Teaching a Dog to Search

Your dog can learn to search for human scent whether you decide to go into search and rescue or not. It is a fun game for any dog that likes to retrieve, and it gives you and your dog an enjoyable activity you can do together – a game that can grow in complexity and challenge as you both learn. This “fun searching” can be done indoors or out, so even in the worst weather you can play search games with your dog.

Dogs search naturally but it’s up to you to introduce your dog to what you would like him/her to search for. You can start this many ways (you may even come up with your own version of the game!), but one way is by hiding the dog’s favourite toy. At first you make it very easy…not much more than a fetch. The toy or article may be “hidden” in plain sight. As the dog learns the game you can hide the toy where he/she cannot immediately see it and when your “hides” become gradually more difficult your dog will use its nose rather than his/her eyes to locate the toy.

Begin by playing a few rounds of fetch just to get the dog excited and warmed up. Then clip a leash to your dog’s collar, and either tell him/her to “sit, stay”, or tether the dog to something so he/she can’t follow you. Show the dog the toy in your hand and walk a few yards away. Place the toy on the ground in plain sight where the dog can see it (make sure the dog sees you place the toy), and walk back to your dog. Take the end of the leash in your hand, and command the dog to search (“search”, “seek”, and “find it” are common commands). If the dog will go out and fetch it without hesitation, then immediately release your hold on the leash and let the dog go fetch the toy back to you.

If the dog has difficulty understanding what you want, keep hold of the leash and run with your dog to the toy. Let him/her fetch it. You can then run backward and encourage the dog to follow you with the toy in his mouth. Stop, take the toy, and praise your dog. Stay at this level until the dog understands the game and will run out and fetch the toy without your help.

Next you can try to increase the difficulty by hiding the toy slightly. Follow the same steps as above. Show your dog the toy in your hand, leave the dog, and go out to place the toy several yards away. But this time, place the toy next to a bush or in a clump of grass, or next to the corner of a building or other object in your yard…any place that is a direct line from your dog to the toy, but where the dog cannot immediately see the toy from where he/she is sitting. Give your search command and let the dog fetch the toy back to you. If the dog has trouble finding the toy, then start over with a slightly easier “hide”. Make very sure the dog was watching you when you placed the toy.

As your dog progresses, you can make the hides more and more complex. Increase the distance or the difficulty, but not both at the same time. Take it slow and try to ensure your dog is successful and having fun. Always praise your dog enthusiastically every time he/she brings the toy back to you and you can reward the dog with a few rounds of fetch after each successful find.

As the hides become harder for your dog, you must learn how the wind affects your dogs success. The dog, who is by now using its nose to locate the toy, must rely on the wind to bring the scent of the toy in his direction. Ideally, you want to be downwind (the wind should be in your face when you look in the direction of the hidden toy) of the toy when you send your dog to find it. Otherwise the dog will have to go past the toy until he/she is downwind of it before he/she will “hit” on the scent of it.

Finally you can have someone else hide the toy while you wait with your dog. Make sure the dog understands this new aspect to the game by decreasing the difficulty of the hide for the first few tries. If your dog is not successful, make the hide easier, or “hide” it in plain sight again. You can then work back up to more difficult hides once the dog understands.

Stand silently with your dog while your helper shows the dog his toy and then walks away to hide it. Make sure the dog watches the helper. If the helper has to get your dog’s attention while he/she hides the toy, they can call out your dog’s name and wave the toy in the air. It is best that you don’t verbally encourage your dog to watch someone else…they will likely turn and look at you instead. So have the helper call out the dog’s name and allow the dog to see the helper hide the toy. Wait until the helper has returned to you, then give your dog his/her search command and release the dog to go fetch the toy.

Once your dog really understands the game and is clearly enthusiastic about playing it, you can take the game one step further. That is to have you or a helper hide the toy without the dog seeing it done, and then sending the dog in the direction you want him/her to go – letting them find the toy on their own. For this to work, the dog must understand the command to search and must believe that when you give the command that something is indeed out there for him/her to find. You must also understand and use the wind. Always send your dog to find the toy from a location downwind of the hide.

Air movement, terrain and temperature all affect scent molecules.  They influence how the scent travels and how long it remains viable.  Dog handlers must fully understand these factors to assist their dogs.

If your pooch is a foodie, try this:

Some dogs seem born knowing how to use their scenting abilities; others have to learn how to process information taken in through the nose. Some dogs, too, instinctively know how to follow scents. Terriers and hounds, for example, are much better following scents than many other breeds. Any dog, of any size, breed, or body type can learn to find things by using his scenting ability. The dog who uses his nose naturally has an easier time than a dog who relies more on his sense of vision. Brachycephalic dogs (such as Pugs, bulldogs, Boston terriers, and French Bulldogs) are capable of learning these things but do sometimes have a more difficult time.

