Scent and retrieval training to tire your dog out
23.3.2020
Translation: Eva Francis
My dog can’t get enough of walking. How I make sure he’s tired when we’re back home? With a prey dummy.
I used to think I had to tire out my dog by going on extensive walks. My wife or I would walk our dog, Mac, two or three times a day for at least two hours. At some point, we realised that a) we don’t have enough time for this and b) it didn’t tire him out at all. Our dog, a Podenco mixed breed, kept racing around long after we were exhausted. Today, we tire him out by working his scent. This works great – thanks to prey dummies.
Prey dummies are food bags that help you train your dog by stimulating its canine hunting behaviour. These pouches are great for filling with dry and wet food and are equipped with a hand loop, making it easy to throw them. I use the ones by Trixie and Swisspet. They’re available in sizes from XS to XL – I usually go for M and L, which fit between 200 and 400 grammes of wet food. The prey dummy is made of linen, comes with a plastic inner bag and is machine washable at 60 degrees.
The light-bulb moment
Our aha moment happened three years ago, when Mac had been part of our family for a year. By the way, he was called Mac when we got him from the animal shelter. We considered renaming him, but decided PC also sounded strange. Just as a side note. Back to our furry friend: Mac didn't like anyone getting too close to his feeding dish. A dog trainer advised us to detach his food from our home and introduced us to prey dummies. That’s when things changed and we started to feed Mac outside. He’s been much more relaxed at home ever since.
Hide, throw, retrieve
The prey dummy is filled with food and I use it to lay a track. I rub the bag on trees or through the grass. Then I hide it. While I do this, Mac sits and and waits until I get back. Then he’s off to find the bag. Once he’s found it, he has to retrieve it. This also works with throwing: Mac sits, I throw the prey dummy, he waits and once I give him the command, he dashes off to retrieve it. What also works well, is attaching the bag to a kind of fishing rod and dragging it along the floor. This simulates a rabbit as prey. Mac loves following the scent. Whichever game you play with your dog, it ends with rewarding your four-legged friend with food. The possibilities are endless, so feel free to get creative.
My verdict
Mac and I are a team. I only fully realised this when I started feeding him outside. In the past, I’d be on my phone when I was walking him, but now I’m focused on spending time with Mac. I owe him that much. After all, he retrieves his prey to me every time and waits for my command before he enjoy his reward. He could just as well run away with the food bag, but he doesn’t. I also enjoy walking my dog much more now. And this teamwork has strengthened the bond between the two of us.
Activating all his senses and working his brain at full capacity, the scent and retrieval training tires Mac out. That’s much more challenging for him than going on a boring two-hour walk. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with long walks. But the hunting and prey toy has made Mac's outdoor life much more exciting – and his indoor time more enjoyable.
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Patrick Bardelli
Senior Editor
Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.chFrom radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.
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