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Imagine you鈥檝e dropped a chicken bone on the ground at dinner time. Or perhaps you鈥檝e spilled some medication. The last thing you want is for your dog to go running toward what they think are treats and scarfing them down (after all, cooked bones are a dog choking hazard, and the pills could be toxic). It鈥檚 important that your dog understands that everything on the ground isn鈥檛 up for grabs. But how do you teach your dog to leave things be? The 鈥渓eave it鈥� command is exactly the cue you鈥檒l need.

Teaching Your Dog When to 鈥淭ake It鈥�

The goal of teaching your dog to ignore dropped items is developing automatic behavior. In other words, rather than taking an item from the ground, your dog should leave an item be without you having to ask them. You won鈥檛 always see the hazards before your dog does, so you might not be able to say your cue in time. Ideally, your dog should look to you for permission before eating anything off the ground. That鈥檚 a tall order, particularly for some dogs, but certain training steps can help teach your dog that kind of canine self-control.

A free-choice exercise is a good way to teach your dog the cue 鈥渢ake it鈥� (which essentially means 鈥測ou may eat this now鈥�). This is especially important for grabby dogs who snatch treats from your hand. It also allows you to tell your dog when something is okay to eat, like if you鈥檙e dropping kibble on the floor so your dog can play hide-and-seek with dinner. Free-choice exercises help a dog to make that distinction.

1. Place a in your fist. Let your dog try in any way possible to get the treat out of your hand. They may paw, lick, and nose at your hand.
2. As soon as your dog stops trying to get the treat, mark the moment with a , marker word like 鈥測es,鈥� or praise. Then, immediately open your fist, say 鈥渢ake it,鈥� and offer your dog the treat. The point is to show that not paying attention to the treat is precisely what earns the treat.
3. After several tries, your dog should start pulling back from your fist or ignoring the treat. Now, wait for a second or two before saying 鈥渢ake it,鈥� then offering the treat.
4. Place the treat on your open palm. If your dog tries to get the treat, close your fist around it and wait for your dog to ignore it. Once your dog does ignore it, say 鈥渢ake it,鈥� then offer the treat.

Teaching Your Dog When to 鈥淟eave It鈥�

Once your dog is ignoring food in your open palm until you give the 鈥渢ake it鈥� cue, they understand the concept of leaving things alone until otherwise instructed (at least for objects in your hand). Now it鈥檚 time to take things to the floor. Using the following steps to teach your dog the 鈥渓eave it鈥� command.

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1. Place a treat on the floor and put your hand over it. Let your dog try to get the treat. As soon as your pet stops trying, mark the moment, then reward. However, don鈥檛 use the treat on the floor as a reward. Although you could offer that treat with the 鈥渢ake it鈥� cue, it鈥檚 time for your dog to understand that this isn鈥檛 about eventually getting the item. After all, dropped medication will never be up for grabs. Instead, reward your dog with a different treat from your pocket or other hand. Ideally, make the reward a treat of higher value than the floor treat. This helps emphasize that leaving certain things alone leads to the chance for even better things.
2. When your dog is regularly leaving the covered treat alone, start removing your hand from above that treat. But be ready to cover the treat again if necessary. The goal is for your dog to ignore the uncovered treat, but you want to prevent your dog from getting the food at all costs. When your dog looks away, leans back, or shows disinterest in the uncovered food in another way, mark and reward with a higher value treat from your other hand.
3. and do this same exercise standing up, but use your foot rather than your hand to cover the dropped food. The leash prevents your dog from getting any food that you accidentally miss or kick away.
4. If your dog is automatically leaving the food alone when you drop it to the floor, you have taught them about impulse control. Now you鈥檙e ready to add the 鈥渓eave it鈥� cue. Because your dog understands the concept, you shouldn鈥檛 have to use the cue, but the cue can be fantastic for other situations, too. Before you drop the food, tell your dog to 鈥渓eave it.鈥� When your dog ignores the food, mark and reward with the higher value treats that are in your other hand. After many repetitions, your dog should understand the meaning of the cue.

Teaching 鈥淟eave It鈥� for Real-World Situations

In the real world, there are hazards everywhere, such as a sandwich on the sidewalk or garbage in the park. Now it鈥檚 time to up your training and walk your dog past things that need to be ignored. In practical situations, here鈥檚 how to work up to using the 鈥渓eave it鈥� command with your dog.

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1. With your dog out of the room, place low-value treats in a row along the ground. Space them several feet apart. Now bring your leashed dog into view of the floor treats, say 鈥渓eave it,鈥� and walk past the row. At each treat, mark and reward your dog with a high-value treat for ignoring the floor treat, then walk on to the next. Don鈥檛 try to do the whole row at once. If your dog tries to eat the floor treat, quickly cover it with your foot, using the leash to prevent your dog from reaching the treat before you.
2. When your dog is ignoring each treat one at a time, try walking past the entire row after giving the 鈥渓eave it鈥� cue. Reward a successful run with something extra-special, like a game of tug聽or a . Show your dog that ignoring things means the chance for something even more amazing.
3. Repeat the above exercises outside on the sidewalk or in the yard. The more locations you train in, the better your dog will respond, no matter where you are.
4. Replace the food on the ground with other objects your dog loves, such as or . This will help your dog generalize the cue, meaning they won鈥檛 just leave food alone, but they also won鈥檛 try to eat anything you don鈥檛 want them to have without permission.

When your dog is reliable with the cue, no matter what the object, it鈥檚 time to try 鈥渓eave it鈥� and incorporate distractions, like a cat or a person riding a bicycle. Be ready with a high-value reward, and keep your dog on leash to prevent your dog from taking off after the distraction. Remember, don鈥檛 use the cue if you know your dog won鈥檛 respond. You don鈥檛 want your dog to practice ignoring you! Instead, if your dog isn鈥檛 responding to the 鈥渓eave it鈥� command and reacts to a distraction, go back to training and work that particular distraction into your routine.

By working through the above steps, your dog will learn to control their impulses and automatically ignore food on the ground. A strong 鈥渓eave it鈥� command means you decide what is safe for eating, not your dog. And by expanding the cue鈥檚 meaning to anything in the environment, you will also be able to control your dog鈥檚 behavior and keep your pet safe.