Demolition Derby

Gimme passed her ORT!!!!

Not before she alerted on ten boxes, a couple more than once. After she was done, they had to replace five boxes, which may or may not include the one that had the odor in it.  Thank God we've got that behind us.

She started well, carefully sniffing the first and second box. Then she lightly sniffed the third box and stepped on it in the process of stepping over it. After that she alerted on every box on her way down that line and back up the other line. She went back to a couple of the boxes, but didn't stick with them. When she finally stuck with one box, despite me continuing to move past and then around her --- then I called "alert".  She accomplished all this in just 44 seconds!  I think I've mentioned before how FAST she is...

I was getting quite anxious about this. How on earth could my brilliant girl be so good at finding odor and still not be able to get past a simple ORT? I wasn't any calmer about this ORT's prognosis after yesterday's class. Class started out well with a simple container search and Gimme found it in good time. After that there was a three hide exterior search, in the rain, and Gimme found all three quickly. Then we returned to the building for a blind search in containers and set up just like an ORT. Gimme then decided to alert on several different boxes and finally got the right one on the fourth try. Needless to say THAT didn't inspire confidence.

Joyce was so good about letting us have another turn. This time she said to not call alert until she told me to. Gimme again alerted on incorrect boxes, but was "stickier" on the correct one. So Joyce had us run yet again with the instructions to keep moving whenever Gimme alerted and see what she'd do. That turned out to be the key to knowing when to call "alert" today - waiting for her to stick a box even when I moved a bit past her.

For the time being, it seems Gimme is willing to alert on anything to get the good stuff. Almost as if she thinks she is being rewarded for alerting, not necessarily being right. We KNOW she knows how to find the right box.  Possibly she is just going through a phase and we'll have to work through it. Joyce and I have devised a plan where we'll use signals so that I don't verbally call alert unless Gimme is on the right one. I'll cock my head if I think she's on the right one and then Joyce will nod "yes" at me, then I'll call it.

So basically we are conspiring to outsmart my conniving little genius. Scary, isn't it?