# Drop It, Leave It



## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

We are starting to learn these, but how long does it take them to really get it down. I would think these are one of the hardest to learn. As why would they want to give up their "prize" with out anything for the trade. So I'm thinking you have to have treats for this one for a lot longer then the rest..

How long did it take your poo's to get really good at the Drop It, Leave It. Piper is 16 weeks now. So 3 months old.


----------



## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

Molly only started beginner training at 5 months old so before that we were working on it with the clicker. Then we went to class and in the house she learned it very quickly at first we used treats and then gradually we would use a treat then no treat for a while until she would leave things without treating her but lots of praise. Outside is another story I can say drop it 100 times a walk and it just doesn't work for some reason even with a treat.

She is 1 now and outside forget it


----------



## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

How did they teach you to teach it? We only use the word "off" which means move away from whatever it is and he gets an even bigger treat. "Ok" means he can take it so unless the item is dangerous often an off leads to an ok, but not always.


----------



## Lowestar (Oct 16, 2013)

Hi,

We are still in the process of puppy classes, and we have worked on drop it and leave it/take it. For drop it, our trainer said to give a higher value treat (her examples were little pieces of cheese or peanut butter on a spoon) because you want them to feel that there is something better they will be getting (and if they "found" whatever it is they have, it will be valuable to them!). I just need to remember to carry the good stuff with me outside because we have more trouble with that command outside!

I think this week we will be learning about fading the treats, and have them still do the command.


----------



## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

I think my daycare people are training them as they were never good and leave it in the beginning and drop it just came out of my mouth but never had a treat when I needed it. But I said drop it one day and Lexi just opened her mouth. Best expression. Looks straight at me and opens her lower jaw. Beemer is better with leave it. But neither works if they really want something (like a crawly bug). 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


----------



## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

Lexi&Beemer said:


> I think my daycare people are training them as they were never good and leave it in the beginning and drop it just came out of my mouth but never had a treat when I needed it. But I said drop it one day and Lexi just opened her mouth. Best expression. Looks straight at me and opens her lower jaw. Beemer is better with leave it. But neither works if they really want something (like a crawly bug).
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


Molly is great at drop it but leave it not so good! If it's a bug or something outside she is like Lexi and Beemer she won't leave it or drop it unless I have a treat In the house she drops it really good. We thought her leave it first then leave it and take it and then the drop it. She gets it in the house but not outside wish it was the opposite cause I feel there is more dangerous stuff out there!


----------



## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

dio.ren said:


> Molly is great at drop it but leave it not so good! If it's a bug or something outside she is like Lexi and Beemer she won't leave it or drop it unless I have a treat In the house she drops it really good. We thought her leave it first then leave it and take it and then the drop it. She gets it in the house but not outside wish it was the opposite cause I feel there is more dangerous stuff out there!


One day at the park they looked like they picked up a twig and would not drop it or leave it. So I go to take it out go their mouths and turns out it's a huge grasshopper 4 inches long still alive. I think my scream got them to drop and leave it but someone else came and took it away.


----------



## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

Lexi&Beemer said:


> One day at the park they looked like they picked up a twig and would not drop it or leave it. So I go to take it out go their mouths and turns out it's a huge grasshopper 4 inches long still alive. I think my scream got them to drop and leave it but someone else came and took it away.


Too funny I would of freaked out cause I HATE bugs ewwwww I am sure Molly has ate some before but I try not to think about it! Spiders are my worst nightmare ...major ick! If ever she had one I would just freeze cause i can't kill them or touch them they just make me freeze in terror The worse thing I ever plucked out of her mouth was a helicopter fly it was dead and dry and crunched it grossed me out so bad .......ick...ick times a 100 times!!


----------



## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

My two chase all sorts of bugs. Disgusting. I use poop bags to pick up the ones they kill.


----------



## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

Sorry for the delay. Yea i was told to give them their favorite treat. When I'm holding something she and she has it. She does give up, but haven't had her drop something we I'm not near her. That's either inside or outside. ;-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Bonnie is totally submissive to me and will give up anything I ask. Dexter is a real monkey and will run round my house with one of my socks refusing to give it up. I can only get it back with a treat, not giving the right message I know but I have not got the better of him over this. Bonnie likes to try and snatch it from him and will then give it to me, she is such a good girl who always wants to please me!


----------



## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Rufus was a puppy school drop out.  It was simply too hard to calm him down with all the other dogs he wanted to play with. We went to a private trainer who taught us to play a lot of tug games with him. We play but the game ends instantly if he does not release the toy on demand. It took very little time for him to get the idea of "off". I had always heard that with a dominant dog you should not play tug, but her theory is it teaches the dog that you are in control, not them.


----------



## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

We've just started teaching 'drop it' by playing a game of fetch and then when he brings the toy back you hold up a bit of cheese at which point he drops the toy to get the cheese and you add the 'drop it' command in then.

I think we are going to have trouble with Gandhi picking things up out and about though. He used to be really good with letting us take things out of his mouth but he's recently decided he's not always happy with this, which is difficult when it's something that's potentially dangerous. 

