this is all very exciting. yes we are definitely interested in orchard work.
i get what you are saying. basically be patient and be ready. and i imagine that transition would be helped by fencing off a small section of a producing orchard for new trainees? but i was watching toby and appa in georgia and appa wasn’t finding every truffle (though she found a lot). is appa a less serious dog? obviously that occasion was more for research than money. i could see how you better find every single one for the swanky european species growers. of course, how would they know if you missed one? and what about moments in the orchard when the “find it” command is off (walking home)? i suppose i will have to wait until the next episode.
that class is 2 weeks away. how could registration not be open? it looked to me like they were going to let me register. i will talk to you about this on the email.
on the topic of chasing and bird dog training: we have been using the above puppy bird dog exercise along with very specific voice commands and a clicker, and it has worked wonders for impulse control and more. we have almost mastered the “wait/leave it”, “get it” and “drop it” commands, and the “slow” or “easy” stalk has reappeared and is coming along. variations include throwing the bird/toy and practicing on our resident cats and deer. vids to follow.