# "Leave It!" Advice



## amitai (Jun 14, 2012)

The pup is 9 weeks old and knows come and sit well, she knows what down means, but only agrees to do it when she's in the mood. 

I am trying to teach her "leave it" and doing so by the method of having kibble in one hand and a piece of hot dog in another. Theoretically, I reach out the handle with the kibble and when she ignores it I give her the hot dog, and repeat.

The problem is, the puppy is smart and realizes that I have crappy kibble in one hand and amazing delicious hot dog in the other within one repetition. Once she realizes this, she doesn't care about the kibble hand. I put it out in front of her and she tries to lunge for it, but doesn't work too hard. She either tries to go behind me to get the hot dog hand, or she just waits.

Advice from people who know how to teach "leave it" would be greatly appreciated


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

I used random objects tossed on the floor that pup hasn't experienced yet. And it can be ANYTHING. As soon as you toss it, pup will go for it. Make sure they're on a leash and tug them back when they lunge saying "leave it" simultaneously. When they relax, look at you, change focus, etc., reward with something high value and say "good leave it". That's what worked for us.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I have always just told them Leave it when they pick up something in the house they shouldn't. Then removed it from them. If they tried to keep going after it repeat leave it and a spray of water. Outside on check cords the same way. Praise when they listen and water if you don't. As they got older they understood the command by repetition.


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## adrino (Mar 31, 2012)

I've seen someone posting about this a while back when I tried to teach Elza the same. 

What I did was. Put one very tasty treat in between your fingers and make your dog sit in front of you. Then with the treat get closer to her face and as she tries to reach the treat pull it away and say leave it. Do not give the treat to her. Do this again and again until when you get closer to her face and say leave it she will turn her head away. If she turns her head away when you get closer with the treat you can put it in your palm and say ok or whatever you use for release and give it to her. 
Once this has been mastered you can go further. Put the treat on the ground with a leash on your pup and walk past the treat saying leave it. If she tries to get it you jerk her with the leash sideways. Not back or up. This will take some time but she will get there. Lot of repetition and daily training. Even is she's ok one day she might just needs to be reminded again. Oh and when you want her to have the treat I suggest you pick it up and give it to her from your hand and not to let her have it from the ground.

Elza is 8 months old now and I still have days when I train her the leave it command. Only now I can say that if I use the command she will leave it 95%. Sometimes she just really wants something...  and will not listen! ???
This was the only method I used and I did it almost every day for about a month. Nowadays I just put some ham on her paw and say leave it and release her after a minute or two. It's good to remind them to that command. Can be life saving sometimes!

Good luck, hope this helps!


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## Oquirrh the V (Jun 24, 2011)

You could even have her leave the hot dog. What I did to teach "leave it" is put a treat or toy in my hand, show the pup the treat, then close your palm. Let pup sniff your hand and lightly nudge their nose away from your hand while saying "leave it", once pup doesn't come toward your hand, open palm and give a command for pup to take the treat, I use "take it". Then progress by putting the treat on the floor and immediately telling pup to leave it. Occasionally I will purposely drop things and tell Oq to leave it, just to test him. I've found that I have to say leave it before it touches his mouth, otherwise, the command then becomes "drop it", once it's in his mouth.


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## The English Hacker (May 22, 2012)

SteelCityDozer said:


> I used random objects tossed on the floor that pup hasn't experienced yet. And it can be ANYTHING. As soon as you toss it, pup will go for it. Make sure they're on a leash and tug them back when they lunge saying "leave it" simultaneously. When they relax, look at you, change focus, etc., reward with something high value and say "good leave it". That's what worked for us.


I'm having a hard time taking this course of action because I fear:

a) going after everything will equate to her realizing she gets a treat, or

b) if you wait long enough for her to change focus she won't know what the treat is for

Can someone explain please?


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

She gets treated bec leave it means don't continue to focus on something after I told you not to. You're not looking for undivided attention from the pup, you're looking for that slight change when they just removed focus from the object. Then, like in other treat training you decrease occurrence of treats until there are none but you still get the desired behavior. It worked for us but may not be the route you choose.


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Welcome to the forum, English Hacker. 

Leave it is a command you will learn to love. Oso is 10 months now and we are just amazed that he listens to leave it, pretty much always. It is so nice for him to go up to a cat, us to say leave it and be able to walk on. 

Anyways, there are multiple ways to teach "leave it." It makes sense that your little girl is going after the hotdog, I would too  You could just prevent the problem by having hot do gin BOTH hands. One hand is near her and open, the other is behind your back. Though, she still may just go for the hot dog. I actually like learning "leave it" with objects on the floor because it's a bit more natural. Let me answer your questions/fears.

