One of the biggest tests of control is if you can get a good “leave it” command. It can even help with jumping and pulling. When a dog jumps or pulls on the leash they WANT something. If you take that something away then you take away the motivation for the bahavior.Leave it command means that you will never get it so don’t try. Do not take dogs for granted that they will “leave it”. They have doggie instincts they were born to follow. So how do we teach this?
Two hand method
Put treats in both hands. One you will put infront of the dog’s nose. The second hand you hide behind your back. When your dog looses interest in the first hand. Then you mark it and say leave it when they look away. This will teach the dog to look away from the first treat to look at you or the second hand for the other treat. Dogs are natural foragers if they detect anything that they remotely want they will go and get it. For them to look away from something will be against their nature.
This is why you need to give the treat when the dog looks away from the first treat. They left the first treat alone. Therefore making it a “Leave it” command. This is also impulse control. Dogs do not have impulse control naturally. They would take advantage of every food scource even if it is not healthy for them. Leave it is a very important concept because of this they could eat something dangerous to them.
Then you will probably notice the dog looking away automatically. This means that the dog is doing the Leave it command on their own and you can move to the next method.
Again do NOT take any Leave it for granted. Even dogs who have been trained for it WILL need a retrain now and then.
The Leash method.
I love the leash! It really is such a great tool for dog training. The leash show a dog a limitation so that you can refocus the behavior. It can also be used on walks with an additional “Doggy time-out” move. When you fully physically block the dog from something they want and they calm down after. Then you have shown the dog that they cannot get to what they want. They will give up quicker and quicker each time. Making it safer for the dog, and help you to stay sane.
So back to how you train Leave it with a leash. You still need two treats for this. One treat can go on the ground, and the other treat will stay in your leash hand(If you use a waist leash then you don’t have to worry about a leash hand). Make sure that before you drop the treat that the dog has enough tension on the leash to not get the treat. The dog will jump toward the treat then when the dog “gives up” on the treat then you can say Leave it, and give the dog another treat.
This recreates the things you are doing when you are on a walk. Then the dog will understand that when they are on the leash they have this lmitation. Then obstacles like squirrels and rabbits become easier to redirect the dog on. When I have made videos for these I will post them.
Leave it on the table, chair, or coffee table
I train this method because too many of my initial students were doing it anyway and I didn’t agree with how they were training it.
You find a table, chair, or coffee table. Get two treats it dosen’t matter if they are the same treat or not there just needs to be two of them. Try to put the treat on the object in front of the dog. When the dog tries to inevitably eat the treat then you take the treat away, and pick it up repeat this process until the dog gives up. Then say leave it, wave you hand over the treat, and give the dog a second treat. The wave over the treat in Jedi fashion will mean to the dog to leave the treat alone.
Remember that a hand signal is stronger then a verbal.
Finally in conclusion do NOT take any Leave it for granted. Even dogs who have been trained for it WILL need a retrain now and then.
Pawvana 