“Leave It” Training Patience
People often use pictures of their dogs displaying self-control as they are smothered with goodies, dog biscuits, or hot dogs as a way to show off their dog having the most patience when it comes to food.
The “Leave it” command is likely the most popular command a dog is taught (Second of course to “sit”)
This is how I trained my pooches to “Leave It”, using a training method by a trainer I worked with years ago. This method includes leaving a treat ( Or a high-value piece of food) on the floor and training the dog to walk past it without stopping at it, or eating it.
The use of a treat placed on the ground as a diversion tool during the training of leash manners is common in many training protocols. Because the dog needs to focus all of its attention on merely keeping the leash loose in the beginning, this is something that absolutely needs to be built up to.
The following are the stages that involve the treat:
-Both the handler and the dog remain standing, with the handler holding a treat in front of the dog while the dog is restrained by a leash.
-The handler moves away for one step in any direction and then comes back. Exercise both the length of time and the individual moving in a variety of directions.
-The handler and the dog make their way toward the treat that is lying on the ground, but they turn away from it before they reach it.
-The dog and its handler make their way past the treat that is lying on the ground.
My dogs had no trouble navigating the first step. Putting the leash on the dog did not significantly alter the scene, which still consisted of the classic “food on the floor.”
They did not have any problems with the second step either. Same old same old to them.
However, holy cow, the third. My dogs had a hard time picking up that particular step. Therefore, it may be a novel idea for the dog that they are permitted to approach the reward, but that they are unable to consume it.
However, in the long run, this strategy is really effective for teaching them that they do not require the reward that is on the ground and that they would fare much better without it. It could be quite some time before the puppies really grasp what’s going on. But if you give them enough time and patience, as well as use a variety of different training methods, they will eventually grasp it.