Reply To: Best of ?Fancy?

[Alana McGee]

TDC:
Fancy is doing great!!! Good job, Launie! I agree with Alana’s comments above about the sneezing. I wouldn’t be concerned about it a this moment. There are several behaviors that you will learn along the way so it is important to just be observant of these things. Some behaviors will simply inform you that the dog knows there are truffles present but hasn’t located the source yet. Or those behaviors will give you the opposite information. For example, I have learned over time that when one of my dogs starts eating grass, that means there are no truffles here. Just keep observing. You are doing a great job.

Regarding drop it, would you be open to trying a different approach? Because truffles are fragile, you may not ultimately want her to pick it up at all. I think it is valuable to work on your drop cue but I’d suggest doing that with other objects and not your truffle scent…we don’t want the truffle itself to become the reward. Instead, try teaching her to nose target the tin. Use your clicker and do several “touches”. then when you practice in the house, you can add some “touches” to the party for finding it. She finds the truffles…click & treat…then once you have the truffle you can do a few touches for more clicks and treats. This will also work in your favor down the line when you have to search in the dirt to find a truffle.