Scent Discrimination Coming Along

[Samba]

I have been working again with the articles in Utility. Soleil seems to finally be getting it and gaining confidence. She used to go out and grab an article first. She was still checking all of them and even would put the wrong one down when she found the right one. It was giving me a heart attack though! lol

I felt like she had understanding and was obviously working so I was reluctant to interfere... though restraint was difficult. She has stopped that grabbing!! I think it came with confidence.

I am trying to teach her to find the one with the greatest scent source. Since those articles are about 4 inches apart in competition, scent can spread out among them. I am scenting heavily and "hot". Last night we put the articles touching one another end to end in a cross pattern (saw this in a book). She did well. Next I think I will put the right one piled on another one. Seems this is getting her to really hone in on the source article.

With Catahoula dog, he started off grabbing. I think I waited a bit late and his retrieve behavior is pretty established. He will get it though.

People use the tie down method in my area a lot. I am too lazy to tie and do something like the "Round the Clock" training. There is this propensity among trainers here to "stay out of the pile" and not to tell the dog they are ever wrong. I was told at a seminar there is no reason you can't be all up in that pile of articles and give information.

Anybody do anything different or interesting with scent discrimination exercise?