Civil Pooch - Positive Dog Training by John Buginas, San Francisco Bay Area

Dogs know how to use their nose. They use it every day. It's not hard to teach your that you WANT them to use their nose. Doing so can be entertaining AND help burn of excess energy.

A ten to fifteen minute game that uses your dog's nose is mentally and physically exhausting. Your dog will rest happily and you will share in the fun as you experience this seemingly magic ability.

It's a gift! 

All dogs have powerful noses with thousands of times more scent receptors than humans.

Hide and Seek

Put your dog in a sit or down and ask them to wait. Then hide in an easy to find place. When your are hidden, call them. When they get to you, reward lavishly with praise and treats.  Repeat  several times. Then work your way up to hiding in more challenging locations.

In addition to using their nose, you and your dog will get lots of practice using wait and come when called.

Find the Treat

Put your dog in a sit or down and ask them to stay. Hide several treats in easy to find places nearby them.

Release them to find the treats by saying "Go Find!" Repeat this several times. Then start hiding the treats in harder and harder places.

This is good practice in using their nose as well as wait.

Find the Wallet 

This takes a few steps. Find an old wallet, glove, eyeglass case. Anything you want actually.

1. First you need to get the dog very interested in touching the wallet. Place the wallet near your dog's nose. When the dog touches the wallet with the nose, click (or say YES!) and open the wallet, giving your dog the treat inside. Repeat this a few times. When the dog is starting to touch the wallet consistently, say 'GO FIND!' right before your dog moves towards the glove.
2. Ask your dog to wait. Show the dog the object. Step about a foot away from the dog, place object on the floor, return to your dog. Say 'Go Find!" When your dog touches the object with his nose, click (or say YES!) and reward from the object.
3. Repeat, placing the wallet on the floor about a foot from your dog.
4. Repeat, placing wallet on the floor about two feet from your dog.
5. Repeat, placing wallet about three feet from your dog.
6. Repeat, placing wallet around the corner of a wall or behind a piece of furniture, just out of site. Say 'GO FIND!"
7. Keep placing the object farther and farther away.
8. When your dog is reliably finding the wallet, you can stop putting cheese in it and reward from your bait bag.

Once your are proficient at this, you can try hiding other objects.

It could be useful to name the object separately. For example, you may be able to teach your dog to:

• Find lost eyeglasses
• Find lost keys
• Find that remote control

If you want to teach them to find each object by name, start over with the 8 steps from above.