_
a) going after everything will equate to her realizing she gets a treat_
First of all you will be saying, "leave it" when she goes after it. So FIRST she hears leave it, SECOND she leaves it, THIRD she gets a treat. When you don't say leave it and she goes after it = no treat. When you say "leave it" and she goes after it = no treat. She won't be getting rewarded for going after everything, only for NOT going after it. So, as long as you reward her correctly, she won't start going after everything. I actually like using a clicker (or you can use a correct phrase like "YES"), that way the moment your puppy sits down or looks away she gets the YES or click and then treat. 

**Instead of using a chain to jerk her back, we covered the treat with our foot. If you do use the leash, I wouldn't reward when she is jerked, I would reward when she sits or looks away independently (perhaps because she can't reach it).

_b) if you wait long enough for her to change focus she won't know what the treat is for
_
With repetition, she will figure it out. It really shouldn't be too long until she changes her focus, you are helping her by covering the treat with foot, closing hand or preventing her from getting to it in some way. If she is food driven, her active mind will be searching for reasons for why she is getting food one time and not the other. Pretty soon, she'll figure out that sometime after you say leave it, if she looks away or sits she gets a treat. Saying "leave it" in a confident neutral voice helps with this. Also, decreasing other kind of talk helps as well. So, she will get it more quickly if the only words she is hearing from you is, "leave it" (neutral voice)......."yes! (or click)".......treat....... "good girl" (excited voice). 

Keep asking questions, didn't love the puppy stage while I was there, but now looking back it - so cute! Also, don't push too much. 5 minute training sessions are good at that age. You want your little girl to think training is fun and not get burnt out on it.


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## amitai (Jun 14, 2012)

Thank you all for your replies.

At what age did you start teaching leave it, drop it, etc. ? 


The pup can come, sit, and down at 9 weeks. Even if she doesn't always do them, she knows what they mean and what she needs to do. Maybe she's a bit too young for more?

When I've tried some of the other things, she doesn't even see what I'm talking about. She sees hot dog in hand and then does everything in her power to get to the hand with the good treat and lick it, bite it, paw it, bark at it, push it. 

We'll try some of the suggestions above and see if we make progress.


I appreciate everyone taking the time to reply. ;D


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Start early, train often. Don't get discouraged. Even if she doesn't get it right away, you are establishing the pattern of learning.


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## heliraptor (May 26, 2012)

Hi

Bella is 15 weeks today and we've been working on leave the last few weeks. I have to say, luckily for me it was one of the simplest commands to train, she just clicked right away.

All of the above suggestions were great, I started off with playing with one of her toys, I would throw it then she would fetch it back and so on. the I would get her to sit and gently hold her collar, as I the it Id say leave, she would try and go but as soon as she felt resistence she'd sit.

I only threw a short distance, then allowed her to go and get it ( I used get it as the command !)

This only took a short while, when she brought it back Id make a fuss of her, have a nice play, and carry on slowly increasing the times I held her collar. I used the playtime as the treat I guess. I also now do the same game with treats to enhance it and she's doing well. I have no need to hold her collar now and slowly relaxed this as I saw her not responding initially to the throw once I said leave.

It didn't take long, a week or so with a few training sessions every day for it to click. Now she leaves on command 99.9% of the time.

It wont work for everyone, but this worked for us, and quickly too.


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## amitai (Jun 14, 2012)

I'd like to thank everyone for the advice. I think we've found our beginning... 

I wanted to follow-up on what we did...

I'd appreciate your input on whether I'm going in the right direction.

Here's how we're doing it:

I take a piece of hot dog and place it in between my thumb and index finger. I place it in front of the puppy. She tries to get it but can't. I say "leave it" and once she withdraws, I say "take it" and release the food. At the beginning the intervals were only a second or two. After a few tries, she understands both "leave it" and "take it" and we can go for three seconds, four seconds. She tries to get it, I say "leave it", she waits a bit, I say "take it" and give it to her. 

At the end of the session, I was able to hold the hotdog with an open hand and say "leave it" and then when she did, give her two seconds and say "take it". 

My goal with "leave it", is for it to eventually be used for things like items she finds on the street and tries to go for.

Two Questions:

1. Is it a good idea to first get her to "leave it" and "take it" well and for longer as I'm doing, and then to progress to her "leaving it" and taking something else? Right now, she "leaves" and "takes" the same piece of hot dog from the same hand. Maybe the next progression is to "leave it" on one hand and "take it" from another... 

