Find It
| Difficulty: | Moderate | Tweet | |
Prerequisite: |
Sit, Stay, Learn Names | ||
| Items Needed: | Clicker, Treats |
TEACH
This trick can be taught with any toy or item. It could turn out to be very useful if you lost something. When we lost a set of car keys in the backyard, we told Caspian to "Get my keys!" and in just a few minutes he had found them! When I was first teaching this trick, I was using an old Atlanta Braves hat that I used to wear (everyday). Because the hat had a lot of my smell on it, it was easier for Caspian to pick up on.
"Use the same terms each time! In other words, don't tell your dog to "Find it," while still using "Get it," "Where is it?" and "Search" intermittently. Consistency is the key!"
STEPS
Step One: Have your dog sit.
Step Two: Hold up an object that he is familiar with (he knows its name) and let him smell it.
Step Three: Place the object under something obvious (like a towel), and say "find it". You might add the name of the object if it doesn't do it quickly ("find it" bunny). Click and treat when he touches the object.
Step Four: Repeat several times, but each time you repeat move the object to a different location getting progressively more difficult. Click and treat each time.
Step Five: Let him smell and then hide other objects that he is not familiar with and give the "find it" command.
TEACHING TROUBLE
My dog doesn't understand what I want him to do.
Some dogs have great noses; others don't. Even if his sense of smell isn't as good as other dogs, your dog can still learn this trick. Make sure the toy you use to hide is one he really likes. Also make sure he knows its name. Start out easy; you may not want to even hide it starting out: Put it in plain sight and encourage your dog to touch it. Then you can hide the toy in progressively more difficult spaces.
