Use the leave it command to teach your puppy dog what is ok and what is not. You’ll be surprised over the course of a day how many times you are going to I try to emphasize all the time that you have to keep an eye on your dog all the time particularly during training. Every time you see him doing something he should not be doing, use this command.
If you are able to keep your eye on him, you can preempt what he is about to do and tell him to stop before he has a chance to do it. There are so many interesting things for your puppy dog to find and inspect that some of them may be disgusting or even harmful.
You don’t want your dog getting to close to other dogs dropping which may carry germs or fleas, you don’t want him to drink puddle water where you think it may get contaminated with anti freeze which would be deadly for your dog and you don’t want him picking up any thing that may cause a trip for you to the vets office.
5 easy steps for the leave it command
The natural technique above is all very well at first, but to turn it into a formal puppy or dog obedience training session we need to introduce some objects for him to leave.
You are going to need two treats for this session. An ordinary kibble or dry "Leave It" treat and a favorite tasty “Reward” treat. Both treats need to be small and able to be swallowed without too much chewing. It should not be crumbly either. We don’t want him to lose concentration with a lot of chewing or vacuuming up crumbs.
As with all training sessions, begin in an area that is free from any type of distraction. Sit or kneel in front of your dog. Hold the leave it treat in one hand and the reward treat in the other.
Extend the hand with the leave it treat in your open palm. Don’t say anything but watch his reactions. Your reactions need to be faster. As soon as your dog reaches out to take the treat, close your hand quickly and don’t let him get it.
If he loses interest, immediately say ”yes” or “good boy” and give him the treat from the other hand. If he doesn’t lose interest and keeps trying to get the treat, keep it out of reach in your closed hand and give the leave it command then ignore him.
Eventually he will give up and look at you. That’s your cue to say “good boy” and give him the treat from the other hand. Continue with this exercise and pretty soon your dog will catch on that if he "Leaves It", he will be rewarded from the other hand. You’ll know you’ve reached this stage when you can leave your hand open.
Now he understands that he must leave the treat in your hand. Now stand up and put the treat on the floor and say leave it. If he goes for it, put your foot over it. If he leaves it, give him his treat but make sure that he also gets lots and lots of fuss and attention.
He needs to understand that leaving it is going to give him lots of attention and not necessarily a treat. We don’t want him to expect a treat every time he leaves it but he should expect lots of love. It’s something you always have with you (and is cheaper and less fattening).
Now lets put the treat on the floor and walk away. Tell him to leave it as you back away. If he has not moved or tried to get the treat, walk up to him and give him lots of love. Continue this exercise as you take him for a walk. At this time you can drop treats in front of you on the ground and walk past them.
Continue watching your puppy dog all the time and whenever the opportunity for the leave it command arises, use it and reward with lots of love. You may even say leave it and then issue the come command to give him something more attractive to do.
The leave it command is quite easy to teach and will not take too long. It is a very useful obedience command and one you will find yourself using continually. For more in-depth puppy dog obedience training, consider one of the recommendations on this site.
