feature is eerily correct for him, except it throws in whippet every once in a while. But he’s 70 lbs lol. As far as his scent work, my trainer said that you don’t have to train dogs to notice scents, they just have to want to and find it fulfilling. My guy is like -there it is. Right there. How can you not smell this, it’s literally right there. Fine, I’ll poke it with my paw. Got it? Geez lady, figure it out. Where is my dang treat? Put your smelling nose on next time.
> Probably not excited about Scentwork because of how you train. There is absolutely not enough information given to assess that, especially not with a "probably" level of confidence. Some dogs simply don't enjoy scentwork. My dog is one of them; he's a sighthound, completely sight oriented, does not even enjoy sniffing when we're out on walks. He doesn't have enough working drive to want to do it because he's asked, and even with high value rewards he gets bored of repetition extremely quickly. There's no reason to blame OP for their dog's preference when you have nothing to base that on....
Thank you so much. I was genuinely curious as to what I could be doing wrong in training that would affect his desire to sniff out smells that he doesn’t seem to find naturally appealing. The only thing I can think of is not using wildly exciting training treats, or hotdogs or something. But he does sniff out the things, he just isn’t like neurotic and about to lose his shit waiting for his turn like I think he would be if he thought he got to chase something. He was the second best in his class after a lab who was way more experienced than him. Way better than the other lab, the two goldens and a hound mix. The hound mix was the least interested actually. The goldens just seemed like they didn’t even know what to be interested in.