Leave It, Part 1

“Leave It” is a useful cue that means “leave that thing alone and turn back to me.” Use this to tell your dog not to go after an item you've dropped on the ground, trash on the sidewalk, the cookies on the coffee table, etc. I teach this cue with an emphasis on having the dog give eye contact after turning away from the distraction - I don’t want the dog to just stand there staring at the forbidden item.

These instructions refer to using a reward marker (like the word “yes” or clicking a clicker), which you can read about here and here. In short, this is useful because it tells your dog EXACTLY what he did that has earned him the treat - in this case, that’s looking up at your face.

 

Foundation training

First goal is getting eye contact from your dog. See demo video here.

  1. Hold some treats in your hand, behind your back, so they are out of sight.

  2. Stand or sit in front of your dog and look at his face. Do NOT cue your dog to sit or stay.

  3. Wait for your dog to look up at your face, too. If he hasn't done so after a few seconds, make a “kissy noise” or similar sound to get his attention.

  4. As soon as your dog makes eye contact with you, say “yes!” or click.

  5. Bring out your treat hand and reward.

  6. Repeat until your dog is quick to make eye contact after each treat, without any help.

 

Adding distractions

Next step is getting the eye contact behavior in the obvious presence of tempting food, which will be both the distraction and reward. See demo video here.

  1. Hold some treats in your hand, straight out from your side.

  2. Wait for your dog to look away from your hand and make eye contact. If he hasn't done so after a few seconds, make a “kissy noise” or similar sound to get his attention.

  3. As soon as your dog makes eye contact, say “yes!” or click.

  4. Reward from the hand with treats in it.

  5. Repeat until your dog is quick to make eye contact after each time you hold your hand out to the side, without any help.

Your dog can now give you eye contact even though there is food around!

 

Adding the cue

Time to teach your dog that “leave it” means “turn away from that and look at me.” See demo video here.

  1. Hold some treats in your hand, straight out from your side.

  2. As soon as your dog looks at the treats, say “leave it!” (Use a happy tone of voice; many dogs will avoid making eye contact if you sound upset or intimidating.)

  3. Wait for your dog to look away from the treats and make eye contact. Do NOT repeat the words “leave it” or give other help.

  4. As soon as your dog makes eye contact, say “yes!” or click.

  5. Reward from the hand with treats in it.

  6. Repeat until your dog is quick to make eye contact after each time you say “leave it!”

  7. If your dog is not making eye contact within a few seconds of you saying “leave it,” go back to the “foundation training” and “adding distractions” sections.

Demo of Hayley learning the cue “leave it”

Your dog now has a basic understanding of turning away from a distraction and giving you eye contact when you say “leave it.” Congrats! However he only does it in this one specific context: you standing/sitting right in front of him, looking at his face, and holding the treat distraction out to your side.

In Part 2, we’ll switch things up, so that your dog can respond reliably in all kind of situations.

 
Print Friendly and PDF
In

Problems with Prey Drive

Print Friendly and PDF
In

Nose Work

Nose work is an activity in which the dog is taught to use their sense of smell to locate an object. “K9 Nose Work” specifically is an organized sport in which the objects to find are hidden q-tips that have a tiny amount of essential oil on them - birch, anise, or clove. There is also “AKC Scent Work” which uses those same scents plus cypress. The organizations that run these sports (NACSW, AKC, and UKC) put on competitions in which dogs and owners get to show off their training against an objective standard. However there are many benefits to training nose work with your dog even if you have zero interest in formal competition.

 

Why train nose work?

There are two big reasons that I recommend this type of training for clients:

  1. It’s a major mental workout, which is a huge help for meeting the exercise and enrichment needs of active dogs. This is particularly helpful if you have a dog who is so athletic that you can’t tire him out physically, when the weather prevents you from getting out, or if your dog can’t do much physical exercise due to injury or illness.

  2. It’s a huge confidence booster for anxious or shy dogs. It gives them a structured, fun way to explore new surroundings and acclimate to the presence of people, noises, new surfaces, etc. There’s even a study that shows that “practicing nosework increases dogs’ positive judgment bias or ‘optimism’.” The authors also note that “behaving naturally and making active choices are two key factors in animal welfare,” and “olfaction-based activities contribute to dogs’ welfare.”

There’s also a third reason… which is that it’s fun!

 

What does nose work look like?

The final picture looks a lot like the work done by working detection dogs, such as those finding narcotics, explosives, forbidden foods at airports, or sea turtle nests on beaches.

You, the owner, will determine the area that your dog will be searching in - for example, one room of your house, your garage, your yard, or a particular area of the park. Your dog may be off leash if it’s safe, or on leash in public. You give them their cue, and they go off to find the “hide” using their excellent sense of smell, then indicate its location by pointing at it with their nose, staring at it, sitting and looking at you, or another signal you’ve trained.

A dog can be trained to find many different scents. In lieu of the essential oils used in competition, you could use a spice or extract (one that you don’t normally use in your kitchen, so your dog doesn’t get confused when you’re cooking), a dog toy, or an object (such as your keys!). You can even just use their kibble or treats, especially at the beginning.

