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What is Lost Item Search about?
Lost Item Search involves the dog tracing the human’s steps to find a “lost” item. It’s not related to searching for people. For Lina, it’s a great activity while on the go, which she enjoys and that meets her needs.
Application with Lina
Lina has a very strong hunting instinct, and I have trained her to “stop and scan” rather than immediately sprinting off, which was the case initially. I can now mark1 this behavior and use it as a reward to send her on a Lost Item Search. I “lose” an item beforehand and then capture her stopping and scanning behavior. This exercise allows Lina to track, run, find, retrieve, and earn a treat. It’s also practical in real situations, as I once actually lost a glove.
Whether this exercise suits a particular team is individual. For us, it’s a fantastic activity. In my experience, most dogs find joy in it.
We introduced this exercise in small steps without distractions and on a leash, since Lina’s hunting instinct can take over. Initially, I “lost” the item almost right next to me. I don’t mind if she notices, as the primary goal is for her to have fun, and she certainly does!
Lina doesn’t perfectly follow the backtrack; she often uses her eyes to search. I find this absolutely fine for us.
Further Information
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- DE: Markern = Markerwort, dass anstelle eines Klickers verwendet wird. Der Effekt ist der gleiche wie beim Klicker.
EN: A marker word used instead of a clicker. The effect is the same as with a clicker. ↩︎