A super useful skill to teach your dog is how to follow a treat toss. It sounds simple but some dogs have a tough time understanding what it is that we want them to do when we toss a treat (and/or how to find it). Having a dog that is able to easily follow and find a treat that has been tossed is a good tool for teaching certain behaviors and can be used as a different method for reinforcing your dog for something they did well.
How to Teach:
- Put a treat on your dog’s nose and toss it underhand a few inches away. Do this in multiple different directions making sure to start with the treat directly on their nose before tossing it.
- As your dog becomes more fluent at following the treat, increase the distance of your underhand toss. Continue to start with a treat directly on your dog’s nose before tossing.
- Once your dog is able to follow the treat toss, you can decrease the treat lure because they’ve learned to follow the toss!