Katherine and I were so excited today to find some dried up horse pooh! Not toooo fresh to be overly tempting (to the dogs) -- but not so old that there was no good smell left to it either!
Why would we be so excited to find dried up equine dung? It was a great training opportunity! That's why! A chance to train our dogs to focus on something and to reinforce the "SNIFF" cue!
If a dog is sniffing then they aren't ________ (fill in the blank: eating, running away, rolling in it, etc.)
The chance to sniff something wonderful can also be used as a life reward. Wuffie come! Good come -- sniff this! Yay! If you are the finder of the good sniff substance then your dog will think they better keep a closer eye on you on the trails 'cause you are the finder of amazing discoveries. Share the experience! (well, okay -- maybe just the excitement of the experience)
Normal dog/dog greeting behaviour is usually initiated by the dogs sniffing each other. For some dogs that need help learning appropriate social skills with other dogs, reiforcing a sniff cue can help the process.
In our STEP ONE workshop we teach how to put sniff on cue. Join us at least once and give us a chance to show you how this seemingly crazy concept can help you and your dog!
http://pawinhand.blogspot.com/p/step-one.html
oh yeah! Not that I completely understand why those smells are particularly pleasing to them.... It works wonders when you say it from a distance too!
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