EDIT: She's super good at "leaving it", even if it's next to her on the floor and "Take it" from me.  8)


2. How do you teach "drop it" as opposed to "leave it"? 


Thanks for your time!


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Sounds like you are doing great! There are many ways to teach "leave it" and you've found what works best for you. Be careful not to always let her have what you tell her to leave. Even if this means giving her a different piece of hot dog. She needs to learn there are some things she has to leave alone permanently.

"Drop it" is super easy! Give her a toy to play with, wait until she's really into it, put a treat right up against her nose while she has the toy in her mouth, and say "drop it". A few repititions and she'll be a pro.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Copper is a leave it expert. He will now leave a steak bone on the top of his snout until he is released. He will then flip it up in the air, catch it, and go to his bed and chew it up until it's gone.

Leave it: Hold a treat in you open hand palm up with the dog in front of you. You should be kneeling on their level. Once they go for the treat, close your hand. When they sit back and stop trying to get it; open the hand back up and let them have it. Do this over and over, until you can tell them leave it, and they will not even look at the treat. This may take a couples month of daily practice. I can do this with anything and Copper will actually turn his head so he doesn't have to see it, until he gets the release command and then he will take the treat out of my open hand reeel quick!

Drop it/Release: This is taught to any hunting dog and a video is easily found on youtube. With a favorite toy in their mouth you pull up on the skin in front of the rear hip/leg and say "release". When the dog releases, say good boy/girl and then leave it if they go to pick it up again.

Always do these with *allot* of praise!
Practice, Praise and more practice.


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## Oquirrh the V (Jun 24, 2011)

Yep, sounds like you are doing great! Another fun thing to add when she really gets the hang of "leave it" is to put 3 pieces of a treat spread out on the ground. I point to one treat and tell Oquirrh to "take it", then he immediately tries to pick the other treat up next to it. I immediately say "leave it" and - at first - put my hand over it. It's just something fun to do. Only let her take the treat that you point to and tell her to take. 

Oquirrh isn't 'great' at drop it, so I will leave that command for others to teach. Oquirrh really doesn't release/drop something without a treat. Something we are working on.


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## amitai (Jun 14, 2012)

Check out our "leaving it" 8) 8)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqSWhjNYDOw&feature=youtu.be


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## BlueandMac (Apr 21, 2011)

What a good girl! She is adorable!


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Looks like you certainly figured it out. What a cutie pie! She is doing great!


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## Oquirrh the V (Jun 24, 2011)

Good girl, Edom! That was really cute. Good job!


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

Wish Bodhi would. He's 9 weeks today and he's learnt to sit but can't get a "down" "leave it" "stay" and most of the times a "come" out of him :-\


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

johnnywiggla said:


> Wish Bodhi would. He's 9 weeks today and he's learnt to sit but can't get a "down" "leave it" "stay" and most of the times a "come" out of him :-\


LOL! He's a baby! Repetition, consistence, and patience - the key to training a V.


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

I'm trying, he soon gets bored though !
I need to do a bit more research on training as I don't think what I'm doing is working :'( Is it best to keep the lead on so he can't walk away ?


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Keep training sessions short! 5-10 minutes max or your pup will get bored. Also, use very smelly/tasty treats such as bits of hot dog or freeze-dried liver. 

Here is a good method for training "leave it" (from http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com):

1. In a familiar environment to your dog, free from any distractions (other people or animals) sit down in front of your willing dog.

2. In one hand place an ordinary "Leave It" treat (some kibble or other plain dry treat) in the other hand place your dog's very favorite "jackpot!" treat (liver, hotdog, cheese etc.).

3. With the ordinary "Leave It" treat resting on your open palm, extend your hand out towards your dog. Don't say anything. When your dog reaches forward to gulp down the treat, quickly close your hand - don't let him get it. If he withdraws his interest, immediately say "Yes!" and give the jackpot treat from your other hand. Alternatively, if he is really persistent and determined to get at the kibble treat in your closed fist, just hold it out of his reach and ignore him.

4. About 10 seconds after trying Step 3, do it again. This time if he doesn't dive straight in after the "Leave It" treat, enthusiastically say "Yes!", give the jackpot treat from your other hand and give him a loving scratch behind the ear. If he goes for the ordinary "Leave It" treat straight away, close your fingers over it again. He will probably look up at you in a quizzical, puzzled manner - which is good. As soon as his attention is off the treat say "Yes!" give the jackpot treat from your other hand and praise his good work.

5. Continue Steps 3 & 4 many times (repetition and consistency are two of the vital keys to successful dog training!). Pretty soon your dog will catch on that if he doesn't go for the boring old "Leave It" treat he will be rewarded with a monster "jackpot" treat from the other hand.

