Ort/nw1?

Laurelin

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#1
Anyone ever done a real one? I was looking into it but will have to travel to get to one so will be on my own. My dogs are ready for them I believe. We've talked some in class but was wondering what people's experiences were like with them....
 

Dagwall

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#3
: (

I made a big post and the internet ate it, I'll try again later. Laurelin knows most of my nosework experience from the other forum but I want to share here with everyone else.
 

Laurelin

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#4
Definitely! I want to hear all the nitty gritty about what to expect at a real trial.
 

Dagwall

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#5
Okay, I'll attempt to recreate some time tonight. I really did go all out detail into my ORT experience and about cried when it was gobbled up by the interwebs and I couldn't get it back.
 

MafiaPrincess

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#6
That da*n Canadian thing again.. I assume ORT = DOT? Designated Odour Test...

Moo and I took a DOT in June maybe. We failed it.. We'd been doing nosework a very short period of time.. he had no alert it was all body language.. and he alerted to two boxes. I took the one he kept returning to.. it was the other one.

I was sad, trainer told me she'd have done the same thing. Earlier in the day we think that a container with scent in it had been placed where he was interested in, so it wasn't a completely random wtf.
 

Dagwall

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#7
Okay trying this again, haha.

Jubel and I did our ORT a few weeks ago and will be signing up for our first trial in a few weeks. Entries open on the 23rd but the trial isn't until early November.

I'm really happy that nosework is growing so fast in popularity because ORTs and trials are getting easier and easier to find. It's still about 2-3 months between oppertunities within about 2 hours of me but from the most experienced people I'm training with it's getting much better.

So on to details about our ORT. I'm pretty sure how smoothly the ORT goes has a lot to do with the host club but I think the club who hosted my ORT did a fantastic job. Everything was very well organized and once we got started they got handlers and dogs flying through testing.

At this ORT they had testing for all three odors, clove and anise tested early in the morning and had their own orientation and testing block. Those of us testing for birch came later in the morning. There was a 30 minute block for signing in followed by a 10 minute orientation meeting. Basically an explanation of how the test will be done (exactly as explained on the NACSW site), the process for cycling everyone through quickly, no doggie socializing, respect reactive dog bandanas, clean up after your dog, etc.

The test was at a training facility in a warehouse type building. The testing was in more section of the building and the on deck areas where in the section next to the testing area. Everyone was parked on one side of the building and unless you were pottying your dog or using the practice boxes, or on deck for you testing turn your dog was in your car.

Before the test day everyone was given the order number they'd test in, we had 19 people testing for birch. The first person testing would start on the other side of the building from the cars at the back door for the testing section of the facility, number two was in the on deck section inside at the back door, number three was inside on the parking side of the building, number four was just outside at the sign in table. They all took their places a few minutes after the orientation, giving them time to potty/prep their dogs real quick. There was a big board with the number for the next on deck dog listed, so starting at five. They needed to get ready to head to the sign in table as soon as the first dog finished and everyone else advanced to the next on deck position.

Everyone HAS three minutes to find the hide and alert but I don't think anyone takes anywhere near that long. The test is designed to be easy to pass. I was number 7 in the order and the last person from my training classes testing that day was 13. It was 10 minutes at MOST from when I finished my ORT and when they came out from theirs. So it went very quick and smoothly. Jubel found the hide in 3.91 seconds, the second dog from my class took 12 seconds, and the third took 22 seconds. We all passed and are excited for the coming trial in November.

Now we just attend travel classes and wait till November.
 

Laurelin

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#8
Thanks for that! I wish we had options around here but it's like 7 hours to the nearest one and that's a long drive just to get a few seconds to pass an ORT (hopefully). Oh I'd be pissed if we drove that far and messed it up too.

The trials I see are 2 days long. I am guessing it is the same thing both days and those are NW1/2/3 type trials and not ORTs. I guess you can't do an ORT on one day and then NW1 the next because you wouldn't know for sure if you had passed the ORT.

My trainer has brought back score cards from her trials she has traveled to. It seems like the passing rate is much lower than other sports.
 

Dagwall

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#9
In the case of the trial I'll be signing up for it lists NW1/NW2 for both days of the weekend on the NACSW site but if you go to the host's site you'll see Saturday is for NW1 and Sunday is for NW2.

No you couldn't do an ORT one day and a trial the next day even if they where offered in that rapid succession. My experience, which I believe would be very similar everywhere, is that you can't sign up for a trial until you've passed the appropriate ORT. Entry for trials open up 1.5-2 months prior to the actual trial and in most areas fill up right away.

I actually looked into signing up for the NW1 trial happening in southern PA in a few weeks because its less than 2 hours away right after passing our ORT. Found it was already full and entries had opened and closed weeks before hand. So no choice but to wait until November, with entries just short of two months in advance.

I haven't looked closely at competing in any other sport so I can't compare the pass rate to anything but you can view the trial results on the NACSW website. From the few I looked at most of the dogs appeared to pass with 100 points but not all. Some fault and get point deductions, very few don't find the hide within the 3 minutes.

My biggest concern for Jubel right now is keeping him from peeing during the exterior search. He's had marking issues the last two travel classes we've attended. Not much you can do about that other than try and just keep them moving so I'm told...
 

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