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Sounds pretty complicated doesn\u2019t it? Never fear though, we\u2019re here to teach you all about how to teach a puppy to leave it and this article will also help you understand<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Why it\u2019s important to teach your puppy to leave and ignore items<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- A step by step guide to teaching your puppy to leave<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- As well as our top tips on successful puppy leave it training<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
We have a step by step Leave it program as well as information on Resource Guarding in our Zigzag puppy training app<\/a>, if at any point you\u2019re concerned that your puppy may not be able to leave or drop things, you can reach out to our trusted team of Zigzag puppy coaches<\/a> for help and advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why is it important to teach your puppy to leave it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Just imagine you drop a huge bar of chocolate on the floor, we all know it\u2019s dangerous for dogs right? Teaching a puppy to leave it is an important safety exercise, you may not want your puppy interacting, eating or sniffing various things for all manner of reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s also a great exercise in Self Control and teaches them to use that thinking brain to figure out what they should and shouldn\u2019t interact with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People often want puppies to leave <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Chicken bones on the street – these could choke your puppy <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Discarded dirty tissues – or lately disposable face masks (yuk!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Other animals – because who wants your puppy chasing squirrels or saying hello to horses<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Cyclists and joggers – fun for puppies to chase, less fun for the person being chased<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Encourage your puppy to check in with you when they see certain objects they might want to interact with. This teaches the foundations of leave it and is by far my favorite way of initially training the exercise. I don\u2019t want to have to keep asking my puppy to \u2018leave\u2019 when I\u2019m out in the park, or having to be on high alert walking down the street, I want them to learn that ignoring the \u2018thing\u2019 has value in itself and will be rewarded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Photo by Marcus Wallis<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n How to teach your puppy to leave it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are many ways to teach leave it, we\u2019re a kind bunch here at Zigzag so we\u2019re going to start with the easiest possible method so you have the highest chance of success. It\u2019s important that this method gets worked through properly and that your puppy learns that \u2018leave it\u2019 is actually quite fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, we\u2019ll teach our puppy to leave things automatically without cues, then when they have the concept we\u2019ll keep increasing the difficulty. This is really great for working through a puppy\u2019s frustration tolerance and self-control without us using our voice or any verbal corrections which might stress our puppy out. Once they\u2019ve got the idea then we can attach a word to what they\u2019re doing and label the behavior of \u2018leave it\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Got it? Let\u2019s get going and all will become clear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get prepped to teach your puppy the leave exercises<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When thinking about teaching your puppy to leave it you\u2019ll need a few simple supplies such as a treat bag, some of their dry kibble, or if they’re fed on wet food or raw, any low-value treat or kibble will do, and have a pot of some medium and high value puppy treats<\/a> sealed up for later on in the exercises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sit yourself down in a comfy chair with some kibble in your right hand<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Hold your hand on your right leg in a fist with your palm facing up, Keep your hand closed as your puppy will likely be trying to get the food out! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t say a word!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s really important your puppy learns that scrabbling at or licking\/mouthing your hand isn\u2019t going to get you to give up the food. It\u2019s tempting to stick the leave cue in already, but they won\u2019t understand what it means, and we run the risk of getting cross! Better to let them problem-solve and learn the game first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As soon as they leave it say \u2018good\u2019 and reward<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yep that\u2019s right, as soon as they pull away from your hand you can give them their marker word and some instant feedback that they got it right. To reward open your right hand, pick up the food with your left hand and give it to your puppy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Repeat the steps above several times!