Reply To: Mary & Lola

[Alana McGee]

Hi Mary

A wise idea to go back and leave a pleasant memory in Lola’s mind. That was very thoughtful, and we commend you on that decision.

Alerts in a new area can be truncated, and you do a great job of recognizing her energy level and responding appropriately, but boy is she excited. Love it. She is very ‘high’ here but the enthusiasm is so genuine from both of you it is wonderful.

Good job on rewarding in hand at 0:38.

2:04 GREAT- notice how she brought you back to it! So fun. Okay- so an interesting bit to note is if the hide is relatively hard to access (this one was under the bushes/ deep next to them)- or you aren’t fast enough to it;)– and/or you don’t see it and spend enough time in the area, she will likely manifest this behavior… which “I’ll make it easier for mom to see so I can be rewarded”. Clever, clever girl. (She may have originally found it that one behind the bushes around 1:43). *She does this again on the one behind the rock.

At 1:58 your body is pointed in the opposite direction sending her out into the yard, but Lola is tenacious and goes back to where she found it! Persistent pup. That’s great!

This may not hold for every scenario, but in this one it is fascinating to note she was persistent with a single odor source. Meaning she likely hit the scent column for the one on the rock (as she was right next to/ on top of) but was persistent on the odor track she was working, discarding (or mentally filing for later) the other column. She’s specific and determined. Something to watch and we’ll see how that develops as scenarios progress in difficulty and density. Two odor tracks crossing can be confusing for some dogs. Very very interesting!

You have a great approach to tackling these specific behaviors in different venues and in realizing they can be different in different places as well!

About at the car… How Fabulous. Our dogs never ceased to amaze us. Go Lola 🙂 We love this story.