FREE DOG TRAINING SERIES – Lesson 1: how to show your canine to sit and drop

Training your dog to "Leave It" and "Drop it" could actually save your dogs life (and more often, your valuables from being chewed!)

It works best to spend about 15 minutes per day in 5 minute sessions working on training your dog "Drop it" and "Leave it". Using small, pea-sized, treats to reward good behavior makes learning happen quickly and without overfeeding. If your dog is not interested in treats, you can substitute playing with him or scratching him where he really enjoys it for a few seconds. Try to tailor your training sessions so that they are easy enough for your dog to earn a reward most of the time. Setting him up for success will avoid frustration for the learner as well as the trainer.

The following steps will help you to train your dog to ignore an object when you ask him to. We begin by making the concept very easy and simple for your dog to understand and then progress to real life situations.
How to Teach Your Dog to "Leave it" - Leave something alone when you ask:
1. Hide small treats in both of your fists. Say "leave it" and let him sniff/explore one of your fists. Praise and reward (P/R) when he looks away from your fist and feed the treat from your other hand. Repeat this until he no longer tries to get the treat from your fist when you show it to him. Hide small treats in both of your fists. Say "leave it" and let him sniff/explore one of your fists. Praise and reward (P/R) when he looks away from your fist and feed the treat from your other hand. Repeat this until he no longer tries to get the treat from your fist when you show it to him.