Introduction
Teaching LEAVE is not a behaviour in itself i.e. you are asking the dog to NOT do something. I therefore recommend rewarding them for giving you their focused attention after the distraction of the LURE which you ask them to leave. In really life it’s important after you ask the dog to LEAVE that you remove the temptation OR remove them from the temptation OR give them something else to do.
I teach LEAVE as a ‘no way, not ever, absolutely ever is this for you’ i.e. if you drop paracetamol on the floor closer to your dog than you and it makes a sound like dried dog food scattering OR a broken jam jar with shards of sticky sweet glass. Don’t use it instead of a WAIT or a DROP a toy in a game of tuggy or fetch.
How to start teaching your dog to LEAVE
I recommend starting in a place free from distractions with a low value treat as the lure in the hand that you present to the dog and the high value treat behind your back for the reward. Present the lure treat out to the side of your body with the dog facing you and simultaneously ask them to leave it. To start with they’ll try to get the treat so simply lift it up out of their reach, closing your hand around the treat if necessary. As soon as they give up and look back at you then say good and give them the reward treat. Put the lure treat back in your treat bag change hands and repeat at least four more times
Progressing your LEAVE
As you progress it’s really important that your set up is such that once you’ve said LEAVE they can never get the item you’ve asked them to leave. Some ideas are to generalise the LEAVE to food placed on the floor, things they’ve tried to steal e.g. shoes static then moving and the hardest level would be food moving away i.e. a thrown treat.
Once they’ve got this then practice in increasingly distracting environments including out on a walk.
This video shows how to train a puppy to understand LEAVE. I start with food in my hand and raise it up high if the puppy tries to snatch at it, as soon as she gives up and gives me her attention she gets a treat from the other hand or a treat bag. Gradually during the training session I built up the temptation until the piece of food I ask her to leave is on the floor and within easy reach. I then added in teaching her that we can apply LEAVE to the things she has taken an interest in around the house, the biggest temptation for her being my trainers!
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