Dog hide-and-seek is one of the dog's favourite games. Finding the owner or a hidden person is one of the dog’s favourite games. Following the right course and training, we can set it up as a challenging activity. Creating a relationship with our friend is fundamental to enjoying his company and ensuring that he feels serene, fulfilled, and ready to share new experiences with us.
Many of the difficulties we find along the ‘teaching’ path (primary education, practical obedience, behaviour, etc.) are due precisely to a lack of this fundamental element. Understanding how to have the best relationship with a dog is difficult, but certain activities help us strengthen the bond.
An activity to strengthen the relationship
We propose to set up a ‘People Search‘. In this case, the person in question will be you. We will give you two versions of the exercise: the first (initial) if you are working alone with your dog and the second (actual) if you have a good assistant.
It would be best to find a place with trees or at least possible hiding places for the location.
Single version
- Pad with your dog on a leash for about twenty minutes.
- In the case of dogs with relativistic control (prone to running away or difficult to return to recall), you should instead equip yourself with a long leash (leash about 8 metres long) that you can buy or make yourself (in the end, it is simply a rope with a snap hook). Retractable leashes are NOT suitable for this exercise, but you will need the abovementioned tool.
- After twenty minutes:
- Puppy or dog under control: release the lead and let him loose.
- For adults or dogs with little power, let go of the lead (so the dog will be free but with the lead attached, which will allow you to retrieve him in an emergency).
- As soon as the dog is distracted, hide (e.g. behind a tree) and wait a few seconds, trying to observe what your pup is doing without him seeing you.
- If the dog starts searching for you, make a few small noises.
- If the dog does not realise he has lost you, you can try to call him (once) and then return to your stillness.
- When your dog discovers your hiding place, you can reward him, but immediately afterwards, turn your back to him and move a few metres away.
- If he follows you, further reward.
- Repeat if the opportunity arises.
Couple’s version
- Always the usual 20-minute walk.
- If you want to be safer, leash for puppies or quiet dogs.
- Ask your friend to hold the dog and walk away to hide.
- The dog will see where you are hiding, so it will be easy for him to find you when the assistant lets him go.
- Repeat identically (use the same hiding place).
- The third repetition is a little more complicated because you will always be hiding in the same place with the dog, who now understands how the game works.
- While you are hidden by the tree or something else, your assistant will move a few metres away from the dog or distract it so that it does not see that you change hiding place (you will choose one within a few metres).
- Remember to swipe your feet firmly on the ground to create a TRAIL connecting the two hiding places when switching from the original hiding place to the new one.
- When you are ‘safe‘, your friend will leave the dog, who will naturally head for where he has always found you.
- The dog will be puzzled by the fact that you are no longer there, and, at this point, the exciting part begins because, as he can no longer rely on what he has seen, he will have to operate his nose to find out where you are.
- Again, you can make little noises for the first few times to help the dog.
- When he finds you … super prize!
- If you have time, we recommend doing another easy repetition (i.e. still hiding in the first place) before moving on to the final one.
- The final session involves moving to a third hiding place after arriving at the second hiding place (again without the dog seeing your move).
- Try to crawl or step on the ground well while moving.
- As soon as you are ready, your friend will let go of the dog, who, this time, will have his work cut out for him to find you.
- A little help is only expected (a noise, whistle or other) if you see the dog go entirely off track. Otherwise, let him take his time to find out where you have gone. What is essential at this stage is to understand how much the dog relies on its sense of smell to solve its problem and how much on sight.
It takes some time to activate the sense of smell. That is why we must be patient before giving help. If you help too much, the dog will rely on its hearing to find your hiding place, but if, after several attempts, it does not receive any input (visual or auditory), it will be forced to rely on its sense of smell.
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