Let's talk about one of the most useful cues that you can teach your dog the leave it cue.

Now most people, including me, start teaching leave it with the treat in our hand. I show the dog a piece of food, I cue, leave it and I wait for him to back off and when he does, I reward with the treat from the other hand. And that's fine as a starting point. But here's the problem that version of leave it only works when you're standing still holding a treat in a quiet room no distractions in a quiet room, no distractions. It doesn't help when your dog spots chicken bones on the sidewalk or someone's sandwich at the park or a squirrel. That's the real life leave it that we actually need. So how do we get from the training room to the real world? First, start with that treat in your hand and reward your dog for simply backing off. Then put the treat on the floor and cover it with your foot Cue, leave it. The moment your dog backs off, reward him. Once he's getting pretty good at that, start dropping boring items on the floor like paper or an old sock, and as you drop the item, cue, leave it and then reward when they back off or look at you. The goal is to build a habit of the dog turning away or disengaging and from there take it on the road. Practice on walks, use things like pine cones, food wrappers or even dog toys. If you have to toss one of them out ahead, cue, leave it as you toss it. And when your dog turns their head away or looks at you instead, jackpot praise party. You want your dog to learn that leave it means something better is coming. And don't forget those everyday leave-its that don't involve food. Barking at the neighbor dog, that's a leave-it. Scratching for that ball that rolled under the couch, that's a leave-it. Stealing a sock, eyeing the cat chewing on your table leg those are all moments where a solid leave it could save you a lot of grief. But I want to warn you don't turn leave it into a punishment. It's not punitive. It's not punitive. It's a simple heads up, a way to say hey, not that, do this. Instead it's an interrupter.

The reward comes when your dog makes the choice to disengage or look away. If your dog interprets leave it as a punishment, we could inadvertently add tension to the situation. Instead, I want my dog to think when I cue, leave it yeah, something better over there. Every time he hears leave it, I want him to think yes, party back there. And one last thing leave it should mean forever. Well, maybe not forever, but at least for now. And the reason that I don't say forever is that there are times, for example, that my dog and I are heading toward the door to go for a walk and he wants to grab a toy, but I don't want him to bring a toy, so I cue leave it. When we get back from the walk, he can go over and play with his toys all he wants. So leave it just meant for that moment, for that period of time. So remember, ultimately, leave it is just an interrupter. If you don't take advantage of their disengagement and give them something else to do, they'll most likely return to the scene of the crime.