If you own a dog, I'd like you to do something for me.
If you don't all ready, I'd like you to take your dog to classes and interact with your dog during those classes and practicing in between. And take him or her to performance events - Rally trials or herding tests or ... Just have fun - lots of it - with your dog.
The Game is a way to have fun, without ever paying for or going to a class (though you can participate in those too,) or going to a trial.
Join me over the jump.
The Game is called just that: The Game. It's also called Nose Work, Canine Nose Work (trademarked as K9 Nose Work), Scent Work and more. It's a game. Now, I've worked with dogs in Obedience, Rally Obedience, Earth Dog practice, Hunt Test and Field Trial work (for pointing breeds - as opposed to for flushing or retrieving breeds), Agility, Herding Tests, 'Dances With Dogs' (or Canine Freestyle), Tracking and Therapy Dog stuff at some level. I have seen dogs have Serious Fun.
I have never seen dogs (generally) have more fun than they do at Nose Work. Now, it's not an instant WOW fun from the first try (at least, not for all dogs) - but it doesn't take long. And once it clicks, it's more fun than a barrel of LOL Cats.
And you and your dog can play this game. Starting now, if you want. Here's how to do that: 1) Find your dog. 2) Find several cardboard boxes (4 or 5 is fine). 3) Find some high value reward (cooked, deboned chicken is great - you can use toys, IF they are a high value reward, but my explanation of the game is going to use food to explain.)
You play the game in rounds. You can play a few rounds over the course of an hour, or you can play a round now, and another later, and the next tomorrow.
Round One is pretty simple. Take one of the cartons and mark it "Food" or "Hide" with marker. That will be where you always hide the food, to start - so that all the cartons don't become messed up with food remnants (and so most of the scent stays in one carton.) Also, during 'The Game', don't use any obedience - no 'sit' 'down' 'stay' and most of all, no 'off' or 'no'. 'The Game' is an obedience free zone.
Stand before your dog with the Food box, and a bag of high reward treats - chunks of chicken, cheese cubes, steak, ham... something really AWESOME, and don't be chintzy! Take one reward, and place it in the box, and let your dog eat the treat from the box. And do that again.
Then put the next reward in the carton, and just set the carton down, and let your dog get it. (No 'find' yet... your dog probably saw you place it.) As your dog eats the reward from the box, reach before him and offer him another treat "at source" (as close to where he found the hide as possible.) And as he eats that, gently draw the carton away from the dog. (Never pull your dog away from the hide carton, always draw the carton from the dog.)
After this, your dog is starting to work out the 'free food' thing, so next you'll place the (treated) food box, and you'll "shuffle" the cartons. Always drop or place a non-food carton last.
Dogs tend to follow two basic rules: 1) Always check the place that held the food last. ('Smarter' dogs check all the places you used in that round of searches.) 2) Always check the last box dropped.
After the basic rules are fulfilled, they search.
If you have someone there who can help, they can distract the dog. Or, you could put the dog into the bathroom while you set out the cartons. Just remember: No obedience. You don't put the dog in a stay, place the boxes, and then say ok, or find. You can tether your dog, or crate (or bathroom) your dog. You can have someone there to hold the leash or collar.
Or you can learn to be quick, and play "shuffle the boxes" a lot. :) Also: If you place a hand holding a treat into a carton for awhile, and then set that carton (without the treat), it still holds scent.
After your dog is reliably (though not instantly) finding the hide, place the "treated" hide box inside a larger carton. If flaps stop your dog, it's ok to move the flaps if the dog is trying to work into the hide. You can also place another carton on top of the hide box. Some dogs will move the box to get to the hide, others will wait for their owner to do it. If your dog is the latter, when you do this in the future, leave several inches open (enough room for your dog's nose).
After playing The Game with your dog over the course of a week or so, start adding in other objects - but keep the hide in the Food Box, to start. Use garbage cans, laundry baskets, pails, whatever is handy. After a few days, put the hide in one of the other items, so youre dog is doing finds out of cartons or other containers.
Add more containers and items to the search area.
After a couple of weeks, add elevation by placing the hide box on top of another carton, so that it's at roughly the dog's nose level. That's also the point where you can (on a subsequent search) close all the flaps and see if your dog will work past that (if it frustrates your dog, help move the flaps, that'a fine!)
Next, add a little more height, maybe placing the hide box on top of a chair. Don't forget to follow that up with the hide box underneath that chair. :) Don't make things difficult; just increase the intricacy.
You should play The Game in the same general area for the first several weeks, and then move to a new indoor location, and then back to your usual spot. Once you've done that, you can start adding new indoor locations every couple of days, always returning to the 'usual' spot. If space allows, make some hide patterns tight (that is, put many cartons into a small area) and make others open (moving the cartons and other items around the perimeter of the room.)
Once your dog is working the entire room, he or she is working Container searches and Interior searches.
After 7 or 8 weeks, gather up your cardboard boxes and travel outside; after a carton hide or two to build the drive, add other items (buckets and stuff.) And that adds Exterior searches to The Game.
I'll write about ramping The Game from here, but honestly, using the methods explained in this diary can keep your dog busy, happy and excited literally for months - I worked Sasha like this for over 4 months before moving to the next level.