"Go Sniff Austin" Command

This morning, while I was making my bed, I sent Bo to sniff Austin. I was preparing to take Bo for a walk but before I left the house, I would be checking Austin's blood sugar. Bo had not alerted all morning but he had been lounging with me in bed, and not with Austin, so I wanted him to go sniff Austin to know if I should check Austin sooner rather than later.

"Go sniff Austin," I said, and with that command he left my room and walked directly to Austin's room. I could hear his footsteps as he walked to Austin's bed. A few seconds later, he came back to me and sat. He gave no alert and no precursor signs of an alert, which indicated to me Austin's blood sugar was in range. "Austin's all set?" I said. He stayed sitting.

When I went to check Austin's blood sugar, Bo casually followed me into Austin's room and watched me as I took out the meter and test strips. I checked Austin's blood sugar while he lay asleep in his bed. The meter read 127 confirming Bo's non alert. At 127, I felt comfortable leaving Austin sleeping while I took Bo for a walk. 

I also use the command 'go sniff' when I'm walking Bo. For example, on a loose leash walk I may have him walk with me (heel) for a distance and then give him the command to 'go sniff.' The opportunity to sniff the ground, trees, plants, grass etc is a reward for walking at my side without pulling. After a period of free sniffing, I'll give him the command, "let's go" and we will continue walking.

I began training Bo the command 'go sniff' when I was outside with him. I associated his natural sniffing behavior with the phrase "sniff" and slowly began pairing a food treat with the behavior. Eventually, I combined the word "go" with the word "sniff" and began adding in the association of Austin. What I ended up with is a dog that understand what I'm asking him to do when I tell him, "go sniff Austin." It'a actually quite cool to see him respond to the command. In fact, while I've seen him do it a hundred times over, I still marvel at his understanding and how well he does the job we've trained him to do.