6. Now your dog understands the basic behavior it's time to attach your verbal "Leave It" cue. This is so we can request the behavior whenever the need arises. Continue practicing exactly as you have been except you now say "Leave It" just as you begin to extend your hand (the one with the ordinary treat) towards the dog. This step builds an association in your dog's mind between you saying "Leave It" and the act of him leaving an object alone.

7. Now you've got the behavior and you've got it on cue it's time to add some other variables. This step generalizes and proofs the leave it command so we can rely on it in any circumstance. One at a time introduce the new elements listed below - don't move too quickly for your dog, take it slowly.

Our 6 month old re-home Cooper is *just* learning "leave it" (he didn't know hardly any commands when we picked him up 3 weeks ago). Training is a long process and can't be rushed!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Drop a treat, say leave it and claim the treat... 
Repeat over and over, later reinforce (quick, sharp negative enforcement works best) if dog is ignoring (and it will ignore ).... 
Leave it is one of those commands that must be obeyed, it might just save the dog's life one day. 

Sam will spit out things even he chewed them. But by bit spit out twigs, leaves, steak, bone... Etc.


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

threefsh. Knowing him, he'll be more interested in the tasty treat to even bother with the kibble ! Thanks for the link 
Datacan. Sorry, I don't quite follow what you mean ???


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## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

Our bird trainer suggested that we get Otto into obedience. Otto is very independent and he said the more we do together, the stronger our bond will become - and boy was he right! We found a fantastic place where there are plenty of distractions but in a controlled environment and two trainers to point out what us owners are doing right and wrong.

Tonight, they went over "leave it." We've gone over leave it before - but I really liked their technique. They gave us a very smelly treat - like salmon or venison and had us hold it in our closed fist. Our dogs would sniff/lick out fists trying to get at the treat. As soon as the dog backs off - click and treat with your opposite hand. 

Once the pup understands what it is your looking for, apply the command "leave it" before they even reach your fist to sniff - if they respond correctly, click and treat (or mark with a "yesss" if you don't want to use a clicker). 

Then gradually move up to opening your fist and "leave it" before they get near it. If they respond correctly - mark/click and treat. 

If they continue towards the treat, close your fist with a "no" sound. 

Once in a while, when we were working with close fist and voice command, I would jerk my hand back and the instructor corrected me and said to let Otto make the decision. 

That's what I like about this method and their philosophy in general - that Otto has to work out what it is I'm looking for. Otto does "leave it" at home like a champ but out in the real world we've had trouble. Well he caught on very quickly and was doing it perfectly. Granted, he is one of the older dogs in the class but it's just another twist on getting him to learn the leave it. 

It's very similar to the way threefsh described. I was surprised though that he was giving up the leave it treat (the salmon) for hot dogs and milk bones which he gets all the time.

From that point we did the under the shoe .. Then on the floor..


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

Ottosmama,
Thanks for that, that's seems like a good way to do it.
The trouble I'm having is that he's mastered the "Sit" command and he won't do anything else. I'm not sure if we should do commands in a certain order after he's grasped one or if they should be done in any order ?!?!


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

Ottosmama
Sorry, me again. What did you use to treat him after the click, what ever you had in your closed fist or a different treat ?


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## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

Oh no no! Never let him have the "leave it" treat. Although its something safe for him to eat in training, you want to be able to tell him to leave it if you drop medication, a bag of skittles, a nail - anything dangerous. So essentially, you want him to be rewarded for leaving whatever it is you have told him to. So alway treat with something else - anything that he enjoys that is safe for him.

I'm not sure if I understand your first question. I wouldn't teach him commands in an order because he will begin to anticipate what you are looking for and offer the behavior before you even ask for it. If you are teaching "leave it" I would stick to just working on that command until he has it down for that session. It will keep his attention for a decent amount of time and you want to really inforce that command. If he gets bored - then work in other commands like sit, down, paw, touch... Once he knows those.

I hope that was helpful. Like threefsh always says - keep it short! You want to keep them focused and you want the training to end on your terms, not his! If you go too long, he will get bored and most likely resort to unwanted behaviors!!! Keep the room clear of shoes, socks, laundry, toys - keep his attention onYOU!


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

Ah, I see. 
Have you got good tips for "down" as I can't get him to do this at all, the only one his does is "sit" ???