Teaching your dog to search means teaching him to find something he cannot see and to use his nose to find that object. To begin, you need some treats that smell good to your dog, such as pieces of hot dog or dried liver. You also need a towel.

Sit on the floor with your dog. Let him smell the treat. Place the treat on the floor and quickly cover it with the towel.
Tell your dog, “Fido, Find the treat!”
If he immediately begins sniffing, praise him, “Fido, good boy! Good to Find It!” and lift the towel, letting him find and eat the treat. At this point in his training, reward the sniffing.
Repeat for a total of five successful repetitions and take a short break.
When your dog is actively sniffing and is trying to find the treat, let him work a little harder, delaying his reward until he gets closer to the treat. If he sniffs immediately over the treat, trying to sniff it through the towel, praise and reward him.

If your dog tries to stick his nose under the towel, lift the towel to let him succeed, then praise him even more, and add a few more treats to his reward. This is the behaviour you want to get the strongest reward.

Dog Talk
The command “Find” should always be combined with the name of an object (such as treat or ball).

Troubleshooting
If your dog is easily discouraged or is too timid to try something new on his own, place the treat under an edge of the towel. Let him find it there, and then gradually move the treat toward the centre of the towel, letting him find it on his own each time.

As your dog learns that you want him to find the treat hidden under the towel, you also want him to figure out how to get that treat. You don't want him to think the trick is to sniff and then wait for you to lift the towel, so encourage him to sniff and to nose the towel. If he tries to slide his nose under an edge of it, praise him!

Some dogs will actually pick up the towel in their teeth, moving it away from the treat. Let your dog figure out how to get it himself; just don't let him get too discouraged.

When your dog is finding the treat under the towel quickly, with little hesitation, begin hiding it in different locations. Sit on the floor with a towel, a shoe, and a small cardboard box, as well as some good treats.

Place the towel, shoe, and box on the floor in front of you.
Turn your dog's head toward you and cover his eyes.
Drop the treat in one of the items (such as in the shoe) and then uncover your dog's eyes as you tell him, “Fido, Find the treat!”
Touch each of the items with a finger as you encourage him to sniff, “Find It! Good boy!”
When he finds the treat, praise him enthusiastically!
Do a total of five repetitions and take a short break and then try it again.
Over several training sessions, hide the treat in different objects. When your dog is doing this well, finding the treat each time, begin hiding the treat farther away from him.

Sit your dog with his back to the area where you will hide the treat. Or, if he keeps turning around, take him into another room and have him stay.
Hide the treat in an easy-to-find spot, such as on the sofa just under the edge of a throw pillow.
Bring your dog back into the room and tell him to “Find” the treat.
 

Troubleshooting
If your dog hesitates to move (he expects the treat to be close to him), walk with him toward some objects he can sniff. When he moves forward himself (perhaps when he smells the treat), praise him.

When he begins sniffing, praise him. When he moves toward the treat, praise some more. When he finds the treat, be enthusiastic, “Good boy! What a smart dog!”

Do a total of five repetitions and take a break.
With practice, you should be able to hide a treat while your dog waits in another room, and then bring him back into the room and he'll find it without your help.

Combining It with Named Items
You can also teach your dog to find items that he knows the name of, such as his toys and the things of yours that you have named for him. You can teach these the same way you introduced the Find command except you will give him treats when he finds these items instead of him rewarding himself by eating the found treat.

Take one item, such as a tennis ball. Have your dog touch the ball, “Fido, Touch ball!” so you get his attention on the ball while at the same time refreshing him on the ball's name.
After five repetitions, take the ball and hide it under the towel. Tell him, “Fido, Find the ball!”
When he finds it, praise him, pop a treat in his mouth, and let him play with the ball.
Repeat for five repetitions and take a short break.

After the break, repeat the exercise, except hide the ball in different places. Help your dog search if you need to, but let him do it on his own as much as possible.

Bet You Didn't Know: If a particular family member is always losing something (such as keys or the remote control), practice this trick often so your dog knows it well. Then when the item is lost, your dog can help that family member find it.

When he can find the ball when it's hidden, put it away and do the same thing with other items that your dog knows by name. This is not only fun, but it's challenging for him. He has to think, and that's always good. It's also a very handy skill. When you've lost your car keys, you can look for them but you can also use your dog's natural and learned abilities, “Fido, Find my keys!”

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