The bottle
Put some feed pellets in an empty PET bottle and place it on the floor. The dog must then figure out how the bottle must be angled for the treats to fall out. When this is easy, you can increase the difficulty by screwing the cork on the bottle. Just make sure the dog doesn't chew the bottle so it can ingest pieces of plastic.
The saucepan
Let the dog figure out how to get hold of a meatball that is under an upside-down plastic can or pan. Make it a little more difficult by putting a lid on the saucepan which must be lifted upwards and can't be knocked off accidentally.
Search for treats
Start indoors with the dog sitting next to you. Throw out a handful of treats on the floor and when you say "search" or "find it" your dog can go and find them. You can make it more difficult by putting treats out in a room when the dog is not there and then letting the dog in to search.
You can then move on to putting treats in harder terrain, such as out in the garden. this way they really have to use their nose.
Treats on the nose
The practice of putting treats on the dog's nose can be quite difficult at first. Start by putting a treat in front of the dog. Let the dog stand or sit still and wait for a "go ahead". Then you can make it more difficult by putting treats on the front paws of the dog, who should quietly wait for your "go ahead".
The hardest part is putting the treats on the dog's nose. Take a treat with a flat surface that doesn't roll off too easily. It is especially good if your dog can "go ahead" with its nose and catch the candy before it falls to the floor. You can also build a pile of dog treats that the dog can balance for a while. Don't be in too much of a hurry, concentration is key here.
Clean up
Teach the dog to put his own toys back in a basket. This is a bit like a light fetch exercise. Throw a toy on the floor for the dog to pick up and put in the basket. Use the "clean" command. Don't forget to reward the dog with treats when he drops the toy in the basket.
When one toy works without problems, try two and then more toys before the reward comes. By extension, the dog should be able to clean up his toys that he has scattered around the house.
Speak
Teaching the dog to bark is usually quite easy. Take treats that the dog likes a lot and hold them in your hand against your chest. The dog will then try to get hold of the candy by jumping and scrambling, and as soon as the dog starts making noises, you encourage the dog with your voice.
When your dog barks, you give them the treat. Take another treat and continue until the dog barks. All small steps in the right direction are rewarded with more treats. Use the "speak" command. When the dog understands what "speak" means, you can increase it so your dog has to bark several times to get the reward.
It can be helpful if your dog can bark in several situations. For example, if you have fallen in the forest and hurt yourself, a dog's bark would be heard better than your cries for help. If your dog barks out of term, it can also be a way to teach the dog to understand the meaning of "quiet". First give the command "speak" and reward with treats, then "quiet".
