01/23/2023
Part 1: I am SO proud of our girl today! She got to try out her scent detection skills today in a big way! I took her with me duck hunting this weekend and eased her in. At the end of our hunt, we had a lost duck somewhere in a grassy general area and had tried and tried to find it using the canoe. I grabbed Siggi, hooked her to my longline and grabbed the treat pouch.
We walked down to the shoreline and I tethered her just like in class. I put a harvested duck in one hand and approached her. Every time she put her nose on the duck I said “yes!” And offered her a treat. After not too long I walked her to the search area said, “ready?”, told her to sit. She sat and her eyes lit up on me. I unhooked her and barked out, “Ok search!!” She lunged forward and went to work. She has never done such a large search grid for such a long duration especially without immediate successs and reinforcement. I wasn’t too sure, she knew what I was asking of her as she also had never done a search grid outdoors and especially on water- both of which complicate how scent clouds move.
