“Go Find It!” game

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Go Find It! game
Why the Go Find It! game?

Go Find It! game

I will introduce the Go Find It! game for almost all dogs because it’s so beneficial and versatile.
This game teaches the dog to engage with their human to search the floor or grass, or where ever, for tossed food rewards or other rewards such as a toy.

Clip link

We don’t have to teach dogs how to sniff, they got that down. But we can teach them to search on cue (to a verbal signal, “Go Find It!”) so that we can encourage them to sniff at particular times and in certain situations.

Because dogs don’t actually understand words, and we often think they are understanding our cues when they are usually not, we have to teach signals in a certain way.
This clip shows the mechanics of teaching the Go Find It! cue:

The important bit is to say the verbal cue, “Go Find It!” before even thinking about reaching for the food you will toss. Your dog can’t learn about verbal cues if there is even a hint the food is coming, so we keep them separate with just a beat in-between.

With practice, you can build a whiplash turn in response to this cue to prevent pulling on leash, getting over-excited or distracted, like Bella in this clip:

Practicing in the relevant contexts, such as out on a walk, but with very low levels of distractions, can be more effective than practicing at home alone (but do that too!).