Here we are working on week four’s homework. With the more complicated box hides, Mo started the week giving some false alerts. I always honored them by looking in/under the box and showing him nothing was there, and he always responded by moving on and eventually identifying the target. As the week’s training progressed, the false alerts became less frequent and somewhat tentative–he would place a paw on a container briefly but then move on without pausing or looking to me. When he eventually would alert on the target, he was very sure. I think I only saw one false alert in the last two days of training.
In the first trial in this video, Mo does check and pass by the correct box several times before eventually alerting on it. I don’t know what was going on there, but I was pleased with his persistence and eventual success.
I’m still rewarding Mo’s natural alert of placing a paw on the target box, but I’ve also begun rewarding him for a nose touch. Building the chain.
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