Too Well Trained?

We’ve been doing a little nosework box practice at home, and some of the hesitation I was expecting to see in class is definitely in evidence.  Clark is pretty unsure, at least at first, about what it is he’s supposed to be doing and whether he’s allowed to interact with the food in the box.

I think part of it is that he’s pretty well trained not to eat food off the floor, and this may be a little too much like that–he gives lots of appeasement behaviors as we approach the box pile.  A gesture from me towards the boxes and a “Go ahead!” in an encouraging voice is usually enough to get him to go investigate.

As we continue, I think I’ll have to help him differentiate between a searching environment where he should look for food, and the rest of life where he should continue to ignore it until it’s offered to him.