# search and retrieve?



## Tiffany Smith (Jul 27, 2009)

I posted in the into, my sheltie mix isn't a working dog, she's elderly and moderately arthritic. Long walks especially in the summer heat aren't an option so we've been playing an indoor game I saw on a TV show that she loves. Basically I ask her for a down/stay in one room and go hide small piles of her dogfood in another. She's quite good at it, already finds the food even when it's hidden above her head/out of her eyesight and she doesn't like to quit looking the longest she's gone without any encouragement is about 9 minutes. She'll willingly play the game in every room of the house, out back in the yard and in my friends living room.

Yesterday she went to the vet and I was suprised she's gained several pounds. 

Can you recommend a protocol/method whereby I could teach her to instead search for objects and come back to me for a low-cal piece of chicken when she finds it, (she doesn't even have to return the object)? I don't normally use chicken in the game because I don't want missed bits decaying around my house.

What sort of object should I use? She's not really ball driven but likes squeaky toys, but those aren't really scented. I'm really looking for a general outline of how the training should go to get from where I'm at to where I described I'd like to be, I've tried a few things but overall I'm stumped on how to do this.

Thanks for your time.


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## Butch Cappel (Aug 12, 2007)

Your squeaky toy is scented, it smells like the squeaky toy. 

Squeak the toy, get the dog excited for the toy then put it in another room where it is easy to find, even in the middle of the floor. Follow her, and when she get s to it praise profusely and give her a treat. 

Repeat five times then hide the squeaky and stand outside the room a few feet back. When she finds if call her back for the treat. Repeat five times.

Put her in a stay, hide the squeaky and do as you are currently doing and when she finds the squeaky call her back for reward.

Butch Cappel
http://www.workingdogforum.com/vBulletin/f9/search-retrieve-11715/www.k9ps.com


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