[monicaei]

Yippee! I have just learned the neatest trick from another rescue mommy in our group! Many of you probably know it already, but it's too good not to share for the folks who don't (or like me, never bothered to try it). NOSE WORK!

I have a puppy on "leash only" exercise restriction, and a dog who very much misses and is stressing over his BFF being in jail. So, while complaining about this (the fact that no matter how much more I exercise Leo he still is acting the a$$ since Mac is locked up) I got a brilliant suggestion. Take his kibble and scatter it all over the yard and get his brain moving while he searches it out. Leo is extremely food driven, and he is so happy snuffling out the kibbles hidden under my trees! He looks like a truffle hunter! Even put Mac on a long line and let her do the same. HAPPY DOGS!!

 

[dobienut]

now thats some usefull info thanks for sharing

 

[Shoei]

i started doing this with kane since he was about 12wks it works great just wish he was more food driven so it only works for short periods. he is more play driven so sometimes i turn it into a game and direct him close to the food.

 

[DogsR4Life]

Have you ever done the memory test for dogs? It determines if your dog has great memory, Dobermans excel in this test.

Put the dog in another room, hide one treat, let him out and give him the release command to find it (I say: Go find it!). Once he has found the treat, fuss over him, then put him back in the other room.

Hide a treat in the same spot, but add another one in a different place. Repeat exercise. Put dog back into room, hide the two treats in same spot, add another treat in different place, repeat.

Watch your dog remember each hiding place! Chase got up to 11 treats before he started forgetting one or two places. Takes up a good 40mins of brain work

 

[Darkevs]

my dogs have alwyas gone on 'crumblie hunts'.

work that nose!


hugz to your crumblie hunting Furkids!

 

[PatchworkRobot]

Tried this with about 1/4 of my boy's dinner in a small part of the yard. He could not care less, lol

 

[KevinK]

i started doing this with kane since he was about 12wks it works great just wish he was more food driven so it only works for short periods. he is more play driven so sometimes i turn it into a game and direct him close to the food.

For some dogs, the "hunt" is rewarding, and the find is the reward. For dogs that are not more food driven, then make the reward a fun game, or something else, but make the reward something that your dog wants to do. You can play tug, fetch, whatever your dog likes, you don't have to reward with food.

 

[Darkevs]

^^^^^

so true!

some dogs like to go for walkies more than anything else in the world!!!

get out there with your dog and have fun!

 

[lolonurse]

plus, some dogs are really only highly motivated if the "reward" is a high-value item like liver, hot dogs, cheese - not just regular old kibble. i don't do this simply because i don't ever want my dogs to pick up and eat anything they find lying around. i've lost a cat and a dog to poisoning, and have had at least 2 or 3 instances of people throwing things into our yard (like a poisoned gopher, a piece of pizza - which they LOVE - and other items)... i LOVE that my dogs won't eat things they find on the ground... when i do "find it", it's only in the house. when we work outside, it's to search for other things, like a desired toy. that's also the basis for learning retrieval, seek (S&R) and other scent-discrimination tasks.

 

[KevinK]

plus, some dogs are really only highly motivated if the "reward" is a high-value item like liver, hot dogs, cheese - not just regular old kibble. i don't do this simply because i don't ever want my dogs to pick up and eat anything they find lying around. i've lost a cat and a dog to poisoning, and have had at least 2 or 3 instances of people throwing things into our yard (like a poisoned gopher, a piece of pizza - which they LOVE - and other items)... i LOVE that my dogs won't eat things they find on the ground... when i do "find it", it's only in the house. when we work outside, it's to search for other things, like a desired toy. that's also the basis for learning retrieval, seek (S&R) and other scent-discrimination tasks.

We do nosework with a variety of items, and I taught my dog to sit when she finds the item, and if the item is food, (rarely) she is not allowed to eat it. If she is finding food, and I'm going to reward with food, I give her a different piece, she is not allowed to eat the one she finds. Helps avoid that problem!

 

[shiloh]

plus, some dogs are really only highly motivated if the "reward" is a high-value item like liver, hot dogs, cheese - not just regular old kibble. i don't do this simply because i don't ever want my dogs to pick up and eat anything they find lying around. i've lost a cat and a dog to poisoning, and have had at least 2 or 3 instances of people throwing things into our yard (like a poisoned gopher, a piece of pizza - which they LOVE - and other items)... i LOVE that my dogs won't eat things they find on the ground... when i do "find it", it's only in the house. when we work outside, it's to search for other things, like a desired toy. that's also the basis for learning retrieval, seek (S&R) and other scent-discrimination tasks.

I do this with my guys, I save certain treats specifically for nose work/agility/etc and it makes their work that much more rewarding to them. I keep their "special" treats in the freezer, and whenever I pull out the bag they know it's time to work and get realllllllly excited.