Skip to content
Basenji Forums
  1. Home
  2. Basenji Training
  3. Puppy Nosework

Puppy Nosework

Basenji Training
  • lvossL

    I have decided to start L'Ox on some nosework exercises. Here is a video of him today finding his treats hidden in a box. This was his third search today so you can see him really check out a couple of the boxes before he finds the right box. Those boxes he spends more time at are in the place that the treats were on his other searches though those boxes have never had treats in them. There is one box that is the "food" box and is the only one that food is ever put into.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIOP79SQ2O4

    0
  • NemoN

    That is really cool. I'm going to have to try this. How was the cheese hidden in the box?

    Connect with the Basenji Club of America on Facebook

    http://www.facebook.com/basenji.org

    0
  • lvossL

    At the start it is just in the box where they can self reward when they find the right box. After they have built success and confidence with self rewarding you start hiding their treat bag in the box and then rewarding them in the box when they find their treat bag.

    If they develop the habit of sticking their heads in every box, the best "cure" I have found is to move the boxes further apart so it just takes too much time to check them all out, then they start to really use their nose to get to the treats faster. This is a little hard to do in my kitchen and right now it is bit too wet outside to work in the backyard but hopefully we will get some dry weather this week so I can work L'Ox outside a bit this week.

    0
  • lvossL

    I will try to be good and update each week so if you want to follow along you can.

    The things that you need is at least 5 boxes, one that should be labeled "Food" and is the only box that gets food in it, so the others aren't cotaminated with the food scent, treats that your dog really loves, and some different areas to work in.

    The first week the boxes are all in a line. Before I set L'Ox down to work, show him that I am putting the treats in the treat box then I do a "shell game" with the box, tapping it against the other boxes in the line and usually saying things like, "Where's your treat? Is it in this box? Oh, look at this box it looks so good." etc, and at some point switching the food box with one of the other boxes so that he doesn't just cue into the last box I was at and has to really work to find the treats. We do 3 searches in a training session and our goal for the week is to work in 5 locations. Mine will probably be the kitchen, the living room, the backyard, the school down the street, and at a friend's house.

    It makes things much easier if you have someone to help you but you can work by yourself using a tether or baby gate.

    0

Suggested Topics

  • S

    My puppy loves me- TOO much!

    Moved Basenji Training
    3
    0 Votes
    3 Posts
    1k Views
    S
    Thank you so much!! I really appreciate the advice :)
  • Family of CrittersF

    Puppy Kindergarden

    Basenji Training
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    3k Views
    MacPackM
    Way back when, Topper was the 'demo dog' for his puppy and adult classes, he would always do the new things, but get annoyed if the instructor kept asking him to do it again. "Hey Lady, I know what I'm doing, no need to repeat it!" Nicky became the demo dog for agility as she is fearless and loves heights. She did like to make the teeter-totter slam to the floor, and jump off grinning. Basenjis ARE smart and seem to excel at all sorts of classes as long as it's fun for them. Have fun with Kismet!
  • lvossL

    Puppy Coursing

    Basenji Training
    3
    0 Votes
    3 Posts
    2k Views
    thunderbird8588T
    Rio sounds like the type of girl to think things out ;) Loved the vid of L'Ox, he's realy grown.
  • KitKatK

    Puppy class fun

    Basenji Training
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    4k Views
    NemoN
    @bernicem77: I took Luke to his first puppy class tonight, and WOW. He would not listen to me at all. He was more concerned with what the other dogs were doing than what we were supposed to be doing. What kind of treats did you guys use when trainning your B's? Like I said in my previous post, this is similar to what happened with me. Zoni had to get comfortable in the room, sometimes took her about 10 minutes or so. After a while she got used to it but was still very interested in everyone else, particularly if we were moving around the room. Really practice on attention exercises at home and that will help. I went through a range of different treats, and I think I found for class the smellier was better for getting her attention. Although not smelly, beef lung worked really well for me too and it is easy to use and break up into little pieces. Little biscuit-type treats weren't high value enough for her in class.
  • AndrewA

    Training a puppy

    Basenji Training
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    2k Views
    Robin_n_JackR
    HA! We did the up& back method at my petsmart class. Jack is so flexible, he would actually follow the treat back with his head, until his head was almost lying on his back. I think what I finally had to do was push his butt down with one hand, while holding the treat in front of his face with the other. He got really good at it…now, he sits when I snap my fingers, when I say sit, or, my favorite, when I salute him. Good luck!
  • Ninabeana26N

    Puppy Nipping

    Basenji Training
    23
    0 Votes
    23 Posts
    8k Views
    Robin_n_JackR
    @JazzysMom: With Keoki we have to firmly say, "NO" and if he doesn't stop, we hold him under the neck – not tightly, just enough so he can't grab -- and make him sit. Then we look him in the eye and say, "NO! Enough!". That usually does it for him, and he's getting better and better at either not biting and/or listening the first time. He usually does stop the first time w/me, and in fact seldom does bite at me in play, but not as well with Dh and the kids . One of my dd's says it's because he's afraid of me, but that is not the case. He never cringes, he just listens to the Mama! I think he sees the other dogs and the kids listening to me, and the fact that I don't ask or beg him to stop doing things. I TELL him. I am working to get the family to see the difference, and to stop bouncing around while saying, NO. LOL Same for me- that is exactly what I do! When he was younger we tried the yelp, and we tried ignoring him….neither seemed to work very well for us. This seems to work very well, at least in our case.