He ate part of a conker yesterday (that's horse chestnut to non-UK folk) and today has had diarrhoea and had to go to the vet 

He should be ok, but it's a real worry in general because he just eats everything.


----------



## Tinman (Apr 23, 2013)

Grove said:


> We've just started teaching 'drop it' by playing a game of fetch and then when he brings the toy back you hold up a bit of cheese at which point he drops the toy to get the cheese and you add the 'drop it' command in then.
> 
> I think we are going to have trouble with Gandhi picking things up out and about though. He used to be really good with letting us take things out of his mouth but he's recently decided he's not always happy with this, which is difficult when it's something that's potentially dangerous.
> 
> ...


Poor ghandi, I hope he's ok - the problem is it won't stop him as he won't associate scuffling a chewy brown nut with making his tummy poorly x


----------



## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

Tinman said:


> Poor ghandi, I hope he's ok - the problem is it won't stop him as he won't associate scuffling a chewy brown nut with making his tummy poorly x


I know, and we can't explain it to him either! I did explain it to him anyway but I know he wouldn't understand  (sometimes he looks at me like he understands everything I'm saying though!)

He's been given some special food to settle his stomach and something to firm up his poos. 

You wouldn't know he was poorly, he still wants to play all the time  so that's a good sign. Just have to wait for it to pass through.

I wish there was a safer place to let him off lead


----------



## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

Poor Ghandi they are like sneaky little vacuum cleaners Glad he is going to be ok!


----------



## Ted (Jul 29, 2013)

If Ted has something he shouldn't ~ indoors - he will run to his bed and wait for us to come and retrieve it!! but outside he will just run round and round the car!! so we give up, act all disinterested and wait for him to come inside and then take it off him!  
We have also given up on the puppy classes too! as he was too excitable and very difficult to calm down! it just got to the stage in the end where he just whined and whined as all he wanted to do was play rough and tough with the other dogs!!


----------



## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

Yes Gandhi has recently, I am afraid to say, started to make this type of thing into a bit of a game. He's getting very fast too and 90% of the time I wouldn't be able to catch him when he's in this mode so I don't try because it will just a) make him run further away and b) demonstrate to him that I'm in a sense weaker than him and he's won!

Indoors this isn't so much of an issue because anything he takes is safe, so like you we just act disinterested and it then becomes less exciting to him. We just sit on the floor and most of the time he can't resist coming over and jumping on our lap (still small enough for this - just!) at which point it's easier to remove anyway. Outside - especially off lead - is a different story.

The other thing he has started to do is guess when we're going put him in the crate. He will then try and turn this into a game of chase (us chasing him of course), which again we don't do for the same reasons as above, so instead we wait for him to come to us on the floor and say hello, let him go again, then let him come over and then we pick him up so it's when he has less of an idea it's going to happen. We've also started to pick him up and hold him and talk nicely to him, and then just pop him back down again to play, because we realised that we were only picking him up to put him in the crate so he had learned that being picked up meant the end of playtime.

They are clever!


----------



## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Yes unfortunately I have a more dominant 'why would I give it to you?' kind of dog, with the leave it command at home he is perfect. won't touch food unless told to 'take it', I can put treats on both his paws and he will wait also, but he will not release the toy if you play tug (so don't do it often), I try the don't pull back thing but he is quite happy just pulling against me anyway. I usually end up prizing it out of his mouth. If playing fetch he will only drop it when he knows I have a treat, otherwise he just looks at me and then goes off again! it is funny I can almost see his mind thinking 'I'm never giving this up, you are never going to have it, never, never, never - Oh, a treat? ok then here you are'! Also if he finds something he thinks is more exciting than a treat there is no way I can get it off him, it does worry me, he had a firework the other morning - luckily it turned out to be just an empty plastic tube but I had to wait until he was bored with it to find out. If anyone has been given any training tips rather than just swapping for a treat I would love to know.


----------



## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

DB1 said:


> Also if he finds something he thinks is more exciting than a treat there is no way I can get it off him, it does worry me, he had a firework the other morning - luckily it turned out to be just an empty plastic tube but I had to wait until he was bored with it to find out. If anyone has been given any training tips rather than just swapping for a treat I would love to know.


Yep! the combination of not being highly motivated by food as well as excited about finding new things to take is a bad combination! Gandhi is very interested in all the new things he's finding in the world. 

I think we are going to have to turn the next few walks into training sessions when he's hungry so that he learns to focus on us more as a habit. Also we've been told it's a good idea to have a special toy that he only gets on walks so he is more focused on that.

When there are other dogs around Gandhi wants to play, so it's more when there's no one around that he starts wandering around and picking everything up. Perhaps the answer is to try and go at a busier time so he is distracted by other dogs.


----------



## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Rufus liked(s) to carry his ball in his mouth on walks which made picking up forbidden fruit harder for him.

A very good "off" is usually enough to make him drop contraband. We were taught to hold a treat in a fist and click and reward for nose turned away, then head turned away then body away etc. then same with open hand, then treat on floor. The reward should not be the treat in hand, but a different one kept elsewhere. When I yell off usually he'll drop what he finds but I've never had to test him with a very high value item.


