Nosework (4/10)

Gimme had nosework class this morning and did a great job, as always.  Nosework really wipes out her little doggie brain for a few hours.  Usually I've been at work all day, so there is rarely time to train before class and too lazy to train at midnight after class.   So one advantage of having morning class is that later in the day I can have another training session. 

Joyce put out some really tough hides for her.  I have to say Gimme is very persistent.  I remember when she was a puppy riding to the airport, screaming her head off because she didn't appreciate confinement to the Sherpa bag.  At the time I said, "one day I'll appreciate her persistence, but not today."  Well I was right, today I certainly appreciated it.  One hide was on the wall between a rolling mop bucket and a chair.  You can ask to move things, which I did, but Judge Joyce said "no"... because at level 2, inaccessible is part of the challenge.  Gimme bracketed all around it and then just got as close as she could and streeeeeetched her neck over to within inches of it.  She might have a contortionist in her pedigree, hitherto unknown.

None of the other hides were completely different, just less accessible than usual.  One threshold hide was on the side of the metal furnace unit where all the treats are, so she was distracted and tempted by them, sniffing all around them, but not stealing.  Then finally homing in on the actual odor.  We repeated the drawer hide in a different cabinet.

I think the hardest one for her to actually find was a q-tip in a crack on the floor.  She was just all over this one section of the room, kept checking stuff around the sides and going  back and forth.  Joyce asked me where I thought it was and I said the toy bookshelf.  Turns out I was practically standing on top of it.  Since we keep moving to prevent the dog from using our location as a clue - I was pretty much dithering all over the spot where it was.  When I finally got a little off of it and it coincided with her going by, she went right to it.  Me and my big feet.

Later we did another session of the leg-weaves and figure-8-weaves.  I did randomize as I said I would and we quickly moved the mean up to 4.  I discovered I was being boring.  She wasn't all that hot about doing "thru" when I first taught it, so I went slow and unthinkingly have kept it slow.  Today I pumped it up, giving the cue for the next thru before she'd finished the last and she got into it.  She's gonna be flashy.

We also did a little more work on listening skills.  Started out well and I was pleased with what she was doing.  When I tried to do a second/different listening skill exercise, I discovered I'd used up her brain.  So obviously, on nosework day, we can only do one brain-intensive exercise.  She still wanted to train more, just couldn't focus enough for that.

I considered giving her a quick session when I got home tonight, but she zoned to nap-land awful quickly, so it'll hafta wait.