Teaching LEAVE IT

That's brilliant. I used a different method but I'm going to have a go with yours, particularly good for a dog who might take food off a child.

Yes there are a few ways to teach it. Clicker is quicker.

We teach it this way for beginners and the leave it means leave it, it's unavailable, off limits, now and always.

So we don't say "leave it" and then let the dog take the leave it item. We always give a take it from the other hand. This means that the cue LEAVE IT becomes conditioned and if the dog has NEVER got the LEAVE IT item they understand better.

So we get the leave it action first by removing the hand with the food if the dog moves forward.
Once we have a leave it behaviour we add the cue "Leave It" directly to the behaviour rewarding with a "take it" from the other hand when the dog gets it right.
We then move the item to the floor. So the dog understand leave it to mean leave the item no matter if it is in a hand or on the ground.
And then we use other items such as socks, remote control, mobile..whatever a dog may steal!
The end result is the handler being able to drop items on the ground asking for a leave it.

This lesson was what really convinced me of the strength of positive training methods. At the time I hardly knew Tara and Lisa and Tara had me use Jaspar as an example for this cue!! :yikes We all know how food obsessed cavaliers are -- I can remember trying to tell Tara politely that maybe we should really NOT be the example; there was just no way Jaspar would refrain from taking something to eat!!

To my amazement he got this in about five tries. And now, playing the 'wait' game is one of his absolutely favourites -- where I put a nice treat on the floor at a distance or sometimes right next to him and he is told to wait and has to sit and stay relaxed til he gets an 'ok' or 'take it' and he runs and snatches the treat. This is a great way to get him quiet and distracted if we are at a seminar for example. I've just started Lily on this game too and she loves it -- and she is the most food manic dog I have ever seen.

Overall, this lesson is such an excellent way to start to teach a dog self control, and to teach them to focus.

Leave it is a SELF CONTROL exercise so teaching this to your dog increases their ability to self manage. So not only are you teaching them a new cue or command as some would call it but you are also increasing their skill level.

I have to agree. I use the leave it command in getting Oakley to stay down - I put a treat in front of him and he has to leave it. He doesn't get that treat but another one when he has done as requested.

He is getting there