The target search is a relatively young dog sport that was specially adapted and developed for house and family dogs from the professional training of explosives and drug detection dogs. The dog trainers Ina and Thomas Baumann are considered to be the “inventors” of this interesting sport, and they also set the applicable competition rules. There are now international competitions in this dog sport. You can find out everything about target search in this article.
What is target object search?
When looking for a target object, the dog has to be conditioned to various objects that it is later instructed to find and display it differently structured courses. It is therefore a special form of tracking work in which dogs use their extremely well-developed sense of smell and act in close cooperation with the dog handler.
Once the dog has understood the basic principle of the target object search, you can practice this sport almost anywhere to keep your four-legged friend busy – whether in your own apartment in bad weather, on daily walks, or on the professional grounds of the dog school under competition conditions.
What is the target search?
During the target object search, the dog looks for small objects to which it has been conditioned before, in the direction of the handler.
Which targets are good?
Numerous objects are suitable as search objects for the target search, but they should be as small as possible and consist of different materials, such as
- coins (metal)
- pins (plastic)
- cube (wood)
- clothespins (wooden or plastic)
- erasers (rubber)
- Rag Scraps (Cloth)
- pieces of felt
- leather pieces
- lighters (plastic)
Each individual item should have its own container in which to keep the target after searching to preserve its specific smell. It is even recommended to use a container that matches the material of the search item, i.e. a leather pouch for leather items, a plastic box for plastic items, etc.
How does the target search work?
The dog recognizes the objects to be searched for on the one hand by their own smell, on the other hand also by the smell of the dog owner adhering to them. Since the dog’s sense of smell is about a million times finer than that of humans, after appropriate training, the four-legged friend can always sniff out exactly the object that the dog owner tells him – even if it is hidden in a container or under other objects. During training, the dog learns to indicate its find by taking up the position directly in front of the target object or its hiding place. Picking up the object, barking or scratching is taboo and will be ignored in training, while the correct display is positively reinforced by the place.
With different degrees of difficulty, the target search can be individually adapted to the performance level of the respective dog and thus enables the demands of training to be gradually increased. For dogs for whom the specified competition conditions are too demanding, the easier disciplines are wonderfully suitable as moderate daily activity.
What are the four types of target search?
At the target search, a distinction is made between four disciplines: parcel road, search wall, the debris field, and open terrain.
The 4 types of target search
In training courses and under competition conditions, the target search is divided into four different disciplines, which present the dogs with completely different challenges when searching:
Packet line: Different containers such as cartons, buckets, or suitcases are lined up in an open area, which is equipped with odor holes. The dog sniffs and works its way along with these “packages” until it finds the object it is looking for in one of them and indicates it to the handler by its place.
Search wall: With this structure, the containers are stacked on top of each other so that the dog also learns to search upwards; Solid walls with so-called smell shafts in them can also be used. Once the four-legged friend has found the target object, it indicates it, as always, by taking up its position in front of the wall.
Debris field: Many different objects (cardboard boxes, suitcases, old furniture, large stones, etc.) are randomly arranged in a limited area, between which the respective target object is hidden. So the dog has to search the entire debris field.
Open terrain: In what is probably the most demanding variant, the target object is laid out in a spacious open area, which initially gives the dog no clue as to where to start the search. He has to go through them systematically in order to find the object.
Why is the target search useful for the dog?
The many different breeds of dogs were originally bred to perform very specific tasks – be it as a hunting helper, guard, for herding and herding livestock, or as guard dogs. Today, however, most dogs no longer have to take on these tasks but are simply kept as house or family dogs. As a result, countless four-legged friends suffer from chronic underemployment, which is often reflected in unwanted behavior and even serious behavioral problems.
Dog sports such as the search for a target object offer such dogs a wonderful alternative activity, which aims not only at the physical but also at the mental utilization of the four-legged friends and can thus effectively prevent or counteract behavioral problems. The intensive search work with full concentration is actually quite exhausting for the dogs so even a few minutes of target search can be equated with an extensive and long walk on the leash. The intensive cooperation between dog and human also promotes a close bond, strengthens mutual trust, and develops the basic obedience of the dog into a pleasant companion dog.
Which dogs are suitable for target search?
There are no breed restrictions for this sport. Every dog is endowed with a very good sense of smell, which allows them to sniff out conditioned objects. Even dogs with a handicap, such as blind or otherwise physically restricted four-legged friends, can learn and practice this sport, although perhaps not in every discipline and under competitive conditions.
