Nose Games

[Chocolate Hero]

Has anyone got any good cocker nose games they play with there dogs?  Inside or out i dont mind. We always play 'find it' when out on walks but Jethro seems a bit thick when it comes to finding the more difficult hides with his nose & id like to improve his sent finding instincts.

[MaggieR]

I'd start indoors then, so there's less distraction for him.  Start with hiding the same thing over and over in different places, start with a confined space and gradually expand the area he has to search.  As he improves start adding different things into the mix... Outside the problem is there is a lot of distracting smells so unless he's 100% focused and knows what he's looking for its a lot more difficult.

[Emilyoliver]

If he has a favourite toy/ ball, hide that under a plastic flower pot and send him to find it. You can start with just one pot, then add more and move the toy around (if that makes sense). Once he's worked out what to do i.e. use his nose to fond the toy, you can start hiding it under cushions, etc in the house, or out in the garden. My dogs love finding stuff. I make them wait in the kitchen, then hide toys all round the house.

[supergirl]

We use a tennis ball on walks - when the dogs are looking the other way, I'll drop the ball somewhere and walk a little bit - their job is to find it.  Usually I've thrown the ball a few times so they're familiar with the scent of it.  Roly is the nose in my lot and he loves having to search it out.  We rarely lose tennis balls as we don't go home until they find it.   I also used to use essential oils (lavender normally) - I put a drop on one of 3 similar looking rags and drop them randomly.  I let Roly sniff a tissue with a bit  of the  essential oil and then he goes to find it.  To start with I only have one rag, easy to find as there's only the one rag, then I gradually add in more rags (that don't have essential oil) and dot them about the house.   I try to make them all look the same, ie colour, size etc.  They soon catch on. 

[Chocolate Hero]

he's good at finding at home its out & about she stuggles with. Might try the oils & plant pots for a change in dents. We use his tennis ball for playing 'find it' although he tends to have multiples on the go.

[Lily Pup]

I like to play the plant pot game with all of mine     Although Lily is by far the best at it 

I also take some small treats out with me and say 'are you ready' and throw bits in the long grass for them to find, they love it and it also doubles up as a way to keep them close to me when I need them to 

[Holmes]

Id really like to try some of these with Sherlock, but how do you start to teach them the command to 'find it'?

[Emilyoliver]

Id really like to try some of these with Sherlock, but how do you start to teach them the command to 'find it'?

Does he like a ball/toy to play with?  If so, you can put him in a stay (or get someone to hold him), show him the toy and then either put it in long grass so he can't see exactly where it is, or put it under plant pot, then release him and tell him to 'find it'. Of he doesn't search initially, then you may need to show him where to 'look'. Lots praise when he finds toy, and big game. Cockers usually use their nose automatically, so should catch on quickly.

he's good at finding at home its out & about she stuggles with. Might try the oils & plant pots for a change in dents. We use his tennis ball for playing 'find it' although he tends to have multiples on the go.

He may not have the drive/ inclination out and about when it gets a bit difficult.  My girl, Emily, will search for things, but only for a bit. And mostly for a food reward.  She gives up quite quickly as she's not that toy driven. Ollie, on the other hand, will search for his ball for ages and is pretty much obsessed with it wherever we are.

[piph]

This is great - going to have a go with Ozzy in a bit - he's a bit restless as it's been tipping down all morning so we've delayed our walk until it eases off!  I've got some lavender oil somewhere - think I'll put it on his tennis ball so he's got something to sniff out that's out of the ordinary.  Thanks for this thread - I've been trying to think up some new games to play indoors for when the weather is bad! 

[panda66]

I put few kibbles and peanut butter in kong and hide  it in the garden, at first it was in very easy places so she got the idea when i said find it but now i make it much harder. She has just had her minced chicken in a kong for lunch but she finds it far too easily now. Just love to see her running round with her nose on the ground. 

[JeffD]

We have always played hunt the cheese with all our dogs, I found it took about 5 mins to teach a dog this game, they soon learn to run out of the living room when you say hide. We hide 3 or 4 Small bits of cheese in the living room and say "Hunt Cheese" they normally find all of the cheese in 40 seconds but then spend another 10 mins making sure they haven't missed any.
At one time we had 4 dogs and it was a very manic game.

I do this with Teal with kibble ( cheese is to easy) but call her for sit first then use hand signal to send her in the direction I want, trouble is smart a*sd Little pup now knows all the hiding places and hardly waits for the hand signal.

[Lily Pup]

To get them sniffing out with the plant pots I walked them past the pots saying 'find it' and tapping the pots, do this to each pot and when you get to the one with treats in let them move the pot to get the food/toy then massive praise and cuddles, when they get the idea just walk with them saying 'find it' until they do, then wait at the beginning, it didn't take Lily long at all especially as food was involved, she barely stops at the empty ones now, straight to the food one !! Then instead of in a line mix them up into a group or spread them out around the room garden.  I think it makes it harder but Lily just seems to be able to zoom up to the food without seeming to even sniff at the empty ones 

With the treats in the grass I held her and threw the treat where she could see it, not too far ahead, released her with the 'find it' command, gradually increase distance, then when she's comfortable, turn her around so her back is to the throw then release her, when she's got that put her in another room etc it only took Lily about 5 goes each before I did the without her looking bit, that took a bit longer but she did eventually get it