NW3 Reflections: Annapolis, MD
Buddy and I just wrapped up our third NW3 attempt this year. No big NW3 title, but we came home with our NW3-C and a few training goals :)
In NW3, there are six separate searches throughout the day. One of each of the four elements: containers, vehicles, interior, and exterior. Two of the elements will have two searches — in this trial, we had two container searches and two interior searches.
In each search, there will be a range of 0-3 hides. The handler does not know how many hides are in each search, and outside of the judge confirming yes/no when the handler calls alert, you don’t receive feedback on any of your searches until the end of the trial. It’s a big mental challenge for the handler to keep your head on straight all day, not knowing how you’re doing.
Some noteworthy antecedents to this trial: handler health was not great. I was sick for most of the week and felt I was over the hump around Thursday, where my symptoms were gone but there was still some congestion clearing. I was still not feeling 100% on trial day, and paired with the mental/physical fatigue of being sick all week, I made come critical handler errors.
Our theme of the day today was pooling odor! I’m learning a ton in this level about more detailed behavior changes, and paying close attention to the search area and conditions that could be affecting the hide.
Some good (and cute) advice that my instructor gave at the start of our NW3 journey was to let Buddy be the salesman. He has great odor obedience, loves problem solving, and is clear in his alerts. Read his changes of behavior and let him sell you on each hide. Now, in staging, I tell Buddy what a great salesman he is. I picture him going door-to-door in a little suit with a little briefcase. LOL.
Here are some thoughts from out searches yesterday. I tried to connect what I was thinking in the moment with what I am thinking now after being able to rewatch our searches a few times.
Search #1: Containers — 2 hides, no distractions
I was happy with our performance here, and the judge was, too, as we earned Pronounced! Buddy was in optimal arousal right from the start line and was methodical in his searching, which earned us that lovely ‘P’. A great way to start our trial day!
Judge’s comments:
‘Great job’
+ Pronounced!
Search #2: Vehicles — 1 hide
Vehicles are quickly becoming my favorite trial element. I loved Buddy pulling right into a wrap of the first vehicle from the start line. The wind was coming toward us at the start line, and the hide was blowing through both of the other cars. He quickly takes us to the white productive car and is clear in his alert on the front license plate. Good boy!
We get caught up in an odor pool on the truck from the hide blowing in that direction. I was quick to call a false alert on the truck step, and looking back I think if I had given him a second there, he would have dismissed and moved on his own. Handler Error #1 of the day.
Watching the video back a few times now, it’s clear that there’s nothing once he wraps that first vehicle. He finds the license plate hide within 30 seconds of the search starting, and then does not find anything else for another 1.5 minutes. He pulls out of the search a few different times - another clear indicator that he’s done. Easier to see after the fact than in the moment :) BUT, also becoming easier to spot in the moment.
Buddy humors me and checks everything a million times and after I call finish, I am confident that there’s only 1 hide.
Judge’s comments:
‘K9 displayed nice focus on task. K9 found hide very quickly with strong alert. K9 has nice, detailed style of hunting. Very nice team.’
Search #3: Exteriors — 3 hides, we found 2
I’m happy AGAIN with the zing & pep coming off of the start line. Buddy pushes up toward the front of the search area but gets distracted briefly by someone walking by. He is not in search brain here and I mistakenly forget this area even exists once we leave here and do not bring him back to re-cover our area. Handler Error #2 of the day, as the hide we missed was under the yellow garbage can.
Buddy sources the first hide under the picnic table under 30 seconds again, and he solves the problem quickly after his distracted moment. I’m happy with the bounce back into work!
I can tell Buddy is in odor again with his head pops on the back tables, and then he confirms by quickly sourcing hide #2 on the chair. He finds this hide within 20 seconds of being sent off from the second hide. More proof for me that he knows his job and will source the hide if it’s there.
In the moment, I am thinking that all of his interest in the vehicles was diffuse odor from the chair hide. Now, after watching my videos back, I think that trash can hide, which we missed, is pulling out toward the heat of the sun. Maybe some convergence with the chair hide that’s collecting on the vehicles. Again, had Mom gotten us back into that front right section of the search area, I’m confident we would have gotten that hide.
I call finish (confidently at the time!) as I see him shake off when really, he has not shaken the entire search and really just needed a reset… we still had ~25 seconds!!! I am still very happy with Buddy’s work here.
Judge’s comments:
‘Good teamwork’
Search #4: Containers — 2 hides
We go directly from our Exterior search to the second Containers search with no break. We’ve been stamina building! We have not, however, trained with ORT boxes in a while. They’re more of a hassle for me to cart around and I’ve been lazy with just bringing tool boxes.