Here’s a video from AKC that explains the sport and shows dogs practicing. (Note that while the video mentions that dogs must be registered with the AKC in order to compete, it is NOT limited to purebreds. AKC provides a way to register mixed breeds so that they can compete in nose work and some other AKC sports.)

Here’s another video with examples of typical of K9 Nose Work training.

 

Getting started on your own

You’ll need:

  • Kibble or treats for your dog

  • The essential oil or other scent that your dog will be searching for

  • A small vented container to hold the scented q-tip, cotton ball, etc. If you’re using something larger, like your key chain, and there’s no danger of your dog eating it, then you can skip putting it into a container.

  • Metal tweezers, so that you don’t touch the scented q-tip or cotton ball directly. Be careful to avoid getting the oil on your fingers.

  • An airtight container for you to store your scented supplies when you’re not training. Your dog should not have access to these things outside of training time.

  • You can purchase kits that make it easier to get started. I have purchased my supplies from Paws 4 Fun. They have a great starter kit here.

  • 6-10 small to medium cardboard boxes, if you are starting with the box method.

Here is an article with great information on preparing, handling, and storing your supplies.

Here is another article with information on storing the essential oils.

 

Video tutorials

These videos can get you on the right track for this fun game!

 

Classes and private lessons

I highly recommend taking a private lesson or a group class if you and your dog are enjoying the game but you’re not sure how to make it more challenging over time.

 

Other helpful articles about nose work

Preparing for an ORT (Odor Recognition Test)

 

Alternative scent-based games

Here are links for other scent games that don’t fall into the typical “nose work” category - more will be added as I find good videos/articles.

 
Print Friendly and PDF
In

Teaching Puppies to Drop It

Puppies love to pick things up and chew on them. It's fun, and it's part of exploring their world! They also love to play “keep away” when their human wants those things back. Here is how to prevent this bad habit.

Setting your puppy up for success

  • Put away everything your pup might get into. That means shoes, socks, kids' toys, coasters on coffee tables, and everything else that is small and not weighted down must be placed up high, or behind a gate or door.

  • Work on a strong response to the pup's name by playing the “name game”: Call your dog's name, then immediately feed him a tasty treat.

  • Never chase your puppy, whether in play or because he has picked something up.

  • When your dog does have something in his mouth, always do a trade to get it back. (See below.)

  • Never pull something out of your dog's mouth unless it is an emergency because it's a truly dangerous object. (Forcefully removing objects creates defensiveness in your dog, which can lead to resource guarding. See below.)

  • Practice “drop it” with toys and chews that your puppy is allowed to pick up, and give the item back after doing the trade. This way, your pup won’t associate giving up what he has with always losing his treasure.

 

How to trade to get an object back from your pup

  1. Place a tasty treat right on your dog's nose.

  2. When he drops what's currently in his mouth, let him eat the treat.

  3. Once you've practiced this enough that it's going smoothly, say the cue “drop it” right before you place the treat on his nose.

  4. With enough repetition, your pup will start to drop what's in his mouth and look up at you as soon as he hears the words “drop it.” You are now rewarding him for dropping the item on cue rather than just luring him with a treat.

    • If your pup regresses and does not drop the item when you say “drop it,” do not repeat the cue or try to grab the item. Follow the words “drop it” with the treat on the nose to keep the association strong. See more about teaching verbal cues here.

A quick demo of teaching “drop it.”

 

Here is a full video tutorial on teaching “drop it” via trading for a treat:

Here is a video tutorial on teaching “drop it” via trading for a toy, instead:

 

Trouble shooting:

  • My puppy runs away even though I have treats:

    • Have your puppy wear a leash and let it drag on the floor behind him, so that you can step on the leash to interrupt running away.

    • Scatter multiple treats on the floor instead of reaching toward him with the treat.

    • Step back and let the puppy approach and eat treats without your “threatening” presence.

    • Pick up the item after your pup has moved away from it to eat the scattered treats. Be calm and subtle with your movement.

  • My puppy drops the object to eat the treat but immediately picks it back up again:

    • Practice trading multiple times in a row.

    • Use scattering of treats to keep his mouth busier for longer while you pick up the object.

  • My puppy growls or snaps when I reach for him, even with a treat.

    • Your puppy is exhibiting “resource guarding,” which is more intense than a normal “puppy picks up everything” problem. He needs a special training program to address this.

    • In the meantime, use scattering of treats instead of reaching directly for him. Use very yummy treats for this.

  • My puppy constantly picks up wood chips, rocks, sticks, leaves, etc outside.

    • This is normal. Most puppies will pick the objects up, give a few chews, and then drop them on their own. If that's what your pup is doing, just let him. Don't stress yourself and your pup out by trying to prevent him from picking up every single item.

    • If your pup is actually swallowing these objects, this is potentially a safety issue. In that case, you need to:

      • prevent your puppy from walking around the problem objects

      • distract him with treats from up above if prevention is impossible during walks

      • do trades as necessary

      • consider training him to wear a basket muzzle.

 

Here is a video tutorial on using a treat scatter as the primary association with the cue “drop it” - highly recommended for dogs who have a strong history of playing “keep away” or have resource guarding issues:

Print Friendly and PDF
In ,