What is the game?
Brick, block and stone walls are a brilliant resource for playing some simple sniffy games, especially if you introduce them along your walks.
We are teaching our dogs to slow down, use their nose and search for something that we point out to them. We want this to be a team activity between you both rather than your dog going off and ignoring you to follow their nose by themselves.
Place treats
Step 1
Put out a number of smelly treats between the blocks or bricks at least 50 cm apart and no higher than your dog's nose height. Let them see you put these out initially.
Start the search
Step 2
Send your dog to search the wall with a 'find it' and gesture towards the wall. Don't point out the individual treats but, if they get stuck, wave your hand over the rough area they need to search.
End the search
Step 3
Always safely end your search. When your dog is either done searching, or they have decided there are no more treats to find, end the game with 'that'll do' and give them a treat away from the search area.
Play this game during your regular walks, ideally at different walls, to generalise the game to different locations and to solidify starting and ending the search on cue.