Fun Nose Games for Your Dog

We all pay lip service to the fact that dogs have a sharper sense of smell than humans. But just how much sharper? Humans can pick out odors in concentrations of parts per million or parts per billion. Dogs can detect them in parts per trillion. In other words, their sense of smell is literally a thousand times – at least a thousand times! – better than ours.

The podcast version of this episode is brought to you by Betterment, an easier way to invest. Visit www.betterment.com/dogtrainer.

That puts dogs in a whole different world of perception. But even though we don’t live in that world with them, we can play there. This week, easy nose games you can play with your dog. Not only are they fun, they’ll help exercise his doggy brain and encourage him to pay attention to you, you interesting person. One caution: Food-based scent games may be inappropriate for dogs who guard food or toys. Get help to resolve such issues before you play.

Game #1: “Find It” on Walks

Turn those boring old leash walks into puzzle games – and sharpen up your dog’s training, as well. First, show her how the game works. Once she’s gotten peeing and pooping off her mind and you’re just strolling, ask her to sit or lie down and stay. Show her a treat and set it on the ground a few feet away. Come back to your dog, give her a treat to reward her for holding her stay in the face of temptation, and give her the okay to find the treat. Easy! Not only can she smell it, she saw where you put it.

But after you do a few reps so she’s clear on how this game works, you can make the puzzle harder. Hide the treat under some leaves or behind a fencepost. Hide it above ground level, on a bench or the top of a rock. Go to several spots and pretend to hide a treat in each one, but actually hide only one treat. Remember, unless you’re someplace where it’s safe and legal for your dog to be off leash, if you want to hide the treat farther than a leash length away, you’ll need to tether her. Keep her in sight at all times, of course.

Game #2: Lay a Scent Trail at Home

Play this game in your yard or indoors. If you’re indoors, you may want to choose a room with a tile or linoleum floor. Have your dog out of the room, or inside if you’re playing outdoors, and in her absence lay a scent trail to a hiding place where you leave the treat. To lay the trail outside, drop tiny pieces of the treat every few inches along your route, with a big treat bonus at the end. Indoors, you can rub the treat along the floor to leave a trail.

Indoors or out, the first few times you play, make the trail short to help your dog learn how the game works.

Now bring your dog into the room or out in the yard, and show her the starting point of the trail.  I think the next step is an obvious one, and probably so will your dog.

[[AdMiddle]As your dog gets better and better at the game, you can make the trail longer. You can also leave more distance between the treat pieces if you’re playing outside. Inside, stop leaving a continuous rubbed line of scent – instead, rub the floor for an inch or two and then leave a patch of clean floor before the next scent rub along your trail. This way you form a “dotted line” of scent, and she has to work harder to follow it.

Game #3: Hide Food-Dispensing Toys Around the House

Even a well-exercised home-alone dog can get bored. And even if your dog doesn’t start looking for trouble, it’s a drag being bored. I often recommend that any food not being used as training rewards be delivered to your dog in food-dispensing puzzle toys. But you can go one better by dividing some food among three or four such toys and hiding them around the house.

The first few times you play, let your dog see you “hiding” the toys. He might happen to sniff them out anyway, but it helps to clue him in that you’re giving him a new game. Use the same number of toys every time; dogs probably have a rudimentary sense of number, so that way he’ll know how many he has to find. As your dog gets better at the game, make the toys harder to find by placing them on different levels of your house and behind and under furniture. I probably don’t need to tell you to use dry food rather than canned, right? And don’t hide the toys, oh, under the sofa cushions, okay?

For more scent games, see my articles on bad-weather fun and on enrichments for older dogs. If I’ve got you and your dog hooked, do a Web search on “nosework for dogs.” You’ll find a bajillion articles and videos, to say nothing of the National Association of Canine Scent Work – the latest hot sport in dog land.

As always, send comments and questions to dogtrainer@quickanddirtytips.com. And you can talk to me on Facebook, where I’m The Dog Trainer. Dogalini is me on Twitter. Thanks for reading, and have a great week.

Betterment LLC is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Brokerage services are offered by Betterment Securities, an SEC registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC.

Investments are not FDIC Insured. No Bank Guarantee. May Lose Value.

Investing in securities involves risks, and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities.

Before investing, consider your investment objectives and Betterment’s charges and expenses.

Not an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities in jurisdictions where Betterment and Betterment Securities are not registered.