When welcoming our newest addition, Virginia into our home, I knew that I had to show her the ropes and teach her some cues. All I thought about was the fun ones like high five, weaving and sit pretty. Until, I noticed that Virginia was a confident girl and was challenging for hierarchy in the home. I already had one confident girl that ran the roost before her arrival, but, now, I had to manage any moments so they didn’t escalate. Both of my Chihuahua girls don’t have any teeth. Well, let me correct that statement; Virginia has no teeth but Meg has three left and one being a canine.
As I incorporated some fun cues, I was so very thankful that I taught the cue “leave it”. Leave it is a cue that I think all families should teach their dog. It immediately tells your dog don’t even try to eat it, touch it, growl at it or run for it.
One day, I fed both my girls peanut butter Kongs, separately. Once they were both done, I removed the Kongs to ensure that nobody got an attitude or possessive over a high value item. Little did I know that some peanut butter residue was still on a blanket. Virginia crept up while Meg was licking. I thought Meg cleaning herself but nope, it was a little bit of high value peanut butter left on that blanket. Within seconds, the ruckus erupted. See, I didn’t yell out their names or get angry when that moment happened. I yelled “Leave it”! It worked. They both jumped off the blanket as if a snake was about to bite them. Calm was instantly restored.
How did I teach the cue “Leave it”?
Here are my steps to teaching the cue, “Leave It”:
- Leave a small item that dog might desire some distance away you.
- Place the dog on leash by your side. If the dog looks, pulls or shows unwanted behavior, wait for it to be calm and return a look at you.
- When the dog ignores or disengages, click and treat. Once the dog has mastered this behavior, you can add the cue.
- To strengthen this cue, you can slowly get closer to the item and again, repeat that process of clicking and treating for leaving the item alone.
Another way of teaching “Leave It” is by having a treat in one hand, opening that treat hand to show the dog the item to engage his senses and then close your palm. If the dog stops pawing, licking or nudging and removes himself from the item, remove the hand/item away and then click and treat with other hand. Please note that the dog should never be rewarded with the item you are telling him to ignore.
“Leave It” is a cue to have in your tool bag. Imagine how many baths you won’t have to do because you yelled “Leave it” before your dog rolled in that high smelling horse, dog or rabbit poop! Wait, even better… How about saving your dog from ingesting medicine that fell off the counter or nowadays, a possible poisonous treat left behind by some sicko while your walking the neighborhood or local trail.
Victoria Stilwell ~ Teaching “Leave It” Video
Let me know how your training session is going. Feel free to comment below or email. I would love to hear from you.
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