Buddy has always used feet on containers, which I’ve also known and been lazy with since it has yet to cost us. It cost us today :)
I am happy with how Buddy is taking to his patterns of containers. I contribute this to A LOT of circular-style setups in training. I am also happy with his … enthusiasm! We’ve been on a distraction kick, and so ‘choosing odor’ is what I’ve been prioritizing. We’ll work on the feet this winter.
Judge’s comments:
‘K9 has very nice search style. Checked every box. Work on box touching :)’
Search #5: Interior Bunk Room — 2 hides
It’s just amazing to me the ease in which Buddy moves through pressure now compared to even this time last year. Not to mention when I met him in 2020 or brought him home in 2021! Look at the cramped start line. No problem for this guy.
Again, I’m really happy with the enthusiasm here, in search #5, toward the end of a long trial day. He immediately takes us toward the back of the cabin and I can tell he is in odor, so at least 1 hide. There is more directionality toward the left hand side and he is air scenting over the top of those bunks. A little sweep of the room brings him back for a clear alert on the cabinet in just under 1 minute. Good boy!
Quick stress release after the first hide and then LOOK AT BUDDY moving into human pressure and investigate the judge. Nosework is so magical. He sources the second hide on the shelf nicely in under 30 seconds. I think the jump on the bed is my first clue that we’re done in this room.
I had warned myself about pooling odor in that back area of the cabin after watching the virtual walkthrough, and noticing the exit door right there. In the moment… I forgot that even existed. I see odor behavior back there and my handler brain sees the chair and the fire extinguisher, AND thinks ‘shouldn’t there be a 3-hide search?’ — uh, you missed a hide in the Exterior.
BUDDY IS A GOOD SALESMAN. A great one, really. He tells me so clearly there’s nothing AND I have my watch go off before she calls time. CALL FINISH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!
Handler Error #3 :)
Judge’s comments:
‘Handler used nice, loose lead, conducive for allowing K9 to work independently through the area. K9 located inaccessible odor in cabinet with nice, clear alert. Handler & K9 cleared area well.’
Search #6: Interior Bunk & Storage Room — 1 hide
This was another back-to-back search from the first interior — I am really happy with Buddy’s stamina all day. He takes us to the back of the cabin first and I don’t see much ‘odor’ behavior. It all just seems like curious sniffing.
He comes back toward the front of the cabin and shows interest in the bunk on the right and the corner of the wall/whiteboard. He quickly moves into the storage room and I make the conscious choice to move in with him from an exercise in class and watching a search over the summer where handlers that did not support their dog in the tighter space missed the hide. I’m happy I made this choice because I think with his arousal rising and his tired-brain, he may have just done a quick loop in there and come back out — and I may have talked him into the whiteboard.
His alert is very clear on the storage shelf and then he moves back out into the bunk room. Again, no changes of behavior. He bites at my glove at one point - he’s being goofy which is an indicator that we’re done. I ask him to recover the front area again and then learned from the last interior to CALL FINISH if he doesn’t sell me.
Also, again with the human pressure. I’m done for.
Judge’s comments:
‘Viktor did a great job sourcing hide’
What a fun trial day with my shark. I am so excited for our 2026 trial adventures! Good boy, Buddy!
Happy 10th Birthday, Doogie!
I got sick over the weekend :( Fever, chills, sore throat, and in bed for half the day Saturday, all day Sunday, and most of the day today. You know who settled right in next to me for every minute of bed rest? My greatest friend of all time.
Pic from 12/1/25
Doogie turns TEN today, and we celebrate EIGHT years of him living here with our family. I cannot believe it’s been that long as he is truly the glue that holds our house together. I can’t (and refuse to) picture a life without this little friend.
To celebrate Doogie’s (estimated) tenth year on Planet Earth, I wanted to share a few of the lessons that this little dog has taught me.
It’s easy to get caught up in the boldness of the Malinois when thinking about ‘dog training’, but really, I think some of my most important lessons have been learned right alongside Doogie.
If you were to label Doogie, a few labels that come to mind are:
Nervous
Shy
Avoidant
Fearful
Reserved
Hesitant
His Life Experiences up until I met him at ~2yo were not great, and without knowing for sure, I’d assume there is a Genetic component to his behavior as well. I say this because although he’s made great strides in 8 years, he is still a shy dog and those nervous tendencies can and do come back from time to time. The world is big and scary and before, Doogie only knew how to cope by hiding, freezing, retreating, making himself as small as possible, and hoping things would go away.
