Easter Egg Hunt for Dogs: A Treat Hunt for the Yard

An Easter egg hunt for dogs is a treat hunt in the yard. You hide small pieces of food at nose height, the dog finds them, and you count them back in. Nothing in it has to be an egg, and the plastic ones can stay in the closet.

We make freeze-dried treats in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and Easter is the weekend the dog gets left out while the kids run the candy hunt. This page walks through the dog's version in order: a warm-up game indoors, a walk around the yard, the hunt itself and the last treat. A few things we make come up along the way, and one toy.

Start indoors with the cup game

Practice in the kitchen before you try the grass. The American Kennel Club describes the first step this way: "Start with one cup and put a treat under it while your dog is watching." Once that is easy, add a second cup and move them around the room.

The same page adds: "Each time you play, change the location of the treats so your dog needs to use their nose to find the treats." That is the whole idea of the yard hunt, only bigger.

Walk the yard first

Before any treat goes down, walk the yard on your own. Look for open bags of fertilizer and anything left out from spring yardwork. If you have put fertilizer or weed killer down lately, hold the hunt on the driveway or the porch instead. The ASPCA writes: "Fertilizers and herbicides may seem random to this list, but many people begin gardening and yardwork around Easter weekend, which typically includes the use of fertilizers and herbicides."

Keep the hunt on the lawn and away from the flower beds. Spring bulbs come up around Easter, and the ASPCA plant entries for tulips and daffodils are the ones to read if you are not sure what is growing in yours.

Setting up an easter egg hunt for dogs

Count out your treats first and put them in a bowl. The count is how you know when the hunt is over. Eight to twelve small pieces is plenty for most dogs. Tuck them at the base of a tree or along the edge of the porch, and leave a few in plain view on short grass. Make the first ones easy and the later ones a little harder, and change the spots from one round to the next if you play twice.

Skip the plastic eggs for the dog's hunt. They are hollow shells that crack, and a dog can pick one up and chew it. If you want something to hide a treat in, an open paper cup works, and so does nothing at all.

What to hide

Break up whatever your dog already gets. If you want a freeze-dried piece, our Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese Dog Treats are single ingredient cheddar in a small piece. Freeze-drying makes the cheese crunchy and non-greasy rather than soft, and it needs no refrigeration, so it rides in a pocket or a treat pouch until the hunt starts. It contains dairy, so it is not suited to dogs with dairy sensitivities.

Our Freeze-Dried Beef Heart Dog Treats are the other option. The only ingredient is beef heart, and the pieces are medium, firm and snap into smaller ones, so every hiding spot can get a small piece. Both labels say to feed as a treat and to supervise while your dog is eating.

A whole egg for the end

If you want an actual egg in the game, we make Freeze-Dried Raw Quail Eggs. They are whole quail eggs with the yolk, white and shell, and the only ingredient is the egg. The word raw matters here: they are freeze-dried, not cooked. The shell is brittle and easy to crunch, and cracked pieces or shell dust in the bag are normal. The listing is for adult dogs.

We would hand one over at the end of the hunt instead of hiding it in the grass, since the shell breaks easily. Wash your hands after handling them, as you would with any raw food. If your dog is on a special diet, or you are not sure about raw food, ask your veterinarian before you add them.

Keep the kids' hunt separate

Run the two hunts in different parts of the yard, or at different times. Pick up all the candy before the dog goes out. The ASPCA writes: "Chocolate can cause gastrointestinal upset, pancreatitis, stimulation to the nervous system (hyperactivity, tremors and seizures) and elevation in heart rate." That is why chocolate stays out of the dog's hunt, and why we count what the kids find too. Our guide to an Easter basket for dogs with no chocolate covers what can go in a dog's basket instead.

A toy to find

Treats are not the only thing you can hide. The Carrot is an orange squeaky fetch and tug toy shaped like a garden carrot, and it is a lot bigger than a treat, so you can place it where you can see it from across the lawn. It comes in three sizes: small for dogs 9 to 22 pounds, medium for 23 to 55 pounds, and large for dogs 55 pounds and over. It squeaks and it floats, and the listing recommends supervised play. American Dog items are sold and shipped by American Dog through Shopify Collective, not made or shipped by Sniff and Shift.

End the hunt and take the photo

Count as you go. When the bowl is empty, so is the yard. The American Kennel Club puts the finish this way: "When your dog has found all the hidden treats, come in with another treat." Then pick up anything that got missed, so nothing sits in the grass overnight.

Take the photo last: the dog, the basket and whatever is left of the day. One is enough.

Questions

What do I hide for the dog?

Small pieces of a treat your dog already gets. Cheddar or beef heart, broken up, works well. Leave the candy and the chocolate out of it.

Can I hide real Easter eggs for the dog?

We keep the dog's hunt to treats. Hard boiled eggs, including the leftovers from the kids' hunt, have their own page: can dogs eat hard boiled eggs.

Can I use plastic eggs?

We skip them. A plastic egg is a hollow shell a dog can pick up and chew, and a treat in an open paper cup or in the grass does the same job.

What if it rains or I have no yard?

Play the cup game in the kitchen, or scatter small pieces across one room and change the spots each round. A hallway or a porch works as well as a lawn.

Does a small dog need a different hunt?

Hide fewer pieces in plainer spots and keep each piece small. If you hide a toy, pick the size that matches your dog's weight.

How do I end the hunt?

Count the pieces, hand over one last treat when the count is done, and bring the dog inside. Check the grass for anything left behind.