More learning experiences this week… never ending…
As I indicated it’s been VERY dry here making video and practicing difficult. Yesterday we did have some rain so I drove to the park to place the scents but the ground was only damp about 1/4″. I placed the scents about 1″ under with wet leaves on top and waited about an hour. Salu and I then went to practice. Along with all the distractions (I could hear the deer close by) the dry ground made it very difficult – he did find 3 and two were right away (as he always seems to do) but after that he mind was anywhere but “truffles” and I think he stumbled on the 3rd scent while investigating everything else.
I replaced them before we left and this is Sunday morning. It’s very damp and much cooler and the scents have been cooking about 15 hours. He found these 3 in pretty good time but then he started fading (the video stops here) and when he found some deer scat it was all over.. which brings up a question…
I’ve seen you mention bringing distractions into the house where it’s a more controlled environment for training. How is that done?
I think at this point Salu and I should practice/focus on distractions and not try anything more complex until he’s comfortable with that. No rain expected in the next 10 days so trying to move forward would just prove frustrating for everyone. When he’s focused he’s really working hard but then his nose catches something fun and he fades… I’m sure has he matures and we practice in different places this will improve.
I also like that his alert is soft and precise and that will be fun to work with and fine tune.