Don't put the Easter eggs away! A nosework hunt for dogs

Hope you had a great Easter holiday! Did you do an Easter Egg Hunt? Well don't put those eggs away yet! We have a great activity that will help you get Easter going all year long, sponsored by Einstein Pets.

DISCLOSURE: Life With Beagle did not receive compensation for this post, and all thoughts are my own.



So first, a word about the cookies.

  Einstein Pets are a Florida-based pet treat company using all-natural ingredients. Kelly and Mark Ison created this line of cookies, with no wheat, soy or corn and no preservatives. There are two lines -- the 5 oz. classic treat line , and the 8 oz. signature treats.

Jasmine shows off her new favorite cookies from Einstein Pets.

All of the treats are infused with chia seeds, which is great for healthy bones and teeth. They also have ingredients like bananas, peanut butter, coconut, pumpkin and turkey.

They're also low-calorie biscuits. The Cha Cha Coconut treats we tried are only 5 calories a treat, and Lulu and Jasmine really like them!

You can find the cookies in boutiques all over the country through Einstein Pets' store locator, or you can buy them online.

Now, onto the game!

You can find this easily around the internet. I found my version at our friends at Kol's Notes. 

The Easter Egg Hunt game is great for dogs who need mental stimulation. And with hounds, it's great nosework training. Lulu especially really liked this game, because once she figure it out she could sniff out what she needed.

Beagles are scent hounds, and they have some 225 million olfactory receptors. Few dog breeds have more. So with a little guidance, they find these eggs well.

Now is also a great time to get the plastic Easter eggs because they should be on clearance at all the stores!

Here is what you need:

Before we start, if your dog is a rough chewer, skip the eggs. They will open these with their mouth and they can break them.

STEP 1: GET YOUR EGGS.

Make sure your eggs have holes in them. Many of them come that way, but if you can't find them they're easy to poke holes into. You'll need that to help your dog find the eggs by scent.

Consider how many treats you want to give your dog before you start filling them. Be sure to consider your treats in your pet's daily diet.

STEP 2: FILL YOUR EASTER EGGS.

Use a smelly treat, something they will go for. Einstein Pets are great low calorie treats, but not exactly smelly. So we added a little peanut butter and made them into sandwiches.

Try to get natural peanut butter if you go this route -- less sugar, and make sure there is no xylitol in the ingredients.

Then we popped them into the eggs.

STEP 3: CORRAL THE DOGS AND HIDE THE EGGS.

You want the dogs to look for them so put them some place where they won't see you hide them. Then place them around the house.

When it comes to how well you hide the eggs, consider your dog. Lulu being a beagle, I could hide the eggs well, but she doesn't do much structured nosework so I didn't hide them really well.

With Jasmine, I practically put them out in the open, because she is not quite sure what to make of the nosework.

STEP 4: RELEASE THE HOUNDS!

I showed each dog an egg, let them sniff and open it. Now they knew what to do! I helped guide them to egg areas and stayed with them so I could grab the eggs once the treats were out so they didn't break them.

This is a game we'll be playing over and over all year round!