Bec Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I am teaching this to my youngster at the moment (as the basis for the seekback exercise in obedience, but anyone can train it just for a bit of fun) and we are having a great time with it so I thought I'd see if anyone else wanted to train it too. The goal is to teach your dog to find an item that's hidden in the room. This eventually becomes a scent work game that teaches your dog to use its nose. Start with a simple object, I am using a small piece of rolled leather but it can be anything - your car keys, a toy, etc. You don't want to use anything too big. Have your dog in the room with you, with the object, Have some treats handy and a clicker if you use one. Place the object in the middle of the room and ask the dog to bring it to you (it is handy if you have taught your dog to pick things up on command). When he brings you the object, click/praise and reward. Do this a few times until your dog really gets that you want him to bring the object to you. Start putting the object further away from you, and when the dog is bringing it back reliably, put it on command. For this exercise, I use 'find'. When the dog is confident with the command, start putting the dog in the next room where he can't see you. Place the object in the room where it's still visible, bring the dog in and ask him to 'find'. He should look for the object, spot it and retrieve it. As the dog gets more confident, start hiding the object where they can't easily see it. I put it behind the lounge, next to things etc. The goal is to get the dog using his nose to find the object. The more confident your dog gets finding the object, the harder you can make it! This is Daisy's second training session for this new game. I've put it on command, but that's only because she is very confident with what she needs to do. You can see the second time I hide the object where she is not expecting it to be, she reverts to using her nose (some of this is off screen unfortunately) so she can find the object. Any dog can play this game, and playing these kinds of games is a great way to build your dog's confidence and relationship with you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw4HJI6UMrk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rathian Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Nice. Skye would just look at me as if to say "you just walked over there, you go fetch it!!" or pick it up and stick her nose on the floor and ass in the air wagging her tail at me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted October 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Nice. Skye would just look at me as if to say "you just walked over there, you go fetch it!!" or pick it up and stick her nose on the floor and ass in the air wagging her tail at me. Any dog can learn to do it - you just need to find the right motivation! My Siberian loves food and toys (he is very prey driven) I recently taught him to stand with his front paws on an upturned bucket, using a throw of his toy as a reward. Both my dogs would give me the equivalent of a doggy rude finger if I asked them to work just for pats LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosemary Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Micah would love a game like that, she'll jump through hoops for a treat. Ozzy will be more difficult, he is going through a 'not interested in treats' phase, but I am sure I'll find something to motivate him too Will let you know how it goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 great idea bec added to rep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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