If you leave the treat dispensing up to my husband, it is a free for all! According to him, Lacey should get them because we love her and giving her treats is a way to shower our love. My son and I look at treats a bit differently,so do most vets and pet nutrition experts. Treats can be wonderful rewards when training or using in enrichment games.
According to the American Kennel Club “a mentally stimulated dog is a happy dog”. Enrichment games are an excellent way to mentally challenge your dog! In this post, we are going to discuss one game of many that you can play with your dog utilizing healthy treats for the reward. Playing “Find” is a favorite game of my dog, Lacey. Now that she understands the game, all I have to ask is “do you want to play Find?” and she gets excited. Okay, she gets excited over most things, but she really enjoys this game. Not sure if it is because of the immediate reward of eating the treat or the fact that the treats are so tasty. All I know is that she loves to play!
This is a basic game of hiding a treat and teaching your dog to find it based on the scent of the treat.You want to make sure that your dog understands that the word find means connecting the specific scent to finding the treat. The pumpkin treats I make have a more fragrant scent,so we like to utilize them for this game. When first teaching the game, it is helpful to use the same flavor/scent each time to connect with the repetition. Begin by having your dog sit and stay in place. Have them smell the treats in your hand and even give them a piece of one. Then toss one in the floor and say “find”. Do this several times so the dog will understand to find the treat. Each time they do, praise them well. Remember to have them smell the treat first before you toss it on the floor and tell them to “find”. This repetition will help the dog to understand that they are to search for that specific smell.
Once the dog understands the concept, make it a little more challenging. Maybe hide it behind your foot or place it next to you against a piece of furniture on the floor. Initially, it is okay to let them see where you place the treat. Again, remember to have them smell the extra treat in your hand so they know what scent they are to locate and tell them to “find.” As you gradually increase the difficulty, you can hide the treats further from their sight. I now have Lacey sit and wait in the other room while I hide her treats. When I am done, I have her smell an extra treat in my hand and tell her to “find”.
Attached is a short video of us playing “Find” when Lacey first learned the concept of the game. This is just one example of an enrichment game that allows your dog to be mentally challenged through their sense of smell utilizing treats. This stimulation activity can be played inside or out. I like to keep it as an indoor game so we have something different to do when we cannot go outside. The aromatic scent of pumpkin and cinnamon in Wiggle Wag Originals pumpkin treats are the perfect item to use for this enrichment game! Give it a try, let me know how it works for you. I would love to see pictures or videos of you and your dog playing “Find”.
Comments