Reply To: Best of ?Lola?

[Alana McGee]

TDC:
Absolutely right Mary about the spot she kept digging at.

Praise but don’t dwell on the area. We want to acknowledge that yes, that’s the right idea, right behavior, but there is nothing there for you (Mary) to pick up. What we want to try to avoid is having a dog who will alert on traces or be hyper sensitive in the field as the mycellial mats will often give off the same volatile compounds on occasion. We don’t want Lola to alert on those, we only want her to alert on the actual fruiting body. It is a process of scent discrimination. Finding the strongest source of odor and learning the difference between traces and actual fruiting bodies. This comes with practice.

If it happens a lot, praise, but quickly move her away from the area and distract her for a moment before you begin to work again so she doesn’t rush right back to that spot.

You are doing great though. The videos are fantastic.

Just keep working on buried hides in your yard. The more practice you can get in, the better. I imagine it will remain stimulating for a while for Lola. It should always be a fun game! Remember to keep the area smallish and gradually build the size of the search area for her. She is a rock-star, and your relationship is solid but good foundations make for excellent dogs in the field.

Try to avoid negativity such as ‘no’ when and if she digs in that previous spot. Instead, reward and then distract her to another area. Keep practicing. You both are doing fantastic!