Trainer Tips

It's Springtime. Your dog has been cooped up all winter, survived the holidays seasons which led to the boring early months of this year.  Now the weather is decent enough to open the house windows and let the spring breeze chase out the stale air of winter in the house.

With this breeze comes the new smells of the season.  Birds chirping, cats fighting, squirrels scurring about, the neighbor dog barking.  All of these are high stimulus for your dog.  It is also the season for animals coming in heat.  Even if your dogs and cats are neutered, this is exciting.  Wild animals such as raccoons, oppossums, moles, ground squirrels, mice, and coyote are moving about.

Take extra precautions with your pets.  Don't leave them chained outside unsupervised.  Don't let them dart out the door or into tall grass. Practice some of your obedience commands with your dog(s) to keep their focus on you.  Use your leash often outside.  Educate yourself on what plants can cause harm to your pets.

"Leave it" command

Begin with a really sumptuous pile of nuked garlic chicken or something equally tantalizing; put 4 or 5 pieces in each hand.  Make a fist so the dog can’t get the food.  Present both closed hands to your dog and say “Leave it”.

 If the dog is really a chow hound, totally persistent, he will start licking and trying to mouth your fingers.  You say nothing.  This is his way of demanding that you give him the food.  He will “mug” both hands.  Make no eye contact, don't say a word--no scolding, no nothing. Just ignore the dog.

Watch closely, because you're looking for the ONE moment when the dog backs off or looks away from the treats. The moment he does, you say "YESSS!" and give a treat from your hand.

Repeat this process until the dog looks away, backs away or ignores the treats in your palm.  Reward him EVERY time he gives you good manners of waiting for a treat.

Once this is happening, increase your expectations of the dog.  You want him to Sit and look at you for permission for a treat when you say “Leave it”.  Out of practice the dog will have perceived that “Sit” always pleases my owner and gets me a treat and he will look at your face in expectation of that treat.  There will be no more mouthing your hand in a fashion of demanding the treat.

Now, put a piece of food on the floor.  Put your hand over the food to remove the visual stimulation and give you control of the object.  The smell will tell the dog what is there.  Now say “Leave it”.  The dog will probably go through the same first reaction procedure of mouthing and licking your hand and trying to move your hand away from the food.  When the dog backs off the food on the floor and/or looks away; reward him with treats in your other hand. Never reward with the treat on the floor.  Again increase your goal to wanting the dog to “sit” and look at you for permission for the food.

Repeat the above, then move it into another room, outside--wherever you can. It takes a while for the dog to learn to "generalize" the behavior. Just because he knows how to "leave it" in the kitchen facing north doesn't mean he will understand he has to also do it in the bedroom facing east. So you back up a few steps, reteach the behavior in each new environment, setting the dog up for success.

 “Leave it” command can be used with many actions.  If you see your dog looking at a frog on the side of the road and you say “Leave it”; it means he can not touch that frog.  If a child walks by with an ice cream cone and you say “Leave it”; it means he can not move toward that child.

To make sure this command is always successful, you must support your actions.  When you say “Leave it” and he makes a game of it by playing or trying to beat you to the treat; give the dog a time-out in his crate or baby-gate him in the kitchen and discontinue interacting with him.  Give him no more attention.  Say nothing.  After a half hour, try again.  He will learn that you exile him when his behavior becomes unacceptable.