Just for fun I tried to formally train Koda to leave it. I put the treats on the floor and covered them with my hand, when he went for it I said leave it and when he stopped and looked at me I gave him a treat from the other hand. After the third time he went for the treats, and one attempt at grabbing them by covering them with his paw before I did, he won't do anything but stare at the treats, he just stares and stares like they might run away, until I say leave it, then he goes for my other hand to get his reward. I think I am missing something here. Maybe I should just move on to the next step, but he picked it up awful quick, am I forgetting a step?
Leave It
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I treat with the other hand before my dog learns "Take it" when he learns that, then I say take it and he can have the treat on the floor. Just say Leave It, cover the treat with your hand until he completely ignores it, say Leave it one more time, then treat. Remember, this won't happen over night, so repititions are key.
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I don't let my dogs have the snack on the floor. I think it's easier. Once an item is "left," it's left forever (I pick it up.) This way, if I'm walking down the street, or sitting outside a coffee shop and there's food on the ground, once I say "leave it," my dog knows it's off limits forever.
Here's how I do it.
Put a leash on your dog. Toss a treat on the floor a few feet away. Your dog will move toward it. As she gets near it, tell her "leave it," THEN lightly pull her leash and redirect her toward you, who of course have a more wonderful treat (and praise as though she won the Nobel Prize) as a reward (I use biscuits on the floor and scrumptious meaty venison or liver treats as the redirect treats to start off. Then I work up to delicious treats on the floor as well).
Don't pull the leash when you say "leave it." You'll see folks doing this all the time. Then the dog learns to associate "leave it" with "I'm about to be yanked into the proper position." What you want to do, of course, is teach your dog that "leave it" is something she does on her own (with a reward for that good behavior).
When you're first starting out on this training, don't actually give her enough leash to be able to reach the treat on the floor, start a few inches short. Otherwise, you have to reach into her mouth and take the treat out if she does get it. She can't ever take what you've told her to leave. Also, you can't *ever* give her permission to eat something that you've told her to leave. If you later decide that it's ok for her to do so, pick it up, and give it to her, like it's a whole new treat. (I don't do this. I just don't want my dog to get ideas that food that has been the subject of a leave it is ever edible. And I'm always packing treats. But if you run out, it's an option.)
Then, you can easily work up to toys, cats, squirrels, children, whatever. Leave it, means leave it. Now and forever.
Just another way of doing it.
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Here's how I do it.
Put a leash on your dog. Toss a treat on the floor a few feet away. Your dog will move toward it. As she gets near it, tell her "leave it," THEN lightly pull her leash and redirect her toward you, who of course have a more wonderful treat (and praise as though she won the Nobel Prize) as a reward (I use biscuits on the floor and scrumptious meaty venison or liver treats as the redirect treats to start off. Then I work up to delicious treats on the floor as well).
Don't pull the leash when you say "leave it." You'll see folks doing this all the time. Then the dog learns to associate "leave it" with "I'm about to be yanked into the proper position." What you want to do, of course, is teach your dog that "leave it" is something she does on her own (with a reward for that good behavior).
When you're first starting out on this training, don't actually give her enough leash to be able to reach the treat on the floor, start a few inches short. Otherwise, you have to reach into her mouth and take the treat out if she does get it. She can't ever take what you've told her to leave. Also, you can't *ever* give her permission to eat something that you've told her to leave. If you later decide that it's ok for her to do so, pick it up, and give it to her, like it's a whole new treat. (I don't do this. I just don't want my dog to get ideas that food that has been the subject of a leave it is ever edible. And I'm always packing treats. But if you run out, it's an option.)
Then, you can easily work up to toys, cats, squirrels, children, whatever. Leave it, means leave it. Now and forever.
Just another way of doing it.
Then, you can easily work up to toys, cats, squirrels, children, whatever. Leave it, means leave it. Now and forever.
This made me laugh....
And, I think that will work best for what I am trying to do, as I am trying to keep Koda from helping himself to the kids snacks, the meadow voles the cat brings home for our beagle, and the other leavings from the cat he finds buried.... Those are not food options and I want him to leave it now and forever. He knows drop it, but he will just swallow it if it's small enough and look at me like drop what? I'm supposed to work up to doing this on a leash according to my training sheet. He will leave stuff alone, well, pretty much if I am close by, but I want him to know he isn't supposed to even put that in his mouth!
This made me laugh....
And, I think that will work best for what I am trying to do, as I am trying to keep Koda from helping himself to the kids snacks, the meadow voles the cat brings home for our beagle, and the other leavings from the cat he finds buried.... Those are not food options and I want him to leave it now and forever. He knows drop it, but he will just swallow it if it's small enough and look at me like drop what? I'm supposed to work up to doing this on a leash according to my training sheet. He will leave stuff alone, well, pretty much if I am close by, but I want him to know he isn't supposed to even put that in his mouth!
I just wanted to tell you guys that I tried the leave it training with food so far and it has worked. Kaiser has done amazing. We have only been doing it for about a week but he has it down pat!!!
I did the hand over the object and then also taught him the command "Take it"
Thanks guys!!
I did the hand over the object and then also taught him the command "Take it"
Thanks guys!!
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Glad to hear Kaiser learned a few tricks!
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