There are so many reasons why I completely trust your wonderful facility and your entire happy caring staff; so I will keep this short!
Harley - 4 year old German Shepherd - has attended W&W since he was 4 months old!! He loves to board, play and before his hip dysphasia loved agility class.
Bella - 6 month old Golden Retriever - started attending W&W at the early age of 3 months and has already boarded twice!
April 2008 Harley underwent total hip replacement surgery, which is a very involved surgery with a long recovery period. A mere 7 weeks post op my husband and I must go out of town. Well naturally the first place I call is W&W. At the same time Bella was spayed but she was recovered enough to be ready for action at W&W.
Your staff took excellent care of Harley. They knew his limitations and would make sure he did not over do. This was also the first time Harley and Bella would be sleeping in the same kennel. I knew the staff would keep the peace between them and offer Harley relief if he became anxious or needed to be alone.
A very BIG Thank you, Thanks to All your Staff!!
Oh, this also helps my husband who has never had a dog before, let alone now having two. Since they are both athletic spending the day at W&W gives both of us a quiet evening or two in the house!!
Norma Jean Wilson
FUN NOSE WORK: CANINE SCENT WORK
What is K9 Nose Work?
Dogs have an amazing sense of smell and natural desire to hunt. The sport of K9 Nose Work is designed to develop your dog's natural scenting abilities by using their desire to hunt and their love of food, toys and exercise. It's a great way for your dog to have fun, build confidence and burn lots of mental & physical energy. All dogs work one at a time and will be crated in between runs. This class is great for dogs that need to build confidence, have a hard time working around other dogs or need lots of mental and physical stimulation. The primary goal of this class is fun! This is where dogs get to be dogs.
Intro to Nose Work
This class is designed for the person new to the sport of Nose Works.
Intro to Odor/ Continuing Nose Work
This class is designed for the continuing student who wants to help their dog explore their environment in a new and exciting way. We focus on teaching you how to encourage and develop your dog's natural scenting abilities. For those ready, we advance the dog's scent discrimination skills by teaching the dogs to identify our first target odor (Birch). Additionally, we introduce techniques and tactics for building better dog/handler teamwork.
Continuing Nose Work 2
This class will advance handling skills and techniques as well as introduce competition elements: box drills, vehicle searches & exterior searches. All dogs will eventually be proficient on all 3 target odors. This is a continuing skill class where students advance together.
Advanced Nose Work
This class is designed for experienced teams and will expand on both handler and dog's understanding of target odors and the concepts of nose work. We will continue to develop the handler's skill level in accurately reading their dog's body language and communication. The teams will learn to navigate more intricate and challenging training scenarios. This class is geared towards tactics, advanced handling and off leash work. Handlers will review: odor recognition tests, conducting blind searches and certification & competition readiness. (Prerequisite: instructor approval)
STRUCTURE OF THE CLASSES:
Each dog and handler team work individually while the other participants observe. Dogs will be crated in between runs. The first run will consist of an assessment of the dog's desire to play and its searching instinct. The instructors will describe to the students what they should be looking for in regards to how the dogs are working. The next set of runs will include more involvement from the handlers to motivate the dog to hunt and play the game. The process of scent work as it applies to each team will be explained. In the classes we expand the dog knowledge in more complicated searches and eventually use different scents that would be found in a competition setting.
BENEFITS FOR EACH TEAM:
Identify the most motivating tool for their dog to play the game
Target the best way to excite their dog for elements of the game
Develop or hone good observation skills for their dog's searching behavior
Get expert advice from certified Fun Nose Work instructors.
Provide an opportunity for dogs to work individually without the stress of interactions with other dogs. (Especially good for dog-reactive dogs or dogs needing more confidence.)
Provides a more convenient search game than traditional search disciplines like tracking
Flexible outlet for the dog's natural skills; can be adjusted for all levels of experience
Instructors: Julie Gaunt, Certified Nose Work Instructor
Class Cost: $199 - limit 8 dogs per workshop, time length of 1 hr 30 minutes each, 8 weeks long.
