Training 101: Leave It

commands, leave it - By Staff Writer on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 - 10:58

This command is for training your dog to drop, ignore or walk away from something.  It can be used when he is about to get into trouble, steal a cookie, sniff a snake, approach an aggressive dog, pretty much any situation where you want your dog to leave something alone.

Training Setting
Start out with your dog in an uncluttered area with minimal distractions where he can focus on you.   You should pick a place inside where there are no other dogs, toys or things that could take your dogs attention away from the task at hand.  Once your dog has learned the trick you can move on to a more challenging location.

Supplies
Have two treats, one average treat that your dog thinks is "ok" and one "awesome" treat that your dog loves.  We often use cooked chicken or liver for the awesome treats because they have a strong smell and are easy to break up.    Often you will be able to tell which treats are awesome to your pup simply by the reaction of your dog in the presence of the awesome treat.  However if you aren't sure, you can test what your dog thinks of certain treats by laying a few out and see which ones get gobbled up first.

Step 1
Sit in front of your dog with one hand holding an "ok" treat and one holding an "awesome" treat.  The hand with the "ok" treat should be palm up and open.  While the other hand can be closed. 

Step 2
Allow your dog to sniff the "ok" treat in your open hand.  When your dogs goes to take it quickly close your hand and say "leave it."  The moment that your dog backs up treat your dog with the "awesome" treat and praise your dog like crazy.    Repeat this until you think your dog is beginning to understand.  You will have to close your hand at first until your dog understands that if your dog leaves the "ok" treat and "awesome" treat soon follows.  Eventually you should be able to move to simply presenting it with an open hand.

Step 3
Once you think your dog has a good grasp of the concept you can test it out with toys or other items your dog loves.  Toss out the toy and when your dog goes for it say "leave it"  the moment your dog does, treat and praise.

Like all other tricks and tasks, the "leave it" command will take some time for your dog to pick up.  Work with your dog regularly in short bursts of training to keep their attention.  Eventually you will notice great progress and will be able to use this command anywhere.