In principle, of course, the individual performance level of the dog must always be taken into account when training and searching for the target objects. Very active, active breeds such as herding dogs (e.g. Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, Kelpie) and working dogs (e.g. Malinois, German Shepherd, Boxer) or even the “sniffer experts” from the hunting area (e.g. all snooping dogs and many terriers) can be safe here more demanding than less active or older dogs. Nevertheless, the target search is a very good method of offering every dog activity and activity that is perfectly adapted to its possibilities.
When do you start looking for a target?
The instinct to track can already be playfully trained in puppies, with the targeted target search training you should wait until the dog has already learned the basic commands such as sit, down, and here.
When can you start searching for a target object?
The playful promotion of nose work can be started with most dogs in puppyhood. The search for a hidden favorite toy is fun for almost every young dog and can be easily trained by the dog owner in daily play with appropriate encouragement.
However, conditioning to ever-smaller search objects requires a certain degree of maturity on the part of the dog. It is optimal if the four-legged friend first masters the basic concepts of dog training such as coming when called and the commands for sit, down, stay, and heel. Dog owners who already attend a puppy playgroup in a good dog school can usually take further courses thereafter basic training, such as the target search, in order to optimally build up their dog and themselves as a team under professional guidance.
What basic commands does the dog need to know?
Before the dog and owner start the target search training, basic training with the most common commands such as “Here”, “Sit” and “Down” should already have taken place. The four-legged friend should know that it is worthwhile for him to work together with his human and to carry out the respective commands as desired. A good relationship of trust between dog and human is the best basis for constructive employment training.
The dog is usually conditioned to “his” search objects with the help of a clicker. It is therefore helpful if the dog has already become acquainted with this educational aid during its basic training, otherwise, the clicker conditioning is at the beginning of the target search training. Once the dog has understood the purpose of the clicker noise as a rewarding reinforcement, the introduction of the first “target object” can begin.
How to get started: This is how your dog learns how to search for a target object
At the beginning of the training, the handler holds the clicker and a hidden reward treat in one hand and the first object to which the dog is to be conditioned to be visible in the other hand. This object is now named very clearly and in a way that is easy for the dog to understand, for example, “coin!”, “dice!” or “lighter!”. After both hands are placed in front of the dog to sniff, ignore the examination of the “food hand” but click as soon as the dog’s nose touches the object and immediately reward with the treat. After just a few tries, most dogs have realized that they only get their reward by nudging the target object with their nose.
In the next step, the dog should now learn that it should no longer indicate the object in the handler’s hand but on the floor by lying down directly in front of the object. To do this, the search command for the corresponding item is given first, and then, when it is displayed, the prompt “Place”. The clicker and treat are rewarded immediately when the dog shows the desired behavior.
With increasing certainty, the search object is placed further and further away by the dog handler or thrown away, and later also purposefully hidden. Other target objects are introduced in the same way, whereby the number of conditioned search objects has to be based on the individual dog’s resilience. While one four-legged friend is already busy with three different objects, the other will learn to distinguish between eight, ten, or even more objects with great joy.
In addition to the number of target objects, the time for the search work must also be individually adapted to the dog’s abilities. Safely sniffing out such a small object requires a high level of concentration from the dog, which can usually only be maintained for a few minutes. If the four-legged friend becomes nervous, inattentive, or even begins to pant, a break should be taken – this is the case with many dogs after just a few minutes. The dog owner must therefore be able to interpret his dog’s body language well in order to react correctly and keep the four-legged friend having fun at the target object.
Which dogs are suitable for target search?
Almost every dog is suitable for the target object, even older or handicapped dogs can be enthusiastic about it.
Increased forms of target search
In professional training courses or under competition conditions, there are different levels of difficulty at which the dogs can work. There are many ways to increase the requirements here, such as
- Containers of different sizes in the parcel line (from max. 10 liters on level 1 to 20 liters on level 4);
- More or less “debris” items in the debris field;
- Areas of different sizes in the rubble field or in the open space;
- Height of the possible hiding places in the rubble field (also at climbing height);
- Hiding more than one search item (the dog may only show the announced target object);
- Hiding other objects that are not conditioned targets but have been touched by the dog owner beforehand and thus smell like him;
- Variable hiding depth of the target objects in the search wall.
Is my dog suitable for the target search?
Any dog is actually suitable for searching for a target object because nose work is a natural ability of our four-legged friends. So if your dog likes to sniff around on walks, you can try to redirect this behavior to specific objects. The best thing to do is to look for a professional dog school that offers target search courses in order to learn the first steps in finding a target under professional guidance. The actual resilience of your dog is also assessed here so that fun is always the focus and the shared sense of achievement encourages both of you.
