Single Egg Hunt
Hide a single Easter bag, egg or egg-shaped feeder. Release your dog to search for it with the ‘Find it!’ cue (or whatever cue you prefer). Make it easy at first – let them watch you hide it. What’s important is that we give our dogs lots of easy successes at first so that they trust you that every time you say ‘Find it!’ there is always something there to find. Then make it more challenging by putting them in another room while you hide the egg. Gradually build in complexity by adding different distractions.
Big Hunt
Now increase the size of your search area and lay more hides. Why not try a combination of Easter bags, stuffables and real eggs in the search area? Start with your dog outside of the area and release them with your ‘Find it!’ cue.
Cache Hunt
We all have a ‘clutter pile’ right? If not, raid the recycling box! Go for lots of different shapes, sizes and textures of boxes. The first couple of times you do it, use lots of treats or a couple of toys then reduce the number you use so our dogs are searching longer. Dogs can flip them over, open them up and knock them around – great fun! For dogs that lack confidence, start with a nice, small single box and build from there.
Trail Hunt
With your dog out of the room or a helper gently retraining them, lay a trail of chopped up boiled egg with a larger bonus cache at the end as a reward. At first lay small trails until your dog gets the idea of the game, showing them where the trail starts. As they begin to understand the game, increase the length of the trail or leave a bigger gap between treats!