Helping Your Dog Use Their Sense of Smell More

Do you know that humans have six million olfactory receptors but dogs have up to 300 million! This super sense of smell enables your dog to search for buried truffles, find lost hikers or locate underwater captors. It stands to reason, that you should somehow use this amazing power in your dogs.

Most domestic dogs today are out of practice for using their nose. But the good news is just with a little planning and patience, you can add fun scent games to help your furry friend make more use of this untapped smell power!

Tracers of dog hunting, competitors and other predators are born. Take advantage of the smell of a new animal by placing it in your mad dog's yard and see if he picks up on it.

To begin, rip an old towel or a friend and rub it on top of your dog or cat. Then, without your dear friend, look at the clothes out from anywhere in the yard, under a bush or behind a tree. Then let your dog out and see if he can smell it! You can try it randomly with different animal smells to guess your furry friend.

Let your dog find a cure. This is a simple way to increase your dog's scent. This requires you to do nothing, but the place behaves randomly around the house in the hope that your dear friend will find them by scent. Once he meets for the first time, he will quickly key in the possibility of finding others with his nose. Begin by placing one or two treatments down to full vision, while they are not present in the room. Repeat this process, but begin placing the behavior in less obvious locations such as in a corner of a room, under a sofa or coffee table, or even partially under a doggie cushion. You'll soon find him spreading the scent for you instead of finding it. Different placement and quantity.

Food is not the only thing dogs are interested in sniffing. Unique scents like essential oils can inspire dogs and will stimulate their tracking instincts. To begin, get a favorite toy (a ball works well) and put a few drops of essential oil on it. You can play a quick game of indoors after a reward. Do this several times a day. Then hide the ball and let your dear friend see. Keep it and praise the dog when he follows the scent. When he gets the ball, reward him! Once the house is mastered, transfer it to the yard. After that you can change the smell and the toy and start again. You may like your dog to smell like chicken fat, peanut butter or cream cheese.

Here is a simple way to modify your dog's sense of smell. Make some small tasty treats such as a little turkey meat or cheese as they have a strong aroma. Take it in your palm and make a loose, palm-down fist. Then offer that fist to your dog and allow him to sniff. Ask him to find a cure. Once he has sniffed the right hand, offer him treatment. Repeat this a few times. Then do it alternately in the hand in which you do the treatment. As you continue, wait until you can see his nose really alert on the healing nose before opening. The idea is to teach him that the place of healing varies and can only be found by scenting it.

Domestic dogs know that they will find food at the same place every day. But what if you invited him to dinner and one day put your bowl in a different place? Your dog immediately sniffs with excitement and starts searching for his bowl in seconds. The next day, hide the bowl somewhere in your house and call it to eat. It will take him a little longer to find it, but he will find it. Once you set up this game, shake its bowl once or twice per week and make it your prey.

Here is one that uses you as a treatment. While your dog is distracted somewhere in the house, hiding under a bed, in a closet, or somewhere he normally would not expect you. So wait. He will inevitably start searching for you. Once he finds you, praise and reward! If you are in a closet and you hear him sniffing at the door, you will know what he has done to dogs for centuries. You can also play this game with your dear friend.