# find it



## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

easiest way to teach it? also was wondering is this the best thing to start off if eventually we want to do tracking ? 

eventually they can find big things ? thanks


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Take a high value item, like a toy, ball or treat and put it on the floor about 2 feet in front of your dog, with your dog sitting and looking at the item. Say "find it!" and --duh-- he'll go and get the item. Do that a couple of times so he understands that "find it" means he's supposed to go get it. Then (with the dog watching) cover the item with a towel. Say "find it!" he'll move the towel and get the item. Make a big deal over this and let him play with the item. Do this a few more times. Then have him sitting maybe on one side of the couch and you go put the item on the other side of the couch where he can't see you. Say "find it!" and see how quickly he runs around to the other side of the couch and gets it. 

Using this technique and advancing slowly, you can advance to playing find it in different rooms, in your yard, and eventually in parks and other places. I did it with several different fun items with Cash. We also taught him "find mom" and "find dad" using a similar method.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

thanks quick question do i have to let him sniff the item before i say find it just so he knows what he is suppose to find or do i just show him it visually? 

what i did last night was this i took a hand full of food and threw it on the floor and said find it then i tried it with some treats she was more respnosive with treats and went further to find them but too much treats give her diarrea 

gona try it with her fave toy the orbee ball today

also is this the first step to tracking?


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

pets4life said:


> thanks quick question do i have to let him sniff the item before i say find it just so he knows what he is suppose to find or do i just show him it visually?


With Cash, I taught him "find your ball," "find your cuz," "find your Dad," etc. I just showed it to him, I didn't hold it in front of his nose to sniff. If you're wanting to teach him scent-based tracking you might want to find an actual SAR or tracking instructor.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

yeah i start tracking in april with a fema member who is an instructor


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

what ever i wanted my dog to find i
attached a treat to it with a rubber band.
i let my dog smell it then i would hide
some place esay for him to find it. sometimes
i would place object behind a door. in the begining
i would let my dog see where i was hiding the object.
after a lot of easy runs i started making it harder.
i started having my dog stay in one room while i place the 
in another room. i started the hiding the object under things.
then i started hiding the object up on things, in drawers,
behind closed doors. then i started hiding the object outside
while my dog waited inside. then i would have my dog wait
behind a close door and i would go outside and throw the object
from my landing into my neighbors yard and wherever else.
i just kept making it harder and harder to find. at some point
i started hiding things without the treat attached. i also started changing locations. we played find it in the woods, other peoples homes, the 
pet store, dog park, etc. i also started having him find things
that we didn't have in our house.

find it is fun because you can play it anywhere. when the weather is bad
you can play it indoors.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

okay thanks for now i am dropping food around where i am sitting and saying find it to get her use to the idea


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

Find it is a fun game. But it's not really tied to competitive tracking because it relies mostly on air scenting...which would be more appropriate for SAR activities I would think...but not so good for AKC or SchH tracking.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I just used it as a fun game to keep his mind occupied. Cash LOVED Find It.


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## tonkatuff81 (Jul 13, 2010)

Pretty much started the "Find It" game as an indoor distraction when the weather was too foul to go outside. He took to it, big time. 

Now I can shoot a ball 50 yds. (with a slingshot) into a snowdrift and he will "Find It". If he loses sight of the ball in flight he'll turn and look at me with the tilted head. If I tell him to Find It, He will. He gets a big kick out of it and loves the praise.

OK, there have been a few times when he needed a little help, but who cares? I believe that this is the ultimate game for a GSD. He's working, thinking, doing nosework, and pleasing his human.


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