Fantastic video Bev and looks like a lovely area to be working Wolfy.
Good timing at 0:06 with verbally praising Wolfy. Are you able to confirm what Wolfy’s indicator is when he locates the truffle as I am not sure on this first indication? There was a very long delay before rewarding Wolfy, which you highlighted in your comments. If there is a delay in getting the reward out, once you have the reward in hand, ask him to show you where the truffle is, and then reward at source as quickly as possible. You could do multiple “show me” and rewards before you remove the sample.
When Wolfy ‘wandered off’ at 0:30 he may be following the truffle scent as it eddies around the foliage and trees. Well done on allowing him to review the area near the trees. He has good self-awareness of his surroundings as he didn’t get tangled with the leash around the trees but went in and out of them both without you tightening the line, good skills. You can see him ground and air scenting as he is moving in that area. Great voice encouragement to move him out of that area by asking him “where’s the truffle, find it”.
0:59 – good praising when he locates the sample. You feed at source, and then asked him to show you again, feeding, picking up the sample and then rewarding with the ball. Great self-learning after the first find.
1:36 Wolfy scratches at the ground and you did really well to encourage him to move way and over to where you pointed. Was this a previous sample hiding place?
He searches in the new location and scratches the ground, but then moves on, possible some truffle scent had pooled there. He continues searching and then locates the next sample at 1:57. Brilliant. Great praising when he finds the sample, and suggest rewarding at source a few times before removing the sample.
Wolfy locates the next truffle whilst his ball is in his mouth. Great swap, ball for food, and encouragement for him to search again. Indicated at 2:34 with verbal reassurance from you, which is very good.
Wolfy has done very well in locating the samples in this new environment, he is beautiful to watch, slow and steady with a good wag of the tail. What was the length of time the samples had been placed out? Were these all above ground, or how deep had you buried them?
You do a good job of verbally praising him when he is pinpointing the scent. I would encourage increasing rewarding at source whilst decreasing the delivery time of the rewards. You could try having some treats in your hand ready to dispense when Wolfy indicates.
You have good leash handling skills which is nice to watch when you’re working with Wolfy.
Well done.