The day that Anchorage finally broke the 1954-1955 snowfall record, with 133.6 inches recorded as of 4:00 PM today is the day Pongo rocked his Anise and Clove Odor Recognition Tests (ORT).  We drove up to Cook Inlet Kennel Club this morning, in some pretty nasty weather, so that Pongo could participate in the Nose Work ORT.  He passed the Birch ORT back in September and all he needed were the final two scents, Anise and Clove in order to compete in Nose Work II and Nose Work III Trials.  We aren’t even to that point of competition yet, but it was worth getting it done since they brought up a National Association of Canine Scent Work Official to oversee Alaska’s second Odor Recognition Test.

Pongo ready for his ORT

While Pongo had some difficulty with reactivity to other dogs, once we got into the testing facility, he shifted into work mode and knew exactly what he needed to do: “Go find it!”  We are both so proud of him!

Now, our next focus is the Nose Work I Trial on May 12th, in Chugiak, Alaska.