This week Iona and I will show you some different ways to make your searches more difficult. If you practice scent work, than most of these strategies will be familiar to you. If your dog is performing beginner searches with enthusiasm then it is time to up the challenge. It is important to match the search to your dog’s abilities. In general, if it takes your dog longer than 1 min, then it is a bit too hard. At this point, I will either take them out of the search area and reset the object, or I will quickly move the location while they are not looking. NEVER help the dog by pointing or giving away the location of the hide.
It is always nice to go back through all your foundations at the start of your practice session: Hold, pick up, retrieve, and easy search before increasing the difficulty.