The Definitive Guide to Laser Directionals 
Sometimes we have different ideas on the landmark
I have noticed the last two days when working on introducing new areas and moving back that sometimes Telly and I have a different idea on what exactly the landmark is. She is picking out landmarks so that is good but when the distance moves back sometimes a relatively close item that did not stick out so much to me is the one she picks. Usually the item is pretty close in distance to the other (the one I chose) like about 2M. When she gets close and sees the target she adjusts. Does not happen always just sometimes. Maybe I am not picking out the better landmark ?
1 comment
Hi Colleen,
That is a very interesting and accurate observation. Firstly and fore mostly, the fact that she is picking a landmark at all is super beneficial for the laser course, because she shows an obvious willingness to focus on and target an alternative visual signal other than the bowl itself. So for laser that is of course crucial.
For daytime directionals, the landmarking is important and as handlers we often have to learn how our partners view and perceive the landscape so we can better direct them.
With that said, as we increase the daytime send farther (and this is now purely talking about daytime directional sends without laser) we can't always be sure whether the dog looks at the landmark we meant for them to look at. And when we are doing "unprimed" sends that will happen. The recipe for me at that point has been to use larger hideable toys (I like using black and white retriever bumpers) and spread them out, so you have maybe 4 of them about 1.5-2m apart. That way in all likelihood the dog will encounter one of the bumpers even if they are marking a landmark slightly different from the one we intended for them.
In directional sends it is important that the dog have success by going directly to a location and not switching to search mode. So direct reward encounters are important.
Great point, thank you Colleen.
Armin
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