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How To Teach Your Dog To Use His Scent
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Kelly Marshall
26 Nov, 2007
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For those interested in getting their dog to sniff things out…
Most dogs are inclined to prefer natural things to those made in factories. Because of this, you need to begin the training by putting six sticks, or chips of bark, in an area roughly four feet wide by four feet wide. You should wear rubber, scaled dishwashing gloves when you are working with the wood so that you do not prematurely scent anything. Make sure that none of the wood touches each other as well. Take one piece of the wood and hide it inside of your shirt so that you can heavily scent. Then, you should leash your dog.
Stop your dog at least ten feet from the closest piece of wood as soon as you and your dog enter the training area. Now, command your pet to “stay”. Then, take the now scent-ridden piece of wood from your shirt. Flip the piece of wood repeatedly through the air in order to get your dog’s attention. Wave the piece of wood beneath your dog’s nose, again giving the command to “stay”, and then move over to the other pieces of wood. Set the scented wood near the ordinary ones, but make sure you do not forget where you put it. Now move back to your pet and move your hand near his nose for a few moments. Follow this with a command to “find it”, when you do that motion in the direction of the wood. If it is necessary, you can repeat the command and the gesture until your dog is encouraged to go searching.
While your dog is nearing the pieces of wood, you should stay near. Make sure that you are close, but do not become a distraction during the training. As a dog gets closer to something that catches their eye, so inquisitively the pet will tend to lower their head in order to inspect the items. If a dog does not show much intrigue, encourage them with voice commands and gestures; do not force your pet. When your dog begins to look over the items tell it gently “good”.
If your pet tries for any piece of wood other than the scented one, tell him softly “no” as you pull him away from the incorrect piece. As soon as the dog sniffs the correct piece of wood, even if he does not react, you need to exclaim, “Good, Find it, Bring!”
Reward your pet with physical contact, telling him that he was good at the “find it” he completed. Guide your pet from the training scene, giving him the chance to carry the correct piece, should he desire to. End the training as soon as you complete a Find It. This makes it absolute that your dog will end it on high note. Repeating the procedure could degrade the dog’s sense of accomplishment. After you get back, gently tell the dog “out”. If your pet does not release the object, softly pull until the dog releases; do not ruin the dog’s enthusiasm by being too harsh.
Go through this process three times, and then start placing the scented piece of wood with the other pieces before you bring your dog to the area. After doing this for seven days, change from the pieces of wood to more formal objects. If your dog has problems accepting the new items, place them in cloth gloves, this should make the exercise more dog friendly.
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Article by Kelly Marshall of Oh My Dog Supplies – the online source for dog beds and designer dog bowls
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