More Canine Police Work

I continue to be fascinated with this topic. I mean, who could be a better partner than a dog? Not only are they loyal and steadfast, they bring skills that the human partner just can't match to the equation.
I just found out via a brief article in our local paper that there was another round of accreditation testing in our area - seven teams, from Clallam, Grayes Harbor, and Kitsap counties, participated in state Police Canine Association testing on November 18. All seven teams passed.
Now, this may not sound too impressive until I add that November 18 was the day we were on the coast watching one of the wildes storms to hit Washington in years. So the police/dog teams were doing obedience, off-leash control wor, tracking, evidence recovery, area searches, and building searches in high winds and lashing rains. It must have been a pretty miserable day for all involved. But not one team washed out (pun intended).
This makes me more excited than ever to attend the K9 Nosework to take place in Seattle in January. I have asked if I can bring my dog who can't be crated, and hope that the answer is yes. (It's a long story - I did teach him to crate after we finally formed a bond, but something happened at a camp while I was away from the crate and he was a total wreck, and would not get back into a crate after that. I didn't have the heart to go through it all again.)
Do you let your dog exercise his wonderful scenting abilities? We were tracking, but as the tracks got longer it became a bit much for this cancer patient who was doing it on her own. We still have fun dabbling with it from time to time. We play three-cup monte (with a ball under one cup). And I follow along on our walks as Nestle noses around, and sometimes am rewarded with surprises -- yesterday, it was a set of bear tracks.