remy
Notable member
I started a beginner nosework class with Remy recently! It is a virtual class through Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. Thursday starts weeks 5 however we got a bit behind so we’re still working on the end of week 2/beginning of week 3.
We are currently training with birch. It is optional to do a “cocktail” of 3 odors but I haven’t tried that yet. The hides are not paired with food. During the first week we imprinted the odor by feeding around the hide then directly overtop of it. After that I held the switch box, he would put his nose in to sniff, mark and reward, etc…
At this stage the hide (a switch box) starts to be put in slightly hidden spots, rather than hand held or out in the open on the floor like the previous week. We will train like this a bit more before moving the hide into more difficult spots. After that we are supposed to introduce a fan to blow the odor.
I did notice I sometimes mark “yes” too quickly, even before he lifts his head to alert, so that’s something I need to work on! I can see how that’s easy to do since I actually know where the hide is, unlike if we were trialing. I also want to work on him staying with the odor for the alert. He will sometimes head my direction looking for the reward instead of waiting for me to come and reward at the source of odor.
Here are two videos from today. In the first video I marked “yes” too early. I should have waited until his head was lifted and he was looking towards me. In the second video the hide was less hidden. I did a better job with the marking here (and I think his alert was better as well.)
Video 1
Video 2
We are currently training with birch. It is optional to do a “cocktail” of 3 odors but I haven’t tried that yet. The hides are not paired with food. During the first week we imprinted the odor by feeding around the hide then directly overtop of it. After that I held the switch box, he would put his nose in to sniff, mark and reward, etc…
At this stage the hide (a switch box) starts to be put in slightly hidden spots, rather than hand held or out in the open on the floor like the previous week. We will train like this a bit more before moving the hide into more difficult spots. After that we are supposed to introduce a fan to blow the odor.
I did notice I sometimes mark “yes” too quickly, even before he lifts his head to alert, so that’s something I need to work on! I can see how that’s easy to do since I actually know where the hide is, unlike if we were trialing. I also want to work on him staying with the odor for the alert. He will sometimes head my direction looking for the reward instead of waiting for me to come and reward at the source of odor.
Here are two videos from today. In the first video I marked “yes” too early. I should have waited until his head was lifted and he was looking towards me. In the second video the hide was less hidden. I did a better job with the marking here (and I think his alert was better as well.)
Video 1
Video 2