Our Toolbox 🧰

Have you ever lost your keys or wallet?

What if your dog could be the one who finds them?

Here’s a cheat sheet and 5-step tutorial on how to train it. 🎁

Weekly Bite

A while back, I showed you Aki indicating on a card that I “lost” from my wallet.

A month ago, a teenager lost an AirPod in a nearby field after a softball game.

After watching them struggle for about 10 minutes, I asked if they wanted any help.

I let Aki smell the AirPod the kid still had and asked him to “Search”.

He found the patch of grass containing the AirPod!

Same skill finds a wallet, keys, or glasses.

Cheat Sheet 🎁 

5-Step Tutorial

1️⃣ Spark Interest In The Card

Treat the card like a hand touch, where your dog boops their nose to a target on cue.

Present the card. The second their nose touches it, mark and reward. That’s the whole rep.

Then make it a game. Toss it a short distance, let them chase it down, and mark the moment their nose hits it. The card becomes the best thing that happens all day.

2️⃣ Put It On Cue (“Search”)

Park your dog on a place cot or bed. Toss the card. The instant it lands, give your cue like “Search”.

When they reach the card and look at it, mark, reward, and send them back to place.

Toss it a little farther each round. Same word every time. That word eventually becomes “go use your nose.”

3️⃣ Add The Indication

An indication is how your dog tells you “it’s here.”

Run it like step 2, but when they reach the card, don’t mark right away. Ask for a behavior first. A down works great, because you can read it from across a field.

Down, mark, reward. Do three or four reps and they’ll start offering the down on their own. That’s the picture you want.

4️⃣ Hide It

Fake three placements, leave the card in only one, then cue “search.”

If they get stuck, walk them back and show them the card so they win.

Stretch the hides farther and out of sight. This is where the nose takes over from the eyes.

5️⃣ Take It To The Real World

On your walk, “accidentally” drop the card while walking.

A few minutes later, act stumped, then ask your dog to “search.”

Then run the same game with your keys, your wallet, your glasses.

Bottom Line: Your dog can learn to find your lost stuff, and it starts with a card and a game. Spark interest, put it on cue, add an indication, hide it, then take it on your walk.

Tail End

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Until next Thursday, ✌️

Sam