Clicker Training 11 -Leave It

This is not a competition exercise - this is for when you are going for a walk, and realize that your dog is making a beeline for something truly disgusting. You tell him "Leave it!" and he does so. Also works for telling your dog to get away from something else such as a plate of food on the table. I even know a dog that will respond to "Leave it" when his owner wants him to move away from another dog!
Okay - get yourself ready. Have a bunch of little treats - some really tasty ones & some so-so ones (I'll use hot dog slices & Cheerios as an example).

You begin by teaching the easiest lesson of all - Get It! Hold out one of the hot dog slices in the palm of your hand & say "Get it" and let your dog slurp it down. Repeat 5-6 times. They usually pick up on this one pretty quickly.

Next, have a couple of Cheerios in your left hand which will be the "Leave it" hand (to begin with, anyway) and a hot dog slice in your right hand (your "Get it" hand). Hold out your left hand, open to show the Cheerios. Your dog will, of course, start to reach for them. Say "Leave it!" and close your hand. However, keep the hand down at his level - don't yank it away, just close it into a soft fist. He will probably lick & nibble at your hand, trying to get the Cheerios. When he gives up & pulls his head back you need to immediately praise & say "Get it!" and offer the much tastier hot dog from your right hand.

Wondering where the clicker fits in? Well, it's pretty difficult to use if you have treats in both hands. If you can manage it (or have an assistant to do the clicking), click the instant he quits trying for the Leave it treat & then offer the Get it treat with "Get it!". This is actually a great example of when it sometimes good to use a Bridge Word instead of a clicker.

Keep doing this until he is no longer trying for the treat from your Leave it hand. Then... switch hands! Expect to him to about start over at first, but then quickly figure out what is going on. (Ahhh... it's not which hand it's in, it's what she's saying first! Eureka!")

At this point, you want to start requiring that your dog not only "leave it", but look up at you before you C&T with "Get it". To do that, just do what you have been, but after your dog moves away from the leave it hand, just wait.... until he looks up at you, then immediately C&T. If he takes too long to look up, then say his name to get his attention, and C&T that.

Next progression would be to set a treat onto the floor and say "Leave it." Reward with a jackpot if he does! Be prepared to step on it to cover it if he doesn't. In that case, just try again. When that is going well, actually toss a treat on the ground. Note - Try to usually have much better treat in your "get it" hand than what you are making him "leave". However, make sure to practice this with some pretty high level treats as the Leave it treats as well! When the time comes when you are out in the park & he discovers a rotten frog carcass & starts drooling, you want him to respond to your "Leave it" command. He'll be amazed, thinking you actually have a treat better than rotten frog! Of course you won't (I hope!), but by then it'll be too late for your dog - you'll be past where the frog was. He'll be disappointed, but will survive. And certainly, you would lavish affection on him at that point, and give up any treats you might have on you.

Happy "leaving it"!

back to the top