Reply To: Signs of stress in searching

[Stefanie AlexanderParticipant]

I agree about doing some easier searches with a party at the hide. When Prim is stressed while searching, she often lets out a brief cry of frustration and looks at me. The best way I’ve found to get her re-engaged is to do an easy search where I know that she’ll be quickly successful at locating that hide. The trick is, as Kim states, is the FAST rewarding (which I’m still working on–this is something I need to improve as a handler). Prim responds really well to verbal praise as well as treats to reaffirm that her nose knows 🙂