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Training with Dexter

I have been doing a lot of extra training with Dexter lately - something I should have been doing all along, really. We failed our Public Access test (very shameful) and are working hard to be able to pass it again in a couple of weeks. We have to wait a month before we can do it again.
We failed because Dexter ate some food, and tried to get other food, only being stopped by the trainer. There are a couple of food-related exercises that must be passed in order to pass the whole test. Because Dexter failed, we failed the whole test.
So we have been in intense training ever since. We had a great session with Cyn D, another trainer and I have learned some new techniques to try to get Dexter's focus away from food and scavanging. It involves giving him extra treats if he even hesitates before trying to eat something off the floor, and rewarding him for looking back at me when he sees any food.
So far so good. It's not 100% yet, but the improvements are very encouraging. I can throw treats at him and he'll leave them. He might stare intently at them, but he won't eat them. I also got him to do a couple of recalls (I make him sit at a distance and then call him to come to me) over some delicious treats. I felt that was quite impressive.
I really good change I've seen is that he seems to have stopped scouring for food when we're indoors. It used to drive me nuts that he always had his head down sniffing and looking for something to eat. He's not doing it anywhere near so much, although food courts are still a big challenge. Outside is a different matter, but the trainers aren't too worried about it. His behaviour indoors is the most important thing.
So we're doing a bit of training every day. Not just the food stuff, but all his other tasks, and his general obedience. That's become a bit less sharp, so I'm trying to get that back up to standard again.
My experiences with all of this assistance dog stuff, it's challenges and rewards, is coming in very handy when designing training courses and materials, especially when I see that other new handlers are having the same challenges.
Dexter and I can re-take our public access test in a couple of weeks, and I am determined to pass it. I'll keep you posted!
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