Think of your scent work as a 3 step process:
1. Assign value to the target odor
2. Teach the dog to discriminate and show preference for that odor
3. Add a trained indicator / build a behavior chain
1. Assign value to the target odor
2. Teach the dog to discriminate and show preference for that odor
3. Add a trained indicator / build a behavior chain
I would suggest going back to step 1: Assign Value to the odor. In the phase, I would not have competing containers Make it simple. Sniff target odor = high value reward.
Only a few reps. After that, many dogs are on "auto-pilot" and aren't really "thinking" about the odor.
When your dog shows anticipatory behavior when sniffing the scent, you will know here is value. THEN, you can add a second container.
As you build success with a second container, vary the presentation:
Only a few reps. After that, many dogs are on "auto-pilot" and aren't really "thinking" about the odor.
When your dog shows anticipatory behavior when sniffing the scent, you will know here is value. THEN, you can add a second container.
As you build success with a second container, vary the presentation:
- The room
- Your position
- The time of day
- The type of container (plastic, glass, wood, cloth)
But, remember, that ULTIMATELY, for diabetic alert, the scent will be on YOU. As often as possible, I like to point all of these activities back to having scent on person as much as possible.
