Time to post our latest session. This session took place yesterday, when it was about 68 degrees F. It was breezy–more than I would have liked–wind 8-11 mph, with gusts up to 18 mph.
I hadn’t received Dottie’s new harness yet, so she is still working on her collar. Of course, her harness arrived late that afternoon.
The first two scenarios took place in my driveway, with a slope and garage on 2 sides of the search area. I added a small pile of firewood as an obstacle to affect air flow at that spot.
In the second scenario, I moved the boxes to the base of the slope. This is also an area that is weedier and has some small downed branches.
The last 2 scenarios take place on the edge of a Christmas tree field. On a slope, with the aid of an old stump to provide an obstacle.
In the last scenario, she doesn’t want to leave the hot target after her reward. Yay! So I need to remember to pick up the target before rewarding. I should have been doing this anyway, so it’s good that she reminded me. 🙂
We did have a stumbling block where our second repetition fell flat. I didn’t put it in this video, but it was a repeat of the first scenario, but with the hot target in a different spot. We entered the search area, and she just stood there looking at me, unsure of what to do. I gave the cue, walked a little, and she continued to just stand and stare, or look around. So we ran out of the search area (excitedly), we scampered about together to try to jazz her up, and we re-entered the search area and had a successful find. Any tips for handling this better? I have video of this and can post it for next week if it would help.
Thanks!