Teach your dog the “Leave It” command
Every day (or night, if you work late) for a week, simply practise the “Leave It” command with your dog. I say “leave it”, but you may choose to use any other words you like.
Prepare treats
1. Prepare 2 treats, and place one in each hand.
Set your dog up for success
2. With one hand, dangle the treat above your dog’s nose, making sure he is unable to grab it from you, while he is smelling, seeing or licking it. Say “leave it” with as much conviction as you can muster. It’s similar to when you’re telling someone to “back off”.
3. If your dog tries hard to get it from you, simply close your fist over the food and hold it in place with determination. He may paw at your hand but do not move.
4. After a while, your dog will stop trying to get the treat. The moment he moves his head away from your fist, say “good ‘leave it’!” and praise him with all the love you have inside you! Give him the treat from your other hand and make sure he knows that when he succeeds at your “leave it” command, he gets plenty of love, attention and affection. It’s his reward and he deserves it!
Associate the “Leave It” verbal command
5. Repeat this again and again, until your dog moves away from the treat and your hand the moment you say “Leave it.” Note that different dogs learn at a different pace. While my dog learned this in 1 hour, another dog in my daycare learned it after 1 week.
6. Next, teach your dog to give you eye contact before he may earn the treat. Hold out the treat in one hand and say “leave it”.
7. Now, he must look at you before you say “good ‘leave it’!” The instant he looks at you, say “good” and give him the treat. If he doesn’t, wait patiently until his head moves in the direction of your face.
8. Practise with your dog until he makes direct eye contact with you when he hears “Leave it.”
Your dog has now learned that after he hears “LEAVE IT”, the way to get a treat from you is to look towards you.
Once your dog is fluent in the command, move to dropping treats onto the floor. Important: you must use higher-value treats for rewards (e.g. juicy chicken, piece of sausage, a shrimp, beef jerky etc.) while average treats are used for the bait (e.g. dry treats). Drop an average treat on the floor and say loudly, “leave it!” Your dog may rush forward to eat it off the floor, so make sure you cover it with your hand, and wait until he looks at you before you say “good ‘leave it’!” and give him the sexy higher-value treat. Repeat again and again, until he is able to move away from treats on the floor without your help.
Practise the “Leave it” command while on a walk
Prepare delicious higher-value treats for your walks. When you find him sniffing intensely (and you know he doesn’t need to go for a Number Two), practise the command with him. Keep practising until he is fluent in executing this command. The next time he stumbles on a chicken bone, he will have internalized the “leave it” command and will move away without hesitation on your call.
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