The "Find It!" Game is an awesome, fun, training game that also serves as a great indoor energy burner in inclement weather! (After all, here comes winter in New England!)
Teaching the Find It Game is easy & fun! The only prerequisite is your dog's ability to perform a simple sit or a down! Here are the steps..
Prep Work:
Get yourself a handful of smelly, yummy treats that your dog loves & won't make a mess of your carpets or window sills! Set your dog up in one area of the house.. living room, perhaps?
Steps:
1) Ask your pit to sit! (Put a leash & collar on him if you are worried about him holding the position.)
2) While he is in the sit, ask him to wait. Place the treat on the floor about 4 feet in front of him, in obvious view. (If your dog breaks position before you release him, use his leash & collar to lead him back to the same exact spot & put him in the same exact position.)
3) Once you have the treat placed on the floor (about four feet in front of him to start) and you've stood ALLLLL the way back up, tell your dog in an excited voice to "FIND IT!!" and encourage him to go get the treat. Yayyyy! That was easy, right? ;)
4) Now, put him in a sit and ask him to wait in a DIFFERENT part of the house, and place the treat a LITTLE further away from him, or possibly around the corner.
5) Again, once you've placed the treat on the floor and stood ALLLLL the way back up, go back to your pup, and excitedly tell him to "FIND IT!!" Encourage him to get the treat - you see how this works? :)
6) Repeat steps 1-5 progressively making it more & more difficult to find the treat! (I have hidden them on window sills, closets, under laundry, in the ottoman...) Encourage him and help him if he needs it but resist the urge to help him TOO much. We WANT them to use their brains! It's very cool to see those gears turning!
***You can play this game with toys or other articles, as well! This is an awesome training exercise (sit - or down, wait, attention, tracking...), and it's also an awesome energy burner. Whose pit bull couldn't use a little more exercise?? This is mental exercise with structure!***
Thanks for reading, and definitely check out the rest of the website at www.hexdogs.com. Visit us on facebook here!
Teaching the Find It Game is easy & fun! The only prerequisite is your dog's ability to perform a simple sit or a down! Here are the steps..
Prep Work:
Get yourself a handful of smelly, yummy treats that your dog loves & won't make a mess of your carpets or window sills! Set your dog up in one area of the house.. living room, perhaps?
Steps:
1) Ask your pit to sit! (Put a leash & collar on him if you are worried about him holding the position.)
2) While he is in the sit, ask him to wait. Place the treat on the floor about 4 feet in front of him, in obvious view. (If your dog breaks position before you release him, use his leash & collar to lead him back to the same exact spot & put him in the same exact position.)
3) Once you have the treat placed on the floor (about four feet in front of him to start) and you've stood ALLLLL the way back up, tell your dog in an excited voice to "FIND IT!!" and encourage him to go get the treat. Yayyyy! That was easy, right? ;)
4) Now, put him in a sit and ask him to wait in a DIFFERENT part of the house, and place the treat a LITTLE further away from him, or possibly around the corner.
5) Again, once you've placed the treat on the floor and stood ALLLLL the way back up, go back to your pup, and excitedly tell him to "FIND IT!!" Encourage him to get the treat - you see how this works? :)
6) Repeat steps 1-5 progressively making it more & more difficult to find the treat! (I have hidden them on window sills, closets, under laundry, in the ottoman...) Encourage him and help him if he needs it but resist the urge to help him TOO much. We WANT them to use their brains! It's very cool to see those gears turning!
***You can play this game with toys or other articles, as well! This is an awesome training exercise (sit - or down, wait, attention, tracking...), and it's also an awesome energy burner. Whose pit bull couldn't use a little more exercise?? This is mental exercise with structure!***
Thanks for reading, and definitely check out the rest of the website at www.hexdogs.com. Visit us on facebook here!
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