Searching on command

The first lesson in tracking can be taught at home, first inside the house and then later in the yard. The handler will need five or six small pieces of the puppy’s favorite treat (cheddar cheese and small slices of hot dog are usually well received). While the puppy watches (normally an assistant holds the puppy for the handler), the handler distributes the bait randomly throughout a small area perhaps eighteen inches across. He has his assistant release the puppy and, with a gentle but enthusiastic “Seek!” command, points the tidbits out to the animal, encouraging it to find them and gobble them up. The handler repeats this procedure perhaps three times each training session.

Once the puppy makes an association between the “Seek!” command and food, so that it drops its head and begins to search avidly upon hearing it and seeing its handler point to the ground, we make the game more difficult by moving it out into the yard. We pick an area with short but dense grass, so that the tidbits will not be visible and the puppy will have to search them out by sniffing among the blades of grass.

Once the puppy is eagerly snuffling out every one of the baits, we begin to increase the size of the search area where they are hidden, giving the pup more ground to cover and teaching it to be very persistent in searching out food. The handler ensures that the pup finds every one of the baits by directing it across the entire search area with his hand and the command “Seek! Seek!”

Each time the youngster finds a piece of food, its handler reinforces it with soothing praise words and gentle petting.