A great place to begin! Use food, a toy or target odour.
Set up a range of items e.g. boxes, pots, containers, buckets, etc in your search area. Best done in the home or garden due to the equipment required.
1. With your dog in front of you watching, place the scent just out of sight. Use a search cue (e.g. ‘Find t!’) to release them.
2. Once your dog is easily finding it, place the scent down in one position but pretend to put it somewhere else. This is called a ‘dummy drop’ and gets your dog using their nose instead of their eyes. Release your dog with your search cue.
3. Now start to set up your hides with your dog out of the room. Make it easy at first to ensure they succeed. Open the door and release them with your search cue.
4. Spread your items out so your dog has to move between objects to search. This increases their search stamina.