Scent Trails Through The Finger Lakes

You know that feeling you get when you first start floating in a hammock anchored between two trees? That moment right after you let go of the slight possibility that the hammock strap will break or one of the trees will uproot – that moment where you’re weightless, softening up like a stick of warm butter, relaxing like a 160 pound prenatal baby in a nylon womb. You’re so relaxed, you begin to feel your body spread out into your surroundings like a drop of watercolor paint on a thin sheet of paper. The air is alive with sounds – you hear it from head to toe like your body has become one giant ear and nitrogen, oxygen and argon are shouting the secrets of the universe into it. The sky and the trees wrap around your eyes like a blue-green blanket, tucking into corners of your field of vision you didn’t know existed. You feel balanced in every way – body, mind, and soul.

That’s what the Finger Lakes Region offers. That and…

Gewurtztraminer. New York style cheesecake waffles. The Women’s Hall of Fame. The Corning Glass Museum. Gorges and waterfalls. The white deer of the Seneca Army Depot. Cornell University. The Eerie Canal. Amish & Mennonites. Duck egg frozen custard. Ice Wine. Family.

The natural beauty of the area is balanced with the manmade marvel of canals & trestle bridges, and the endless stone paths and staircases guiding you through the breathtaking state parks. The family history of the area is balanced with the welcoming of tourists. The quiet villages, lakeside communities, and farm communities are balanced with bustling college communities, and tourism communities. The veritas in vino flowing freely from the region’s many wineries is balanced with the veritas in verifiable research flowing freely from the region’s institutions of higher education. It all combines to form a beautifully balanced environment.

The scent work teams are beautifully balanced, too.

The dogs are well-mannered and driven, thoughtful and decisive, independent and connected.

The humans are confidence and humble, patient and ready, competitive and compassionate.

What is it about the region that moves the people and dogs towards equilibrium so naturally? Is it the vineyards? So much care must go into cultivating the land, understanding the climate, caring for the grapes, and producing the wines. Is it the diversity of cultures, historically and today – the Native Americans, Italians, the Dutch, the Mennonites, the Amish? Is it the energy of transformation? Glaciers gouged and cut the landscape, transforming from mountains of ice & rock to deep pools of icy blue waters. Women reshaped the moral landscape, transforming their homes, communities, and ultimately the country, from oppressive patriarchy to a more equal society.

Whatever it is, when the scent work teams were given the time to search blind, the dogs were eager to communicate, and the humans were eager to become aware of the ways in which they can be fully present to the dogs. The thought entered into my mind multiple times, “They’re ready!” So often, the dogs are ready to share complex communication with the humans, but the humans resist the experience. The humans of the Finger Lakes did not resist. They dove right in to odor complexity, like a swimmer diving in to the waters of Seneca Lake.

Some moments that stood out:

• Searching blind with a beautiful beagle who painted us a complex picture of odor creeping along the ground, being pushed and pulled with the shifting wind. The communication was as clear as the invisible coating on a CorningWare plate! Crystal clear!

• Guiding several teams through the experience of working a blind hide dangling from a leafy green stem of a weed. Some dogs found the hide twice by catapulting it from the stem – finding where it had been on the stem, and finding where it landed.

• Guiding a handler with a border terrier through a search amongst the seated observers. The first round was no odor, the second round, odor. The dog had little interest in the people on round one and much more interest on round two – his excitement rose with the possibility of odor & reward. very expressive dog!

• Discovering that the handler of a GSP lost connection with her dog at the crucial moment in the search where the dog wanted her to see there was more to do. As soon as the connection was regained, the dog lit up and diligently worked to find two complex hides, even showing the handler why you shouldn’t leap to conclusions when a dog appears to be returning to a found hide; sometimes the dog will make a last minute course change and reveal the presence of another nearby hide.

• Searching a large exterior area blind along with a Spaniel and handler to find two hides – and the bag with all the odor – correctly calling the area complete.

• Being approached by a handler who wanted to talk about how arrogant we humans can be, and how blind we can be to what our dogs can teach us. What a wonderful topic!

• Having a handler get curious about her dog indicating to her hat hanging off the armrest of her camping chair. Was it because the dog does HD? Was it because there was a possible edge of odor there for a nearby tree hide? Was it because the handler had sprayed an insect repellent on her hat that could contain one or more of the essential oils the dogs search for? What fantastic, humble questions!

• Having an observer recognize the great importance of a blind search where the hide was placed just outside of the room we said we were searching. We’d worked hard to establish that the dogs should be observed and listened to whenever you have them out of the crate. In this search it was possible to find the hide on the approach and clear the room quickly and easily.

• Playing a game that inspires creativity, and watching teams balance creative ways to win with creative ways to ensure the dog has fun. The energy of the people was perfect for the dogs in this search.

• Having a handler share with me how her career (veterinarian) changed when she decided to focus on what her patients (small animals) were trying to tell her. She fully understood the message of the weekend: listen to your dog! She also shared how a terminal diagnosis for her dog gave her an instant portal to being present with her dog and soaking up every interaction. Many people can say these things, but it is clear when someone is truly guided by these concepts, feelings, intuitions.

Balance isn’t just about what we would consider positive experiences, balance is welcoming all experiences with equanimity. We had some searches throughout the weekend that produced more questions than answers, more frustration than elation. We had some concepts that were met with resistance. Any time we are exploring what is possible, questioning the status quo, connecting with the possibility that we humans are not as comfortable as we think we are with receiving communication from our dogs, there is bound to be some messiness and some missed opportunities. The great news is, when you’re learning, it’s not about right or wrong, it’s about accumulating experiences and learning through exposure.

The Finger Lakes could not have formed into what it is today by carefully proceeding step by step on some prescribed plan, avoiding any and all unwanted experiences, taking no risks. The Finger Lakes is built on intuition and communication, on energy and passion, on destruction and creation. From the Cayuga-Seneca Canal to the Women’s Rights Movement, bold people acted on their intuition, and backed it up with skill, organization, and collaboration. And then they dared to fail!

The scent work teams of the Finger Lakes embody the magic of the region. Like a bold Schipperke casting out into the odor wilderness, demanding to be followed, these teams bring a determined composure to the frontier of scent work. I’m grateful to have been immersed in their magic.

Looking for more Finger Lakes inspiration? Try this anthology of works from Finger Lakes area authors: From The Finger Lakes: A Memoir Anthology

Happy Sniffing!