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## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

How did you teach sit? We used a hand gesture. Took a treat up high above his head and added "sit". It forced him to look up and sit back - when his bum touched the flloor you mark and treat. "down" is the same idea. Hold a treat in front off him while standing. If he sits, just back up and force him to sniff the treat. Slowly lower your hand to the ground and his head will follow. He will probably move all around sniffing and trying to get at the treat for sometime. Eventually he will lower his body to the floor and as soon as he is in a down position -click/mark and treat. Keep doing this and he will get it. Once he understands what your looking for, add the voice command. Once he understands "down" with just the voice command you can add a gesture - which we put our hand out somewhere just below our chest, palm face down, and lower our hand towards the floor for down.

There is a great YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk4PPcE1CqY

I suggest watching the video! It's much easier to understand than my description. This girl has A TON of videos - they are free and cover just about any issue you need to work on with your dog or any behavior that your looking for your dog to offer. She is fantastic!! Good luck!


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

Thanks again.
I'll keep trying then as that's more or less what I've been doing although he hasn't gone down once yet !

I think half the trouble might be that he's quite an independant little man and he's happy to be off on his own doing what ever and he's not really into praise so its hard !


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## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

I just read that he is only 9 weeks! Chill baby baby chill!  to be fair, i was probably the same way as you when otto, my independent puppy, was his age. But remember, He is so tiny! Work on things but don't expect too much. He hasn't been on this earth a very long time! When he is old enough, get him in a good obedience school or brush up on training from books or YouTube tutorials. Start researching now do when he's ready you'll be prepared.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

johnnywiggla said:


> threefsh. Knowing him, he'll be more interested in the tasty treat to even bother with the kibble ! Thanks for the link
> Datacan. Sorry, I don't quite follow what you mean ???


Claim the treat = say "Leave it" with authority and block the dog by covering up the treat with your hand. Repeat over and over until the dog learns what leave means. You can use take it or any other command to let the dog have the treat.
At some point it will become necessary to reinforce the command because the dog knows but why should he listen??? 

Important... Hands are tools in dog training and the animal should not associate bad things like direct negative reinforcement. Praise, food and commands should be associated with hands... Corrections come from the use of training collars (prongs, e-collar) and appropriate tools (pointing stick) only. Any correction that is painful in any way done directly by hand (like slapping, or the way Caesar Millan uses his fingers to mimic the mother's bite) can ruin months of relationship building.


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

Ottosmama, datacan
Am I expecting too much at this young age then ?
It's almost like he's too independant and dosnt see me as a friend/leader etc so he dosnt want to learn from or listen to me ?!?!
I've tried all sorts (as much as you can in the garden) to bond with him but he dosnt seem interested in me or the praise I give him :-\


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## Oquirrh the V (Jun 24, 2011)

Johnny, No worries! I too have a very independent, non-food motivated boy. 9 weeks is VERY young! I think you are expecting too much from your little guy. You can practice the commands, but he doesn't have to perfect every single one, every time. Praise and encourage the little things he is doing correctly. Make your training sessions short, he has a very small attention span right now. Try to end your training on a good note. And remember that training SHOULD be fun for you and your pup. Remember he is a puppy! From my experience, Oquirrh has matured, bonded and become much more obedient in the last 4-6 months - he is now 18 months. It all comes with time and patience. Enjoy your puppy!


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

Thanks for your words of encouragement


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

NO, not too young for play learing.. but NO punishment enforcement. Offering food and covering it up with our hands, not letting the dog have it until it sits, or leaves it for 5, then 10, then 20 seconds... etc is OK. 

We have a 19 month old intact V and a 14 week old spaniel mix... the little one sits, drops, leaves, and chases things if I am close to her... distance will follow later. 
No, it's not too early but no need expect them to leave something on the ground if we are across the room. For now, it is all play and good associations with us and our hands especially. 

If the baby dog is growling and guarding all we have to do at this stage is make sure to take away the food/bone/toy and not give it back until desired response is achieved.
Not easy but we cannot back down and let the dog have treats for free.


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

Do you take the treat away until it stops growling or I have been told to flip him on his back (submissive) until he calms down ?!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Good morning, if relationship is built properly, they usually never growl. 
Pinning them, forcing them until they totally submit is a real brutal move. Besides, how can, most humans attempt it on adult dogs?

I constantly touch my dogs, guide them like human children, pet them, massage them. Take stuff out of their mouth constantly. I often put my fingers in their mouth, sometimes make them hold my finers (this is basic gun dog training). 

If the dog growls or is a snapper, I move the treat further away or take it all together. Bad behavior does not get rewarded at all.


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

To be fare, he's only done it the once. I'm always touching him, his paws, mouth, face etc and touch him all round the mouth and slightly in the sides when he's eating. I even take the food bowl up half way through and he's fine. 
I've always for my fingers in his mouth, pulling all sorts of crap out that he's trying to eat in the garden


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