Find it
Tricks · 7 steps · by Push Drop Stick
Your Dog will learn to use their nose to sniff for treats on the verbal cue 'Find it'.
Most dogs love to use their noses, but they don't always realize there is a reason to use them. Teaching Your Dog 'Find it' tells them when to take advantage of their natural talent. Nose work is also surprisingly tiring for dogs!
Other ways you can use this cue include:
**- A cue to tell Your Dog they are allowed to eat food off the floor**, especially for dogs who have learned an automatic Leave it.
**- Feeding Your Dog their meals**, either hidden around the house or tossed onto the grass in the backyard.
**- Before you leave Your Dog alone, hide treats around your home** to give them a fun activity while you are gone.
**- A treat scatter during an on-leash walk** can help calm both you and Your Dog down.
**- Hide special chews or food toys** to extend the fun!
**- An outlet for scavengers** to channel Your Dog's natural urge to forage into a fun game, taking the appeal out of counter surfing and off-cue floor scavenging.
Training steps
Teach the verbal cue
Setup: Your Dog is in sit stay.
Say the verbal cue 'Find it', then toss a treat near Your Dog. If needed, encourage them to get the treat.
Success: Your Dog finds the treat.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Add distance
Setup: Your Dog is in sit stay.
Cue Your Dog to sit and stay. Let them see you toss a treat 10 to 15 feet away, then say the verbal cue 'Find it'. If needed, encourage them to get the treat.
Success: Your Dog finds the treats.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Partly hide the treat
Setup: Your Dog is in sit stay.
Cue Your Dog to sit and stay. Let them watch you set a treat down half covered, like peeking out from under a towel or the edge of a cushion, then say the verbal cue 'Find it'. The treat is still partly visible, so it is an easy win on the way to a fully hidden treat.
Success: Your Dog finds the treat.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Hide the treat
Setup: Your Dog is in sit stay.
Cue Your Dog to sit and stay. Let them see you hide a treat in an easy-to-find location, such as behind a chair leg or under a coffee table, then say the verbal cue 'Find it'.
Success: Your Dog finds the treats.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Hide 3 treats
Setup: Your Dog is in sit stay.
Cue Your Dog to sit and stay. Let them see you hide 3 treats in easy-to-find locations, then say the verbal cue 'Find it'. You can re-cue if Your Dog does not find them all, but do not point to the treats directly. Let Your Dog work for it!
Success: Your Dog finds the treats.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Make it harder
Setup: Your Dog is in sit stay.
Hide treats in harder-to-find places so Your Dog has to search, such as on surfaces off the ground, underneath objects Your Dog can move, or in containers they can easily open.
Success: Your Dog finds the treats.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Block their view
Setup: Your Dog is in another room.
Put Your Dog in another room while you hide treats. Bring them back into the room, cue 'Find it', and enjoy watching Your Dog use their nose!
Success: Your Dog finds the treats.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Good job! You've laid a strong foundation for Find it.
Now it's time to proof Your Dog's new skill. You can restart the plan using proof steps, or play games with the goals you just earned. Practice both in different locations and around distractions.