Reply To: Best of ?Lola?

[Alana McGee]

TDC:
Hi Mary

That video is great! Lying down is a great passive alert. We love using what the dog chooses when possible as it will be stronger and less prone to extinction in the long run (And it will be great for your NW class)

You did the exact right thing at the 0:22 asking her to come back and show you. What I suspect may happen is the game is SO fun for Lola, she’s not waiting for a reward. This can be problematic later. Try not to let her walk away after alerting, which you did a great job of.

Also it appears as all the targets you have out in the grass are “hot” targets? True or False? If there are cold targets mixed in, that is fantastic. What I would focus on is the same drill, but make sure you pick up the target after she has alerted on it. We want her to find a new one each time. The re-find game is great, and keep practicing that- but after she has re-alerted, remove it from the game and ask her to find a new one.

That and you can move them farther apart. And depending on what they have you doing in your NW class, it is a fine time to phase out the clicker.

Also leave the targets out in varying weather conditions and for varying lengths of time as this will change how the scent moves. Leave some out for a hour if you can, or more. Just keep doing this over and over and over. Eventually she should be able to check your whole yard with just one target hidden (or 13!) and be able to find it. You really can’t practice enough at this stage. You could start to hide them under things as well- but keep it simple. Different materials, like leaves vs grass vs rocks, obscure and transmit scent differently- so it is good to practice this but don’t move too fast.