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Paper Bag Treasure Hunt: A Simple Sniffing Game

Searching for food taps into a dog's natural sniffing instinct and tires out the brain, not just the legs. It's a calm way to burn energy indoors.

You need

• 3 to 5 paper bags (no handles, no shiny coating)
• Small soft treats · Check price on Amazon
• A room with space to line bags up

How to play

1. Open all the bags and let your dog sniff them so they're not scary.
2. With your dog out of the room, drop a treat or two into one or two bags.
3. Stand the bags upright in a row, a foot or so apart.
4. Bring your dog in and say your 'find it' word.
5. Let them push into bags, sniff and knock them over. Praise when they find the treat.
6. Reset and hide again in different bags so they keep guessing.

Make it harder

• Use more bags so the search takes longer
• Fold the tops down loosely so they have to open them
• Hide treats in two bags out of five instead of one
• Scatter the bags around the room instead of a neat row

Safety

Supervise at all times. Remove any handles, string or tape before you start, and skip bags with glossy or plastic-coated print. Stop the game if your dog tries to eat the paper rather than just sniff and nudge it.

This game works well alongside this 7-day plan.

Free

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