----------



## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

Ted said:


> If Ted has something he shouldn't ~ indoors - he will run to his bed and wait for us to come and retrieve it!! but outside he will just run round and round the car!! so we give up, act all disinterested and wait for him to come inside and then take it off him!
> We have also given up on the puppy classes too! as he was too excitable and very difficult to calm down! it just got to the stage in the end where he just whined and whined as all he wanted to do was play rough and tough with the other dogs!!


Aww you shouldn't of gave up on Ted in class. Molly was the same way and we managed to finish beginner and intermediate training. I had asked our trainer if she was "normal" cause all the other dogs in class were more mellow and quiet except for a few that barked. Molly would whine and always want to go see the trainer and the dogs and if people passed outside the glass window she wanted to go and see them too. He said "she is a very happy friendly dog. You should be happy I will take her! Do you know how many people come in here with aggressive shy dogs. Would you rather have that"

No one cared that she was a hyper they just laughed I'm sure Ted would of done fine but I know what it feels like when it seems like your dog is the class clown


----------



## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

fairlie said:


> Rufus liked(s) to carry his ball in his mouth on walks which made picking up forbidden fruit harder for him.
> 
> A very good "off" is usually enough to make him drop contraband. We were taught to hold a treat in a fist and click and reward for nose turned away, then head turned away then body away etc. then same with open hand, then treat on floor. The reward should not be the treat in hand, but a different one kept elsewhere. When I yell off usually he'll drop what he finds but I've never had to test him with a very high value item.


this is pretty much the same way Dudley was taught the 'leave it' command, that is why he is so good at home, but outside.......!


----------



## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

dio.ren said:


> Molly would whine and always want to go see the trainer and the dogs and if people passed outside the glass window she wanted to go and see them too.


Gandhi even wants to meet people on television sometimes 

I'm a bit confused about whether to say 'off' and 'leave it' as two separate commands because there is a grey area. Off I would use if he is physically on something he needs to get off, like when he puts his paws up on the side table. Whereas leave it I would use if he's sniffing after something he shouldn't be going near. I wonder if I should be using the same one for both?


----------



## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

Grove said:


> Gandhi even wants to meet people on television sometimes
> 
> I'm a bit confused about whether to say 'off' and 'leave it' as two separate commands because there is a grey area. Off I would use if he is physically on something he needs to get off, like when he puts his paws up on the side table. Whereas leave it I would use if he's sniffing after something he shouldn't be going near. I wonder if I should be using the same one for both?


I use off if she tries to go on the couch or tries to jump up on something and leave it if she is sniffing the recycling or trying to pick up something she shouldn't. Sometimes it is confusing Not sure about the TV cause Molly ignores it unless there is a dog barking on it then she will bark so that is a whole other problem


----------



## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

That makes sense. I think I will stick with separate phrases for now.

The grey area is when he has his paws up on something AND he's trying to eat something he shouldn't. Double trouble!

If he's already got whatever it is then 'drop it' comes into the mix as well!


----------



## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

We use "down" for getting off furniture or paws off people and things. Just to confuse things further!  Then we also have lie down, settle down and drop down.... Luckily Rufus understands full sentences now and we talk to him all the time.  Actually it is all really in the tone and not the words per se.


----------



## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

fairlie said:


> Actually it is all really in the tone and not the words per se.


I think this is true actually. From the beginning if Gandhi started chewing something he shouldn't we would make an interrupting noise 'ahbahbahbah!' and he would look up, then he'd move onto something else. I think it's easier to distract him from what he's doing this way rather than saying 'No'


----------



## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

....although I suppose if we are going to be consistent we should start using the commands in all circumstances. 

But the noises do seem to work better.


----------



## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Exactly! A low gutteral growl is quick and easy. I know it sounds crazy but we explain everything to Rufus. At the end of an off leash walk I'll say "ok stay there please, I want to put your leash on so you are closer to me on the road" and he'll just sit and wait. He always joins me in the bathroom and likes a drink of warm water at bedtime. In the last few days I moved his toothbrush to the bathroom to remind me to do his teeth. I do mine and he sits and opens his mouth now so I can do his. I can't explain how much joy this little dog brings me!


----------



## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

fairlie said:


> Exactly! A low gutteral growl is quick and easy. I know it sounds crazy but we explain everything to Rufus. At the end of an off leash walk I'll say "ok stay there please, I want to put your leash on so you are closer to me on the road" and he'll just sit and wait. He always joins me in the bathroom and likes a drink of warm water at bedtime. In the last few days I moved his toothbrush to the bathroom to remind me to do his teeth. I do mine and he sits and opens his mouth now so I can do his. I can't explain how much joy this little dog brings me!


Awww, that is lovely! 


I tried the growl at the beginning but it wasn't particularly low and impressive and then I read that because dogs growl for lots of different reasons I could be saying anything to him. So I'm sticking with the noises.


----------



## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Its not really a growl I do, its a gutteral ahhhhhhhhh, so low it rumbles. Basically it means I'm displeased. Then he looks at me to see what I want him to be doing instead. It would not likely work with a submisive dog but Rufus can take it!


----------



## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

When I do it it sounds more like Yoda.


----------