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You will need to keep repeating the above steps until your puppy automatically backs off and doesn\u2019t attempt to get the food out of your hand. For some they pick this up really quickly and stop bothering to take the food (at which point you are still saying \u2018good\u2019 and rewarding them for leaving), others can take a little while longer. Either way is fine as they\u2019ll all get it in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once your puppy is not trying to get the food start to open your hand a little<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Try opening your fist just a little, if your puppy jumps up to take the food, keep your hand on your leg and just close the fist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don\u2019t need to say anything, they\u2019ll figure it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now keep your hand open <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Your puppy should now be automatically leaving the food in your hand, safe in the knowledge that if they leave it they still get it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018You get what you want by not trying to get what you want\u2019 is the motto here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Repeat several times to be sure your puppy can automatically leave it and really understands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time to up the difficulty by bringing your hand to the floor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This is where the leave it exercise gets a bit tricky\u2026 You\u2019ll be doing exactly the same as you did above but a little closer to the floor and worryingly closer to being grabbed by your puppy. Take this step quite slowly, and don\u2019t rush. If your puppy goes to take the food, simply close your fist before they can get to it. Wait, then try again with your hand a little higher up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When to add your \u2018leave it\u2019 cue.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pop the food on the floor and cover with your hand, say the cue \u2018leave it\u2019 in a normal voice, we don\u2019t need to be gruff or sharp, just a regular tone is fine, then uncover the food on the floor. Puppy leaving the food? Good job, say your marker word and feed them a treat from somewhere else don\u2019t let them take it off the floor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They didn\u2019t leave it? Make sure you cover the food before they snatch it and keep working on the automatic leave so that they get rewarded more for not trying to take the kibble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up the levels of difficulty and generalise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Once you’ve done all those parts you can start to experiment using different food items, low value on the floor rewarding with high value, changing over to toys and other items, setting up a temptation alley, and changing the locations you train in so that your pup generalises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can learn all about this as you progress through the Zigzag puppy training app<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Photo by Taylor Kopel<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Useful extra tips for teaching your puppy to leave it successfully<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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- Remember the goal is to never let your puppy get the kibble. If they learn that \u2018sometimes\u2019 they get it then they will keep trying!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Experiment with different items your puppy may struggle with. Set up little training sessions with your own takeaway cartons so you know exactly what\u2019s in them and reward your puppy for leaving them. You can start quite a distance from the cartons and be walking back and forth with your puppy, all the time rewarding them for ignoring the delicious smelling paper bag and boxes. Do this on lead to be sure of success.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- If you have a discerning or fussy dog who isn\u2019t into kibble, try using a different brand, or switching to medium value treats. Similarly, if you have a very foodie puppy you may be better to stick with kibble for a while, as they might struggle with anything more tempting! <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Own a small dog that can’t reach your knee? No problem. If you have a little dog then a fist on your knee won\u2019t really work as they won\u2019t know it\u2019s there. Instead, start off with your hand lower, but still a bit of a distance from their face (so they can\u2019t dive straight in, and so that more importantly it doesn\u2019t look like you’re offering them food).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through our guide and have started teaching your puppy to \u2018Leave it\u2019. It\u2019s really worth working through a whole Leave it training program so that walks are fun, and hoovering the streets for tasty morsels becomes a thing of the past! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why not download the Zigzag puppy training app<\/a> and start training today? We have a Leave it and drop program as well as a whole range of other exercises to help your puppy become the best dog around!
While you\u2019re here, why not check out our top tips for Puppy Recall Training<\/a>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
- Own a small dog that can’t reach your knee? No problem. If you have a little dog then a fist on your knee won\u2019t really work as they won\u2019t know it\u2019s there. Instead, start off with your hand lower, but still a bit of a distance from their face (so they can\u2019t dive straight in, and so that more importantly it doesn\u2019t look like you’re offering them food).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- If you have a discerning or fussy dog who isn\u2019t into kibble, try using a different brand, or switching to medium value treats. Similarly, if you have a very foodie puppy you may be better to stick with kibble for a while, as they might struggle with anything more tempting! <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Experiment with different items your puppy may struggle with. Set up little training sessions with your own takeaway cartons so you know exactly what\u2019s in them and reward your puppy for leaving them. You can start quite a distance from the cartons and be walking back and forth with your puppy, all the time rewarding them for ignoring the delicious smelling paper bag and boxes. Do this on lead to be sure of success.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Remember the goal is to never let your puppy get the kibble. If they learn that \u2018sometimes\u2019 they get it then they will keep trying!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n