Paula Wilson

[Alana McGee]

Welcome to class, Paula!  This is your homework thread.  Class begins May 3rd.  Looking forward to it!

[Alana McGee]

Forwarded homework:

Week 1
assignment: submit photos of outdoor spaces you plan on working with outdoor hides with boxes

search area side of deck is where I am practicing with boxes. It’s a running bunny where she searches fast without going sideways

search area edge of the forest. on the other side of the fence is a forested area, there’s a flat area of grass before it dips down

search area garden. haven’t used this yet. has a lot of vegetation as spring gets going

search area in the barn is where I am practicing with boxes. Brielle usually turns the corner and the odor hits her so I’ve been using this area less.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by Alana McGee.

[Alana McGee]

Forwarded Response:

Your garden area looks great, this will be very useful as you start working in more natural habitats outdoors even amongst the gravel is great. As will the grassy section on the other side of the fence. It is about gradually increasing the search area in these environments. This will provide ample opportunities for now.

[Alana McGee]

Forwarded Homework:

I’m probably so slow I need to read the instructions again. here’s home week 1 inside hides. There’s three she had a time in the corner but got the threshold quickly.

also added La Roux. we have 3.5 in nosework classes, Leon is just starting and not too thrilled about it yet. but he’s doing better. Brielle and Keegan have their ORT birch passed.

thank you

Brielle practice at home 3-1-15

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by Alana McGee.

[Alana McGee]

Forwarded Response:

On Brielle’s video:

GREAT job rewarding at source! We really like how she continues to check. Excellent work picking UP the target after she has found it.

This was great. What we would suggest you do if possible, is does that second yellow box open? If so after your initial reward open the box up and see if you have have her nose target inside the box. Thus extending and building in delay in the reward but also teaching that the behavior isn’t finished until we have truffle in hand!

Notice how after the second hide Brielle is cueing off of you. Just something to notice. Watch that bit of video of again and notice Brielle’s body positioning in terms of the way you are facing (judging based on your legs here!). Once she hits the odor column she does a nice job.

Looks good though Paula!

[Alana McGee]

Forwarded Response from Paula:

Thank you. wonderful help, appreciate it!

the second box didn’t open so I’ll know how to plan the room or outside. We don’t do that at class so that will be a new behavior for me (LOL).

positioning. hmm. I’ve been told that before. I’m learning too. positioning and really understanding the odor column is my learning curve right now.

thank you as always. you guys are great. that’s a lot to do in one week. We do want to get out there and find truffles!

Paula

[Alana McGee]

Forwarded Homework:

Brielle

Lagotto Romagnolo, simple boxes outside with one truffle tin in the garden

[Alana McGee]

Forwarded Response:

Brielle Video 1:

Great job Brielle staying at source. Is she licking it?? Has she ever eaten them, or tried to? This may be something that comes up for you later based on this behavior. At 0:12 see her drop into a down as an evolved part of her alert sequence! Awesome.

Brielle Video 2: You are handling the line really well. Watch Brielle’s tail- that is a BIG indicator for her. Also note the look she gave you on the other target (as that is where it was previously). That look seems like part of an alert.

What right now is your alert in nose work? Does she pin her nose on source? The find was great, and she does know value of source odor which is awesome, but in the field (or orchard in your case) you & Jim won’t know where the truffles are and so you need to make sure you can interpret her alerts. They will continue to evolve, and when she finds it and is sure- it looks like she is licking it!

We cover it in the next class, but we may have you start working with naked truffles in a controlled setting so we can see how she responds to them. With licking, or a mouth retrieve, or eating them. If she does eat them, there are a few things we think it would be good to work on such as a touch and then backing away, so she doesn’t get into the habit and rewarded for behaviors that could lead to her eating your truffles!

[Alana McGee]

Welcome back to class, Paula!
You may begin posting your homework here. Please let us know how training has been going since the last class.

[Alana McGee]

This class ended May 3, 2015.

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