There are two commands that are possibly the most important ones you will ever teach your dog in order to keep them safe. “Leave It” and “Stop”, or any other command you decide on, that will ensure that your dog ignores whatever it is that caught their attention and, the second one, will make them stop in their tracks and wait.
I find both commands very challenging to teach and we’re definitely still working on them. Even though Rocco knows the leave it command and obeys it fairly reliably, it doesn’t stop him from sneaking things behind my back or trying to gulp something down before I have a chance to give him the command – it’s a race for him to see who is faster!
In this week’s Training Thursday, I wanted to share a great video that shows a very easy approach to teaching a dog to “leave it”.
The second video that I would like to share teaches the “drop it” command. “Leave it” and “Drop it” are often confused, but they are in fact two separate commands, each with a different objective in mind, and even though sometimes can be used interchangeably, they should be thought separately.
I’m starting to learn ‘drop it’. I’m great at ‘leave it’ in class, but outside of it I get selective hearing BOL
I must be related to Misaki, i suffer from selective hearing outside of class BOL
I would also include a reliable recall.
Sheba.
Just like Rocco, too! He is very easily distracted outside of class…
Yes, reliable recall, the Holly Grail of every dog owner!
Delilah does great with leave it, when we are practicing BUT when the time comes where I actually need her to leave it….nope.
Sampson has been taught this from puppyhood and is very reliable with it. He used to be great at the stop command too, but lately that seems to have gone out the window too. It looks like we’re going back to class. 🙁