tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958112649912191833.post2646938052138213070..comments2023-07-22T01:06:05.554-07:00Comments on K9 Nose Work®: Alert! (The Final Response)Jeff McMahonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17634038342280050377noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958112649912191833.post-20927461315969006972022-03-17T12:49:44.296-07:002022-03-17T12:49:44.296-07:00Have been doing classes for a year now. My dog aft...Have been doing classes for a year now. My dog after she stays at the hide gives me a look back and that to me seems to be her confirming so I let her do that before saying alert. Is this wrong or right? Is there a way of making that look back strong enough to finalize her finding the hide?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01454278173927256262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958112649912191833.post-8771533361598317232022-01-25T14:15:40.168-08:002022-01-25T14:15:40.168-08:00If you're still reading these comments I want ...If you're still reading these comments I want to thank you for posting this great article. It's just what needed clarification on. My problem is that my Berner and I make a great team until it comes to buried order. She alerts on every container. I'm trying to go back to basics and re-shape her alert on buried. I'm going to give your method a try-ThanksAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00090635955692909564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958112649912191833.post-45074249733973074402017-07-18T08:46:10.281-07:002017-07-18T08:46:10.281-07:00Thanks for reading and commenting! I'm going t...Thanks for reading and commenting! I'm going to simply address the question related to final response, which was, do you teach an indication to avoid the dog offering confusing behavior that could be truffles... Or it could be cat poop.<br /><br />Probably, the set of behaviors displayed by the dog when hunting for cat poop are discernibly different than when hunting for a target odor, so you'll want to learn to recognize the dog's distracted behavior.<br /><br />If you're getting clearer behavior at source with certain types of hide placement, that's great. I wouldn't train an indication to primary reward, I'd train the indication to truffle scent. But, make sure you really need to train an indication, as opposed to just proofing the dog off of distracting and/or novel smells. a dog engaged in searching should not interact meaningfully with distracting smells, whereas, a dog engaged at source should be committed to the source and anticipating reward. <br /><br />Happy Sniffing!Jeff McMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634038342280050377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958112649912191833.post-56417967474587347922017-07-12T23:02:53.110-07:002017-07-12T23:02:53.110-07:00I hope you are still reading the comments here. I ...I hope you are still reading the comments here. I have 6.5 years old a German Shepherd who was trained as a cadaver dog before I got her. One of the reasons her previous owner got rid of her is that she was unreliable as a search dog. I started to teach her to find truffles as a hobby. We have no instructor, I'm mostly learning from the internet and books. I'm doing the method you described in your blog, using only primary rewards first, later I will introduce the sent. Since truffles grow under the ground I often dig her food. When she finds something in a place she can reach the reward easily she offers very little behavior changes, but I think I'm starting to figure it out. When she can't reach it easily or it's under the ground, she will scratch. However she also scratches when she finds anything she considers edible, like cat poop. I think it's going to be a problem later. What should I do? Teach her indication early?Borihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15893470310269621123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958112649912191833.post-38568197782900048182012-09-18T09:00:06.195-07:002012-09-18T09:00:06.195-07:00Thanks for sharing! Your example is exactly why I ...Thanks for sharing! Your example is exactly why I closed the post reminding everyone that the dog's alert is not as important as the handler's ability to read the dog accurately.<br /><br />Happy Sniffing!Jeff McMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634038342280050377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958112649912191833.post-49199539999612777022012-09-18T08:36:58.492-07:002012-09-18T08:36:58.492-07:00Just to avoid confusion, the dog should always go ...Just to avoid confusion, the dog should always go as close to source odor as possible - nose touching if it is accessible. The final response/alert is the last part in a series of behavior changes (e.g., a head turn, detail sniffing, more intense sniffing/breathing, sourcing odor, final alert) and is meant to signal that the dog has found that particular hide. A dog with a down alert might find a hide under a microwave then drop into a down to alert. The handler should have been watching the dog and know that the dog's behavior at the microwave followed by the down alert signals that the dog believes the hide is under the microwave. Even well-trained alerts don't always result in a dog that is right on top of the hide when he's in his alert, so you, the handler, should always be watching for the signs leading up to the alert to read your dog most accurately.<br /><br />For the problem of backing away from the odor, you may want to set up some non-blind searches where you can time your reward to come right when Annie finds source odor - before she has a chance to even think about moving back. Do a few searches this way, then go back to a search where you allow her the time to communicate with you that she's found the hide. And, think about positioning yourself in different places relative to Annie as she's getting close to sourcing the hide. We often come from behind our dogs to deliver the reward. Try positioning yourself so you come from in front of or to the side of Annie to deliver the reward. That could help with the backing away from source.<br /><br />Also, try setting up multiple hides in an area - or even spaced out ten or fifteen feet in a line - that start at nose height and drop just six or eight inches, ending with a ground hide. Make sure she's working the hides in descending order from highest to lowest. I've seen her give a nice close-to-odor snap sit on a nose height hide, so an exercise like this may get her doing it on lower hides, too, and may turn her alert into a sit. <br /><br />Thanks for reading and commenting. Happy Sniffing!Jeff McMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634038342280050377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958112649912191833.post-48825517585818665902012-09-17T10:37:21.490-07:002012-09-17T10:37:21.490-07:00I have an 11-inch-tall terrier who, in most cases,...I have an 11-inch-tall terrier who, in most cases, could not sit and have her nose on the odor at the same time. She is also very quick and I might miss the exact location of the nose-touch before she sits. Often she looks at me and points to the hide with her paw. If I wait, she will do it again as if to say, "It's here, dummy." We missed our getting our NW1 title the first time when I misidentified the hide by only a few inches on the vehicle. Later, when I looked at a sequence of photos, I saw that she did go and sniff the hide before sitting. But I panicked and called alert without really knowing exactly where the hide was. I should have waited for her to go back to the hide instead of taking a guess when the judge asked me where it was. So, for us, teaching a sit as a final alert probably isn't ideal.Bebe Russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11381910302434169232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958112649912191833.post-37009958472299585022012-09-15T15:42:59.593-07:002012-09-15T15:42:59.593-07:00How close (accuracy)to source should the final ale...How close (accuracy)to source should the final alert (sit/down) be for a judge to accept? Annie's response to odor is often taking a few steps back and looking up at me for her reward.I am assuming that when she starts to sit, she will be quite far back from source...k9Annie5https://www.blogger.com/profile/06988983625525156092noreply@blogger.com