The games with scents for dogs invite to solve small spatial problems and feed the intelligence of the animal
Canine games … very smelly! This is the fun and stimulating proposal that is explained in this article. And it is that the smell games for dogs serve to activate their mind, while their master does healthy sports in their company. Thus, the next five steps address how to use scents to play with the dog in the park and how to build a crawl path to share it with him : find a large outdoor area, teach the dog to wait quietly before from starting the game, hiding a kong with food or smelly toy, encouraging him to find the prize and playing with it often to, little by little, suggest more complicated activities.
Scent games for dogs
Interactive hide-and-seek games with the dog are fun, but they also teach him valuable lessons: he learns new skills, uses his mind to solve simple problems and gets used to being aware of us during walks.
Sniffing games for dogs are an entertaining activity that pets and people can share and that, in addition, serve to strengthen emotional ties with the furry friend. But how do you create a stimulating olfactory crawl track for your dog in the park? The keys to achieve this are detailed below.
Step 1. Find a large area for the dog tracking trail
The dog tracking game will be placed on a large surface. The morning is the best time to build a small track in the park. The reason is that the lawn or chosen area will be free of footprints and, therefore, devoid of strange odours that could mislead the dog. What time? The sooner the better, experts say.
Step 2. Smell games for dogs: peace of mind
Before starting canine play , it is important to try to keep the animal still and calm. It is not surprising that a dog not used to tracking games is, at least during the first sessions, tied with a harness to prevent it from pouncing on food before starting the game .
Step 3. Hide the smelly toy
Smelly dog food is a good attraction for the furry friend to learn to play tracking. Tins of dog food or frankfurters are a great smelly ally to start with. You can try rubbing some of this food on the grass surface or on your favorite toy .
Another simpler solution is to fill a kong dog toy with tasty canine recipes. Traces of food can be left by tracing a trajectory. At the end of the track, you can place a ball or a rubber toy that is attractive to you. If the toy is impregnated with a little more food, finding it will be a good culmination.
Step 4. In search of the scent, dear dog!
Once the track is prepared, the dog can be released from the harness . It is important to give the dog clear instructions to indicate that the game has started. By using a simple command, such as the words “go ahead” or “look for it , “ the animal will soon learn that this instruction is part of the game.
Step 5. A little more difficult?
As the dog learns to play and becomes familiar with following the suggested scent tracks, it is possible to gradually increase the difficulty of the tracking track. A simple way to increase the complication is to move the food scraps a little further away from each other or to make curves in the smelly path .
Step 6. Dog Games – Enjoy Often!
Dog games should be part of the routine for walks with the pet: they stimulate his mind and help him exercise. For this reason, it is convenient to repeat these search games through smell frequently, using different scenarios, both indoors and outdoors. As in so many other things, consistency is important in teaching a dog to track.