Pic from 12/10/17 — look how worried he was
Doogie had, what I would consider, a pessimistic world view. He woke up and was worried about what might happen that day. Would it be something bad? Where would he go? Would he be able to find safety?
Lesson #1: ‘Dog Training’ for sensitive dogs (...or all dogs?) doesn’t look or feel like dog training
The magic here is in the predictability. Dogs, especially sensitive dogs, like to be able to know what happens next.
“When X happens, Y follows”. Not necessarily talking operant conditioning in a ‘dog training’ (click/treat) sense. More in a Predictable Pattern of Precedent way. (check out Kim Brophey’s discussion on PPPs). This is just the routine and the way things work, over and over again.
Using predictable phrases (Mr. Rogers Hack is something I now regularly prescribe), lots of general talking to Doogie throughout the day, and doing our routine tasks (going outside for potty, meal times, night/morning routine, etc.) the same way every time.
Our ‘Dog Training’ aka time specifically set aside to ‘train the dog’ (do you see how weird it sounds? Dogs are always learning.) were reserved for shaping ‘pointless’ behaviors. At first, Doogie didn’t understand what we were doing and would walk away, sit down and turn his head, or something similar – this training setup is form of ‘pressure’ – he would shut down under the question of ‘what should I do’.
By charging his marker word – literally just clicking and tossing treats – he learned that he really liked the click, because the click predicted a treat being tossed across the room for him to chase. Then, I would just click for ANY behavior he offered. Once he connected the dots that HE can CONTROL the click by OFFERING behaviors himself – boom.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Doogie is not an AKC Obedience Champion by any means. The dog knows ONE trick on a cue and it’s a hard target. Actually, acquiring behaviors was not my goal here (not saying acquiring behaviors would be a bad goal, just not mine with Doogie). But, I saw the confidence he gained by just opting in and trying in different sessions start to bleed over into all other areas of his life.
Now, he LOVES to do ‘dog training’ and is quick to offer to put two feet on an object (scary), get fully off the ground and on an object (very scary), sit stationary on an object (scary), touch objects with his nose or paws, and even pick objects up with his mouth. All learned through shaping and him offering behaviors for me to reinforce.
The behaviors don’t matter to me – the increased confidence does.
Lesson #2: Dogs speak through their body language and it’s important we learn how to listen to them
I know, this is basic stuff now. But, 8 years ago, it wasn’t basic to me. I didn’t know what I was looking at!!
Doogie is a master communicator both with how he responds to people and how he interacts with dogs. He works through almost every signal escalating up the aggression ladder – freeze, move away, whale eye, head turn, lip lick, yawn, lip raise, growl. He rarely escalates without needing to (a few times is warranted LOL!) and it’s really amazing to watch him go about his Doogie Business now that he has some confidence.
Pic from 7/19/18 — Doogie with foster brothers Sush (yellow) and Unnamed Puppy (brindle) and his then sister, Big Mac (blue eyes)
I didn’t start intentionally learning about the concept of pressure in dog training (in all forms – environmental, human/handler, other dogs, situational, interaction, etc.) until a few years ago, and looking back on our 8 years together, Doogie has been teaching me about pressure since day 1.
Megan likes to say: always look at what the dog IS doing, but also don’t forget to notice what the dog ISN’T doing. Doogie likes that line of thinking.
Lesson #3: There are so many ways to interact with a dog that don’t include reaching for them or making physical contact – this is a direct lesson that came out of really starting to take lesson #2 seriously
Doogie gets overwhelmed by life easily – he’s only 25#! He does like physical closeness and petting and ‘squishing’ from his select people – we could go down a whole social relationship rabbit hole– on his own terms, but the way we were ‘taught’ to interact with dogs is not the same way that Doogie has taught me to interact with dogs.
Some of Doogie’s favorite ways to interact are:
-Listening intently as you describe literally anything to him (again with the Mr. Rogers Hack)
-Sniffing all my clothes while I unpack my things from the day – this is one of Doogie’s favorites. Usually I don’t talk to him but just look down to see him quietly wagging and sniffing my pants and shoes to see where I was and who I was with all day!
-Gasping – think a surprised quick intake of air – he hears a gasp and he is springing up and ready to go do whatever it is we’re doing!
-Doing ‘jazz hands’ or wiggly fingers as an invitation into my space, and then still following that up with minimal touching
-Doing tandem stomping feet/’wagging’, which usually prompts Doogie to put his front feet on my leg – again, not always an invitation for us to stick our hands out and touch him!
-Consent checks – always!! This is a concept I feel very strongly about in ALL work with dogs, and I talk about it with every single person in a shelter setting. Take your hands off the dog after 2-3 seconds of petting. What do they do? Do they ask to reconnect? Do they freeze in place? Yawn, lick their lips, turn their heads away?
