If you only teach your dog one command beyond sit, make it “Leave it!” Dog trainer Erin Rakosky of the AKC GoodDog! Helpline sees many advantages to “Leave it!, “You can use it anytime an object is dropped on the floor, to help keep a new puppy from picking up objects while on walks outside, or even to help your dog stop chasing the family cat.”
Is this how your dog reacts when a squirrel is up a nearby tree? Would "leave it" work to break that intense focus?
While out walking, we sometimes pass an exemplary dog person who is working hard on training a reactive dog using positive methods. When we come into view with our dog Poppy, he captures his dog’s attention with a treat. At the point when the dog might pull on his leash to approach us, the man says, “Leave it!” That dog snaps to attention, receives praise, and a tidbit for doing the right thing. We’ve been very impressed with the progress the pair are making.
High Value Rewards
Training for this command requires finding a reward that your dog values so highly that he will be willing to forgo his instinct to go after food on the floor, another dog, or a dirty tennis ball in the park.
What puts the wag in your dog’s tail? Our Poppy is food driven, so around the house it’s fairly easy to train her with simple treats. Outside, where she has fear issues, we need something stinky that she loves, like dried mussels
Rewards should be small so you can use a lot of them without adding a lot of calories to your pup. Some folks hold out a bit of the dog’s regular food to use in training.
How to Teach, “Leave It!”
Even if you’re an old hand at training dogs, this command takes patience and must be done in stages. Fortunately there are some great videos online that show you how to do it step-by-step. You might take a look at Victoria Stilwell’s website (www.Positively.com) or one of the many excellent clicker training experts.
Clementine, at 18 months old, was well on her way to mastering commands like, “Leave it!” with the help of a pocket full of tiny treats.
In early days, you may have to carry lots of treats so you can practice this exercise with toys, cats, squirrels, other dogs, and so on. Once mastered, it can be a lifesaver if you ever drop a container of pills or shatter a bowl of meatloaf mix on the kitchen floor. “Leave it!” could prevent a scary run to the doggie emergency hospital.
Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.
Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon
Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino
(Adapted for BostonZest from one of our City Paws newspaper columns.)