Teaching your dog leave it, loose leash walking, and object exchange.

This is our second to last week of our Train Your Dog With Me series. Since this course started, Winnie has learned a number of behaviors, tricks, and training techniques that will help both her and her family create a happy life together. 

Our dogs are our best friends, so when we can work together, POSITIVELY to create lasting habits, it’s a beautiful thing to watch. But it doesn’t end here. Pupford Academy is a great tool to help train your dog of all ages! 

Make sure to start from the beginning if you haven’t watched all the videos yet. 

Winnie is making amazing progress, and this week we are gonna teach some more challenging behaviors!

This week Winnie will learn to leave it, drop it, wait at the door, and leash walking!

These are behaviors that help teach impulse control, a vital behavior for all dogs. 

This episode is full of extremely helpful tips and techniques, let us know how your dog is doing if you're following along!

Check out this PDF for a detailed list of all topics covered in Week 4, and for homework assignments you can try with your dog.

Show it to your dog and then put it under your shoe. Say Leave It one time

Just let your dog figure it out. They may sniff under your shoe, paw at the treat, etc. As soon as your dog looks up at you, click and treat

At this time you give your dog a higher-value treat. This tells your dog that no matter what they are “leaving,” they will get something better

Now draw your dog’s attention back to the item under your shoe and say Leave It again one time.

If your dog goes for it, cover it up with your shoe

As soon as your dog looks up at you, click and give another higher-value treat

You can also place the item under your hand. As soon as you can leave the item uncovered and your dog doesn’t go for it after you say Leave It, then it is time to increase the value of what you are asking the dog to leave

For example, you might ask your dog to leave a piece of cheese; when they leave the cheese and look up at you, click and give them a piece of chicken

Keep increasing the value of the item under your shoe or hand, rewarding with something better!

Remember to only say Leave It ONE time. You want your dog to learn that they must leave items the FIRST time you ask them. If you have to ask your dog several times to leave a skunk or a porcupine...well, you get the picture

If you want to take your dog for a walk on leash and don’t necessarily need them to do a formal heel by your side, there are a few things you can do for a dog who insists on pulling

One is the Stop/Go game. If your dog begins to pull on the leash, Stop! A tight leash means no forward movement

Do not move forward until your dog backs up and gives you a loose leash

As soon as your dog pulls, Stop! Do not move forward again until you have a loose leash

In the beginning it may take you one hour to go 50 feet but the patience will pay off

Your dog will learn that if they want to go forward the leash has to be loose

If the leash is tight, they won’t be going anywhere

Before they are really engaged with it, take the toy, give them a high-value treat, and give back the toy

That’s it! Avoid frowning like you’re doing something hard or weird

You’re conditioning a positive emotional response to removal of the object by doing this: person picking up my stuff means “good thing plus I get my stuff back!”

Don’t do this every time the dog has a toy or an object, but do it routinely enough so that it’s not abnormal or under “special circumstances”

Enhance the “trade game” by trading one object for another of slightly higher value

You can make the object in your hand of higher value by smearing on a little peanut butter, butter, cream cheese or offer a high value treat

Say the words “drop it” and hand him the “improved” or better object/treat. You can Click/Yes! when they drop the item in their mouth for the improved item so he makes the connection with dropping the item and the words “drop it”

Let them work on it for a little while, or eat the yummy treat, and then trade it for the one you’ve taken, which you’ve also “improved”

In other words, as the yummy stuff is eaten from the one they've got, the new one will be more valuable

Have different people practice this exercise, and with various toys and objects. Keep bodies loose and approaches “normal.” Try not to walk stiffly and directly frontally – approach as you would if you weren’t worried! Keep your body loose, approach from different angles, and breathe!

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Train Your Dog With Me Week 4 | Pupford