Review of Important Concepts
Great to see these dogs smiling and excited to search! Keep up that enthusiasm!! Below is a list of the important concepts discussed in class. Keep them in mind when you're working with your dog at home this week. We'll be building on this foundation in the coming weeks and months.
Besides building your dog's drive to hunt, let's focus on refining your skills this week.
Remember to have only one dedicated food box out during the search. There should only be one box that you ever put food in.
Although we did some work without playing the shell game in class, keep letting the dog see you play with the boxes at home to build that drive and excitement.
Try to meet with a practice buddy each week so you can help each other out and learn from each other.
Keep asking yourself how the dog tells you when he's found the hide.
Don't be stingy about that reward!
Don't forget to put the boxes away when you're not working a dog.
Lesson Review
In case you missed class or want a review, here’s the link to what we did this week. (You’ll need to register with Thinkific to access it.)
Week Two Homework
Use 5-6 containers with flaps and covers.
Begin closing one or two flaps this week.
Add some environmental objects to the search.
Keep the hides in the box, but place the box near those environmental objects.
Try to work in at least five different locations, either in your home, or in a quiet indoor place away from home.
Stay away from outdoor areas, especially grassy areas.
Bring one or two environmental objects that we can use during out searches in class next week.
How Arousal Ties into Building the Drive to Hunt
The study in this article made me think about some of the subtle techniques used in nose work. Things like letting the dog watch while we play the shell game with boxes, encouraging the dog to root in your hands or under box flaps for cookies, those some of the ways we pair nose work with arousal in our dogs. Can you think of others?