Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Danni Scott

Man's 'genius' AirTag hack helps train puppy without having to say commands

Over a third of Brits have a dog in our household, from old hounds to bouncy new pups - there's no denying man's best friend is popular as ever.

Ask any owner and they'll tell you that training a puppy is no easy task, with many likening it to raising a child who can run around from birth.

Owners find tricks for teaching their pets how to behave with traditional methods of food training and repeat commands – but one man has gone down a less traditional route.

He has utilised the Apple AirTag to revolutionise training his puppy, taking advantage of the device's notification feature to recall his pup.

Discover, learn, grow. We are Curiously. Follow us on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

In a TikTok, which now has 7.7 million views, owner of Bogey the puppy @jimboslice shared his "genius" trick for good recall.

He said: "So, this is the hack of all hacks. Bogey has an AirTag on his collar and I've been training him [so] that when he hears the sound of the AirTag he associates it with a treat."

The little fluffy golden retriever pup can be seen playing on the grass in the garden, while the owner triggers the notification alert noise from his phone.

Bogey then trots over to his owner and is given a treat, after sitting like a "good boy".

Essentially the hack is similar to teaching dogs to return to you at the sound of your voice or on a specific command, which is crucial if your dog is off lead when out and about.

Classically conditioning your pup to think it will get a treat or fuss when it returns to you can be done using words, whistles or other sounds - including the AirTag alert.

The benefit of the AirTag, which costs £29, is that you don't need to rely on your ability to shout if your dog has run further away, instead it will work up to the range of 30 feet or nine metres.

Commenters were astounded by this simple trick, saying: "This is so clever. Pavlov would be pleased."

"An ecollar…… but less expensive," said another viewer. E-collars are not electric shock collars but use sounds and vibrations instead to help recall the dog - they tend to be expensive and bulky.

A third said: "Ok, this is fricken genius" while a fourth added: "That's actually so smart."

Some viewers joked that they had seen parents do this too with their children or tried it with their other pets, such as cats.

Do you have a story to share? We pay for stories. Email us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.