Pic from 6/30/19
Lesson #4: There is power in community, family, and forming close relationships
Of course, Doogie’s fears ‘improved’ just with some consistency and routine, and his curated environment at home. But, real change happened when Doogie became a brother to a Malinois.
Dale truly changed Doogie’s life and helped open up his world in ways I could not.
Having a big, brave sister to do things first gave Doogie invaluable social learning opportunities. He would observe Dale getting positive attention from a new person (pressure), or watch her push under a chair (pressure) to sniff something and all of a sudden he was there, too, trying for himself.
Regularly, Doogie will give Dale a sniff-spection when we get home from an outing to see where she was all day. She allows him to be a rude and annoying little brother and self-handicaps to let him win every time.
Every time he barks at something, she is immediately there checking out the ‘threat’. She has given him the constant support and guidance he needed from another dog friend and it’s been so fun to see them thrive together.
Pic from 3/8/21 — Doogie with his sister, Dale (middle), and his foster sister Stitch/Baby Dog (right)
Lesson #5: Nosework really, truly is magical
Back to ‘Dog Training’ – Doogie does know one behavior chain very well and that is searching for something. Treats or his Monter toy or essential oils, Doogie LOVES to use his sniffer to search for and locate something.
I’m a sucker for all things sniffy (snuffle mats, foraging toys, enrichment boxes, etc) but something about hiding something specific and asking the dog to find their way to it brings out a different form of problem solving that helps them connect with their environment and grow their confidence. Nosework has been an instrumental piece to all of my dog’s overall Quality of Life for different reasons.
Doogie searches several times a week for his food or some treats at home, and a few times per month will join the big dogs in a search for competition oils in the backyard. These skills have translated to the cabin we rent up north, where Doogie ranges out on his own, off-leash, and actually sourced a hide all the way behind the garage once!
It doesn’t feel like we should be celebrating TEN years for Doogie but here we are! I am so thankful for the last 8 years with my best little friend and would not be the human or trainer I am now without him. I hope everyone comes across their own life-changing Doogie at some point in their lifetime. I’m cherishing every single moment I get to spend with mine.
Pic from 3/19/22 — ‘Two Brothers’ Doogie and Buddy
Happy birthday, Mindu! <3
Pic from 4/29/23 — Doogie and his sharks, Buddy and Dale, hiking off leash at the cabin in Grayling, MI
Training groups for the win!
Like most, I had goals coming into this year - one was to start putting thoughts into the FFD blog (!!!!) and another was to spend more time training my dogs.
You’d think AT LEAST the second thing would come easy… I live with three dogs, I am, literally, a dog trainer by profession, and I spend A LOT of my time consuming dog training/behavior-related content. BUT, as I’m sure many in my position will relate, it’s actually not always easy to make it a point to train your own dogs!
My friends and fellow trainers, Hannah from Longsnouts and Jacqueline from Training by Jacqueline, came together this month to host a free online training group throughout January - to celebrate National Train Your Dog Month and, selfishly, to hold us all accountable to actually train. our. dogs. - and… it’s been working!
Our Facebook group has turned into a safe and happy space for people of all skill levels (we have full-time practicing dog trainers, guardians of dogs with ALL kinds of backgrounds, people that have specific goals and people just here for a good time, certified/deployable SAR teams, etc.) to share their training wins, post videos and ask for feedback, and start making the habit of carving out a few minutes every day to train their dogs.
Hannah shared (spot on and incredibly relatable) thoughts in the group earlier this month about how sometimes, showing up and trying is the hardest part. I know that this is what holds me back a lot of times - the fear that every single piece of a training loop won’t be perfect, that I might try and fail, that ‘people’ (who, exactly?) will think I’m dumb and incompetent if everything doesn’t go exactly as it should (like, what?).
It’s like a breath of fresh air when I see footage of a person working through a challenge with their dog, or not having impeccable timing in each rep, or tossing a reset treat and having it go under the couch and having to spend a minute crawling over and fishing it out before the dog can get back to work. That’s real life! That’s how it goes when we’re working with another creature that has its own thoughts and feelings.
Takeaway #1: showing up and trying is hard, but it opens the door for more instances of showing up and trying (and seeing improvement -hello R+!)
Takeaway #2: dog training feels less daunting when you have a group of people for support. Find your people, post your videos, and let’s have a great year of training dogs!
Those are my thoughts - how are you supposed to end a blog post?
A submission to the training group of Doogie teaching himself how to step onto this feed bowl!