How to Train Your Dog to Find Stuff for You

Training your dog is not only beneficial for you in the sense that he will behave better and do tricks for your entertainment, but also in the sense that it is a bonding experience for both, and keeps you dog active both physically and mentally. This will help your dog grow healthier and more intelligent.

By teaching your dog new stuff and tricks every day, he will become more familiar with your language and start to associate several words with their respective commands and objects. Commands such as "sit" or "find it" will become more usual to your dog, and he'll be able to associate them with actions. The same thing happens with objects such as "ball", "stick" or "toy"; overtime your dog will be able to identify them and find them for you.

To start training your dog properly to find objects, it is advised that you use something your dog is already familiar with in the beginning. It can be his favorite ball, rubber toy, or anything he likes. Place that objet along with other 5 or six other boring items and then tell him to find the toy/ball or whatever. Your dog should have no problem going straight to his favorite toy, and when he does, give him a treat or praise him.

After your dog gets the right object you can tell him to fetch it, and if your dog doesn't know how to do it yet, this is a great time to teach him. You can do it the same way by rewarding him when he does the right thing. One thing to notice here is that you shouldn't reward your dog when he gets his toy without you giving him the order to do so, otherwise he will associate the toy with a reward and not necessarily the action of getting that toy.

The next part is when it gets tricky. Align all the objects again, but this time point at something else, for instance, a piece of rope. Then point the rope and tell your dog "find the rope". If your dog goes for his toy then say "no" and give the "find the rope" command again. This might take some time, so don't give up and continue doing it. Once your dog gets the correct item you can reward him for his obedience.

Proceed with this approach one item at a time to avoid confusing your dog. Eventually your dog will know how to find different objects and you can ask him to bring your shoes or the newspaper.