Using a Dog to Find Eggs

[PittyLova]

Thanks for all of your experience and stories about your own dogs

My pooches don't have soft mouths, this I do know. Could they be trained to soften up? Possibly. But I do currently feed a mix of raw and kibble until we build up enough livestock (mostly rabbit) to begin feeding 100% raw from what we raise. So they're use to eating raw eggs. NONE of my dogs ever got the hang of cracking the egg shell to eat it all. And I use to try like heck for the calcium in the shell. I'm glad they didn't now! I think come spring I'm gonna give training at least one of them tfo track the eggs down. Probably my soon to be tripod because I already have the other three trained for barn hunting. Don't want them getting worked up like they do looking for rats when searching for eggs

 

[RiverOtter]

Not sure anyone said that, did they @RiverOtter ?

. I'd also say if you pup did break an egg it would prob only happen once, can't imagine they'd like the taste.

 

[RiverOtter]

My pooches don't have soft mouths, this I do know. Could they be trained to soften up?

Yes, they can. Plastic easter eggs (IF your dogs are not pups, AND have a good "Drop It" command) are good to teach them that.

Do your dogs already know Fetch as a command? Not where you throw something and they chase and get it, but where you point to something and they pick it up and bring it.

If you've already done Fetch, go from whatever you normally use to wiffle balls. If your dog reacts to the hard texture of the wiffle ball by NOT crunching down on it (they nearly always bend, no shatter, but be aware that all plastic gets brittle when cold, so do this inside) then you can just go right to working on them bringing you this hard, light thing without playing with it.
If the dog goes "Oooh, hard = crunchy!" then you will first have to teach "Gentle" (I can walk you through that if needed)

But hopefully, once they don't want to play with the wiffle ball (tossing it, dropping it, gently mouthing it), then you can graduate to the easter eggs, and reward for unbroken ones.
When they break one (listen for it!) a quick Drop IT!, then big, body language and "Awww! Oh no." in a dramatically disappointed voice as you look at the pieces. Immediately do a couple of quick Fetches with the sturdier wiffle ball (you want them happy about it) and then go back.

By the time you have that down, they'll probably already be bringing you anything vaguely egg-like, so it's pretty easy to go the rest of the way. Just remember that a broken egg is it's own reward, so you do want them to know a good Fetch, Drop It and to be gentle mouthed before you encourage them to touch one.

Professional dog trainer.