Playing Treasure Hunt With Your Dog

Playing treasure hunt is especially good for puppies or young dogs that have begun to learn stay command, but are nervous about having their owner go out of their sight for too long. A game like treasure hunt requires mental and physical alertness, and maybe heightens your dog’s sense of smell—if the treasure is a yummy treat.

Even if your older dog has never played treasure hunt before, once you taught him how the game is played, you can easily entertain him for hours. If the treasure is attractive, like his favorite food treat or toy, he will never want to quit and you will be the one who’s begging him to stop!

Prerequisite: Sit, Stay, Release Commands

Tool: Treats or Toys

Steps To Playing Treasure Hunt With Your Dog

Level One

1. Get your dog in a sit-stay position and hold a treat (food or toy) within his sight.
2. Return to your dog and give the release commend, and encourage him to go to the treat—he can eat it or play with it for a while.
3. Repeat this, varying where you put the treat.

Level Two

1. This time, hide the treat where the dog can’t see it, but he can see you putting it there. For example, behind a piece of furniture.
2. Again, give the release command, and let him get the treat. You may have to show him if necessary.

Level Three

1. Now, hide the treat further away like in another room where it is out of his sight while he is in a sit-stay position.
2. Return to his side and give the release command; let him find his favorite treat.
3. You can increase the distance, difficulty, and even number of treats (several small food bits) as your dog gets better at the sit-stay command.

Note: Remember, as you increase the level, your treasure has to get more attractive so that there is a greater motivation for your dog to find them. For example, if the treasure is a food treat, make sure you start out with smaller pieces. As always, give food treats sparingly.

Once your dog mastered the advance level of the treasure hunt game (becoming less needy, a constant need to stay in close proximity with you), it’s a good time to start introducing a new game like hide-and-seek—another time killer!