Leave Exercise
by Lotte Griffiths – Accredited Behaviour Consultant (Canine) (ABC of SA™)
It is very important to be able to prevent your puppy from touching, sniffing or biting anything you do not want her to touch, sniff or bite, etc.
1. Signal your puppy to sit while holding onto her collar.
2. Place a piece of food approximately 1 meter in front of your puppy and say: LEAVE! Use a firm tone of voice for this signal.
3. Your puppy may struggle for a while but simply use a No-Reward-Marker, e.g. say Ah-Ah, and hold on to your puppy - it is essential your puppy does not get the food when you have told her to “LEAVE”!
4. As soon as your puppy stops resisting, even a tiny bit, praise her and give her a treat from your hand - not the piece you placed on the ground … you told her to LEAVE it so she cannot have it, ever!
5. Pick the food up from the floor and repeat from the beginning.
6. When the above is going well, repeat and move the food progressively closer and closer to your puppy.
7. When the food is about 20-30cm in front of your puppy and she can restrain herself, you can do the same exercise with your puppy lying down but do bear in mind that by changing the starting position, you have effectively changed the criteria and thereby made it a ‘new exercise’, so begin the LEAVE in the down position by placing the food at least 1 meter in front of her before, once again, gradually moving it closer and closer until it is right in front of her.
Notes to the LEAVE Exercise:
Although the LEAVE signal initially means: ‘Leave that piece of food I put on the floor!’ it can later be used to stop your puppy from stealing food from the table, jumping-up at people, worrying and even fighting with other dogs and animals, etc. … provided the signal is given early enough, that is, before the unwanted behaviour is fully developed.
1. Signal your puppy to sit while holding onto her collar.
2. Place a piece of food approximately 1 meter in front of your puppy and say: LEAVE! Use a firm tone of voice for this signal.
3. Your puppy may struggle for a while but simply use a No-Reward-Marker, e.g. say Ah-Ah, and hold on to your puppy - it is essential your puppy does not get the food when you have told her to “LEAVE”!
4. As soon as your puppy stops resisting, even a tiny bit, praise her and give her a treat from your hand - not the piece you placed on the ground … you told her to LEAVE it so she cannot have it, ever!
5. Pick the food up from the floor and repeat from the beginning.
6. When the above is going well, repeat and move the food progressively closer and closer to your puppy.
7. When the food is about 20-30cm in front of your puppy and she can restrain herself, you can do the same exercise with your puppy lying down but do bear in mind that by changing the starting position, you have effectively changed the criteria and thereby made it a ‘new exercise’, so begin the LEAVE in the down position by placing the food at least 1 meter in front of her before, once again, gradually moving it closer and closer until it is right in front of her.
Notes to the LEAVE Exercise:
Although the LEAVE signal initially means: ‘Leave that piece of food I put on the floor!’ it can later be used to stop your puppy from stealing food from the table, jumping-up at people, worrying and even fighting with other dogs and animals, etc. … provided the signal is given early enough, that is, before the unwanted behaviour is fully developed.
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