Teaching Your Dog to ‘Leave’.
Teaching the leave it cue is a useful exercise for your dog and it’s also really fun to do too. Most dogs catch on really quickly and it’s a good way to help build a good bond with your four-legged friend. Read our Holidays4Dogs to find out more.
You will need some bland treats like dried dog food and some really TASTY treats, like cheese!
Teaching your dog to know what ‘leave’ means will be helpful for interrupting your dog, or puppy, in certain situations. For instance, it may help them to stop chewing their lead, your shoes, or when they are about to eat something disgusting while out walking!
It might also save your dog from eating something toxic, or chewing something dangerous, like an electric cable. This exercise teaches self-control as well as encourages your dog to focus on you in tempting situations.
To begin this training exercise gather some dog treats – a handful of very tasty ones – like cheese or liver and a handful of something more bland – such as dry dog food, or small pieces of unsalted crackers/rice cakes.
On the one hand, have a piece of bland food. It is better if you can place the tastier treats out of view in a container nearby, ready for you to grab one and give it to your dog with the other hand.
Instructions.
Hold out your hand with the bland treat and do not say anything to your dog. If your dog reaches forward to try and grab the treat, immediately close your hand tightly.
If the dog reaches forward, close your fingers around the treat.
You do not need to say anything when teaching your dog to ‘leave’. Don’t say ‘No’, or correct your dog in any way. Your dog will soon work it out.
Now wait until your dog moves their head, or body away – or shows signs of losing interest in the treat. As soon as they do this, reward with the tasty treat from your other hand.
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If your dog is really persistent, keep your hand out of reach. Move away if necessary and ignore any demands for the treat. Repeat the exercise again a few times.
You will probably find that after just a few repetitions, your dog will learn – if they ignore the bland treat, they will get a much better reward for their efforts!
When your dog begins to look at you without going for the treat in your palm, reward them immediately with the tasty treat.
Eventually, you will be able to keep your palm open and your dog will leave the treat alone. Once you have got to this stage, you can now start putting the cue word in – in this case, ‘leave’ – but you can use any word you like.
You can also use a clicker to mark the exact point that your dog ignores or, moves away from the treat. Teaching your dog to ‘leave’ it is a fairly simple process and most dogs catch on really quickly.
Once your dog is responding well, begin to introduce some variables like this;
Have your hand outstretched at different levels and distances.
Wait until you have eye contact with your dog before you give him the ‘jackpot’ tasty treat.
Put the treat on the ground, but be ready to cover it with your foot, or hand, if your dog is too tempted.
Train in other rooms and areas including outside, or while on walks.
Train with distractions, such as other dogs and people.
Tip –
While training in this exercise, don’t accidentally let your dog have have the bland treat from the palm of your hand. Always reward with a tasty treat from your free hand.
We have lots of training articles on our website. For training the ‘settle’ cue click here. Teaching your dog to weave through your legs, can be found here.
