OK, questions…..
1) You’d mentioned i should be more enthusiastic. Trying to do that, but I notice that he doesn’t really want to be touched when “working”. Usally he a typical Lab and will lean all over you. But, and he’s the same way with fetch (i.e. super intense), his “personal space” seems to extend when he’s truffling. He will kind of shy away from being touched and will back up a little. Should I use “pets” at all? Or should I just use a toy/ treats?
2) He is doing multiple hides, but he starts to get stressed after three or four. How do we work up to more?
3) Is outdoors easier for some dogs? It seems like the hous maybe gets filled with scents after a bit (e.g. with multiple hides). He seems to just give up like, “it’s all over the place, can’t you smell it”. Anyway to work around this? Should I just focus on outside?
4) The surgeon tells us Blu will have severly limited mobility for a couple of months, and then gradually come back to his old self aftert six-nine months. Should I keep training? Any recomendations on creative ways to keep him interested where everything has to be close proximity for a bit? Maybe multiple “cold” targets with a couple of “hot” ones. Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Adam
p.s. I got a sample from Dr. Berch. Blu seems even more “keyed in” in on the frozen T. Gibbosum than the scent solution. I’ve done multiple hides using both, and the stuff must really smell like truffles because he didn’t even skip a beat when I intorduced the real thing. Thanks again!