Honing Kino's Skills

Kino is only two years old so the fact that he has a lot of energy comes with his age but I have been sensing lately that he needs more than just physical exercise every day.  I know animals also need mental stimulation so I started searching around looking for ideas on what else I could do for him.

Since he chases me around the house when I put perfume on, I thought maybe I ought to help him use his nose in more constructive ways.  :-)   I searched online for information about "Nose work" and found several games you can play with your dog to help them hone their smelling skills.

The first day, I asked him if he wanted to play a new game . . . I told him it was called The Nose Game.  He seemed eager to learn more :-)  so I put him in my bedroom and closed the door so that I could hide treats around the house.  When I opened the door, I said, "There are ten treats hidden around the house, go find them."  Amazingly, he found them all rather quickly.

The next time we played, I made it more challenging, putting the treats under rugs, up on shelves, etc.  Each time, he amazes me with his ability to sniff out exactly where I have hidden the treats, whether they are downstairs, upstairs or out in the backyard.  No matter how challenging I make it, he eventually finds them all.

He loves the game so much that now, every day, he comes and stands in front of me and just stares at me.  I know exactly what he is wanting . . . so if the timing is right, I will say, "Do you want to play the Nose Game?" and he will excitedly run into my bedroom so that I can hide the treats.

I am planning to explore more of the games I found on the internet, so we can help him develop his skills even further.  I am not sure yet how Kino will use these skills down the road, but when we had a 6.0 earthquake here in Northern California this weekend the thought did cross my mind that maybe someday he would be able to do some search and rescue work.  We're a long ways away from that, but given how quickly he has picked up on what I have given him so far, I have no doubt he would be able to pick up on more.

I know how important it is for animals to have a "job" - regardless of what that job is (protecting the house, take care of other animals in the house, providing emotional support to the children in the house, etc).  Just like us, animals feel better when they have a purpose and know they are doing something to help others.  Lucky's job was to teach children about dogs and help them feel comfortable around them.  That is definitely not in Kino's wheel-house so maybe some day his job will be to help find people who are lost.

Only time will tell . . . .