How to Train Your Dog to Find Money
Introduction
Wouldn't it be nice if your dog could find money for you? Good news! You can train a dog to sniff out pretty much anything as long as you have the patience needed to do so. Like many other things including drugs, people, and other creatures, money has its own distinct smell. Since most dogs have a fantastic sense of smell, they can be taught to use this sense to help them find hidden items, in many cases even when that item has been carefully hidden.
In fact, most branches of law enforcement have dogs that have been trained to sniff out a variety of items including drugs, ammunition, explosives, cadavers, live bodies, and yes, even money. Sniffer dogs trained to sniff out money are also used by Customs and TSA officials in the airports and shipping ports. These dogs are so good that they have found hundreds of thousands of dollars hidden in secret compartments over the course of the last few decades. You, on the other hand, could train your dog to find money every time you go out for a walk.
Defining Tasks
The task is pretty simple: your goal is first to teach your dog to recognize the smell of paper money (it's the ink that has the distinctive smell). Then you must teach your dog to use his newfound "love" of the way money smells to help you find money no matter where it is hidden. You never know how much money your dog might find for you every time you go for a walk. While you can train your dog to find money at almost any age, you should plan to start training him for this as soon as he has mastered the basic commands.
Not only will you be training your dog to recognize the smell of money, but to find it, and to alert you to the fact he has done so. One thing to keep firmly in your mind is that it will take time for your dog to learn to recognize the smell of money and then to use his sense of smell to find it.
Getting Started
Like most forms of training, teaching your pup to sniff out money is going to take some time and a few necessities, including:
- Money: You need to have several pieces of paper money to train your pup to recognize the smell.
- Treats: No good training program is complete without a lot of treats to reward your pup for getting it right.
- A toy: To use during training sessions, a tennis ball works best.
- A plastic zipper bag: To place the ball and money inside to ensure the ball smells like money.
- A quiet place: If you plan to train your dog to perform any type of trick, a quiet place free of distractions is the best place to do so.
- Patience: It will take time to teach your dog this trick, so you will need to be very patient while he learns.
The Play Ball Method
The Treat Method
The Multiple Drops Method
Success Stories and Training Questions
Training Questions and Answers
Little Bee
What if I want to teach my dog to find coins and paper money? How should I train her?
421 Dog owners recommended
Hello Kate, You will need to teach the scent of each type of money separately - since one will be him sniffing out printed paper, one will be sniffing out nickle metal, and one copper, ect... Follow the "Treat method" with the type of money you want to train him to find first. If you choose something other than paper money, just use that instead (like a bag or handful of quarters), and follow the rest of the training. When he can do the Treat method, then to improve even more use the "Multiple Drops method" too. Once he has mastered finding the first type of money, then start over with a second type of money, starting from the beginning of the Treat method, using the Multiple Drops method when he completes the Treat method, and practicing with that type of money until he has mastered that too. After he has learned the first two types of money, such as dollar bills and quarters, then practice with another type and another type. The types of money that are made out of similar types of metals will likely be learned more quickly once he has learned one type of coin that is similar. Only reward when he finds something correct because he will have to learn to differentiate between metals in coins and other metal which will take a lot of practice, and a sensitive nose. Practice with lots of different quarters, bills, or other coins so that he learns to detect the actual metal blend in the coin and not just the smells that that specific coin has from being handled and stored near other things - like food, cloth, and people. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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