How to teach your dog to find hidden things

Finding hidden things is great fun for the dog, but also a warm-up for the mind and a way to enrich the environment. How to teach a dog to look for hidden things?

The dog can look for hidden things both at home and on the street.

You will need an assistant to hold the dog, or the pet must be able to sit on exposure.

In order for the dog to understand the task, the first time you stand at some distance in front of the dog, show the toy and put it on the ground. Then say the command “Search!”, the assistant releases the dog, and she runs to the toy. As soon as the dog grabs the toy, praise and reward it.

Then ask the pet to give the toy. If the pet is not trained in the “Give” command, you can exchange for a treat or other toy.

In the next step, you hide the toy, but not far (for example, behind a tree in front of the dog). That is, the dog does not see the toy itself, but sees where you put it. And then, when you say “Search”, the assistant releases the dog, and he finds the hidden.

If the dog is having difficulty, at first you can help her by indicating with a gesture in which direction the “treasure” is located.

Then gradually the task becomes more difficult, and the toys hide in more and more hard-to-reach places. Also, the assistant can turn the dog with its back to you so that it does not see in which direction you hide the “treasure”. You can also leave, hide the toy, return to the dog, let him go in search, and then he will have to return to you with the toy.

It is very important, however, to remember that you can only increase the difficulty when the pet is doing well with the previous stage. Otherwise, when faced with too much difficulty, the four-legged friend will get upset and lose motivation.

Classes should be short (no more than 10 minutes, and at the initial stage, 2-3 minutes will be enough).

And do not forget that this is entertainment, a game that should be fun for both you and the dog.