10/15/2026
Once your dogs advanced in scent work, it can be fun to try "impossible" hides. I placed this container in a freezer at Pet Food Express during our weekly practice class. I proof our courses with goosey, assuming if he cannot find it that I made it too hard. You can see him show some odor behavior early in the search, which led me to believe he could find this hide. Now where is a proper place to alert? A vent? A door seal? Who knows! You've got to trust your dog!! Both of our excellent level searchers were able to pinpoint the correct freezer case, but our advanced dog didn't find that first informative whiff so we had him search a different hide. We don't want our dogs to be too frustrated, so it's important to find balance in challenging them at their level. We didn't let our beginners try this, so as not to dampen their fun while they're still learning the rules of the game. As our pal at Ford K9 said, sometimes you have to try it to find out. Get out there and hide some scents for your pup!
