“Find It” A Game of Mental Exercise

“Find it” is a game that makes use of your dog’s most extraordinary sense--smell. Sense of smell is used by working dogs to find contraband and to search for disaster victims. You can teach your companion dog to use her nose to find treats and other objects using those same techniques, giving her work to do in your home.

Indoor fun for your dog on rainy days, this game is also a means for your dog to work for its treats on any day. In addition, the game keeps your dog busy, is good practice for “stays”. “Find It” provides novelty if you constantly change the hiding place. “Find it” is also way to increase your dog’s vocabulary, and amaze and your friends and family.

Use a favorite treat as an object to find, because you are teaching the dog to associate the “Find It” command with a very pleasant consequence. The best treats are very small and strong smelling.

Start simply. “Sit” your dog and show her the treat. Have the dog remain sitting. You may need an assistant as “enforcer” at first. Walk out two steps and place the treat on the floor. Return to the dog and say “Find It”. As soon as your dog is over the treat, praise her. When she picks up the treat and eats it, praise her even more.Consider using the phrase,“good find it,” as praise.

This is not much of a challenge for the dog; the first day’s objective is to associate the behavior with the command. After you have used your handful of treats, you are finished.

Increase the distance that the dog has to travel to find the treat. Start with three or four paces from where your dog is sitting. If your dog breaks the sit, return her to the sit in her original position. You are teaching a good, steady, reliable sit in the process.

Once your dog understands “Find It, “ which can be several minutes or several days, increase the difficulty. With your dog watching, place the treat partly exposed behind a table leg or floor lamp. Return to your dog and send her to “Find It.” When she finds the treat, praise her. 

Gradually make it more difficult, but stick to one room. Once she “Finds It” reliably, have your dog sit in one room while you hide the treat in an adjoining room.  Let your dog sniff your hand and send her to “Find It”. Follow behind her to watch and praise her when she finds it. The dog, using her nose, will amaze you at how quickly the she can find the treat.Give lots of praise.

Once your dog understands the ‘Find It’ command, hide other objects. Sample objects include a tennis ball and a squeaky toy.  As soon as your dog picks up the ball, praise and say “Come”.

Teach your dog the name game by selecting two very different items, perhaps a ball and a Kong. Sit on the floor with your dog and the items. Have some treats she likes. Ask her, “Find the ball.” Bounce the ball so your dog pays attention to it. When your dog touches the ball, say, “Good ball!” and give her a treat.  When your dog responds to the ball, lay it on the floor next to the Kong.  Ask your dog, “Where’s the ball?” Praise and reward her when she touches the ball.

If she goes for the Kong, take it away with no comment, and send her after the ball again. This is a critical step in the learning process, and you may need to repeat it several times. After a few successes, stop the training and let your dog relax.

When your dog will pick up her ball from among several items, resume the “Find It” game, having your dog distinguish among items she knows.

Keep training sessions short and upbeat. For some dogs, three minutes is enough. Other dogs concentrate for six or seven minutes. Stop before your dog loses interest.Also, always stop with a success. If your dog is having trouble, have her do a trick you know she can do and then praise her lavishly before you stop the training session. Alternatively, break the behavior down into smaller steps and reward performance of each.