Dog training and obedience training should really be a daily activity. In fact spending time with your dog should include dog training and obedience training, as well as petting, grooming, exercising, playing and hanging out.
Dogs love to be active and to be challenged with learning new games and tricks. So incorporating dog training into games and play is definitely the route to take, to get your dogs brain ticking over and to have a happy obedient dog.
So heres todays dog training tip:
Find the treat/toy/my keys:
Get vour dog to sit/stay (maybe in the hall), then go into the kitchen or the lounge and hide a treat/biscuit under one of three up turned buckets or flower pots or empty tins.
Then release your dog and ask him/her wheres the treat?, when s/he sniffs it out, heap lots of praise on him/her and them push the bucket over and let him/her have the treat.
Ways to develop this game include, putting the buckets further apart, teaching the dog to sit/bark/give paw when the hidden treat is found.
You can even develop this game for a practical application, finding lost keys. Attach a leather fob to your keys, handle the fob alot, so the leather becomes impregnated with your body oils and play the above game. Extend it to hiding the keys in the room, initially in obvious places and over time hide the keys in more and more difficult places to find. Eventually your dog will find them wherever they are. This comes in handy if you are prone to losing them like I am!
Dont forget to give enthusiastic praise whenever your dog finds the missing item - you may also want to provide a treat, if you are training your dog to find something other than a treat.
Thats all for todays dog training tips, folks! Dont forget to come back regularly for more tips.
