Reply To: Shannon & Cricket (DRTDT)

[Alana McGee]

OMG snow! WOWZA Well, it?ll be fun! Snow is fine by the way, just more challenging for you! That?s a good few inches already! Odor will travel differently in snow, but it doesn?t impede it at all. Just know that 🙂

[quote] She does have a good retrieve with her ball and frisbee, but I didn’t ask for that here – I was thinking that just rewarding at source was ok – thoughts?[/quote]

Rewarding at source is GREAT, and correct yes. IF she offers a retrieve tho- take it. If you get a retrieve out of it- the game changes but it does solidified it to foundational fun games she knows- and we always like that. Build upon the building blocks you have already established! We aren?t necessarily wanting the retrieve though in of itself. It’s not wrong though. Just get there fast enough so it isn’t about retrieving. But if she brings it to you- super party- that’s good too.

LOVE the tossing. Enthusiasm for the toss tame is great! Keep building on that. Try keeping Cricket with you until it lands so she knows the general vicinity but has to use her nose to locate it. This will be easier when it is tossed a bit farther.

The snow is actually awesome for another reason, and that is digging! It is a great medium to practice in for that reason alone as it is kind of a segue to buried hides. (extremely light fluffy white dirt!) They are snow buried, even when just tossed!

Don?t dig in the frozen ground- it?s going to be an exercise in futility, and just not a good idea for scent transfer- but the snow actually is just fine :), and will work great- even as you get more of it.

Cricket likes this!

You can play this inside too if you toss the target into a pile of blankets or a pile of toys. Or start with a Sit/ stay or hold harness or a gate. Let Cricket see you lift a blanket up and toss the target under it. Then let Her go search for it and you dig through the blanket together. You’re also building intensity that way.

We would like to see the enthusiam continue to rise using variations of this game…building up to Cricket getting to see the toss but not take off WITH the toss.

Blind hides inside, yes. That is a a good progression. Start with one and then do multiple- but see how it goes for you! As blind hides are more about the handler.

One outside as you described is good too- and keep building the play with the frisbee back and forth and the tossing games.

Eventually if Cricket is amenable to the sit/stay starting gate routine, you can play the tossing game with multiple teaballs, and you can build to playing the toss game with say 1 hot and 3 cold. Toss them all, release, and then let Cricket search.

Her enthusiasm is good and what’s nice about the snow is even when she finds it I saw her doing pinpointing maneuvers over source to be precise to really get at source. really great!

I think the snow is actually going to be your friend in this, and build in some new dynamic. So it?s good- because you?ll probably have a lot of it this winter!