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Train Your Dog to Leave Food on the Ground

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How to Train Your Dog to “Leave It”

Teach Your Dog to Leave It
Teach “leave it” with food on the ground. olovedog/iStock

If your dog understands to “leave it” on cue, it’s time to take it a step further! When training your dog to “leave it,” take it in small steps for maximum effectiveness. Usually, this article is step 3 for most dogs, but if your dog will reliably ignore treats in your hand 80% of the time when given the “leave it” cue, it’s time to step it up a notch.

Why Dogs Eat Things Off the Ground

There’s something about food on the ground that makes most dogs go bonkers! Usually, this is a learned behavior. They’ve been rewarded by finding small tidbits hidden from the naked human eye so this explains their enthusiasm. Shoot, I would be looking under cabinets too if I found hidden $100 bills down there. 🙂

How to Stop Your Dog From Eating Off Floors

Hidden Food Hand

While holding a treat in your closed fist, lower your hand to the ground. As you’re lowering your hand, say “leave it.” By now, your dog has learned “leave it” means to ignore your “closed treat hand,” but sometimes he regresses. The food is now on the ground, oh my!

Once your dog ignores your “treat hand,” click and give him the treat in your hand. Practice 5 times and end the sessions. Over the next two days or so, practice using treats or a few pieces of kibble from your dog’s meals.

Treat in Open Hand

Once your dog successfully ignores your hidden food hand on cue, it’s time to make it a tad tougher. Place open hand with back of hand touching ground and treat inside palm. As you’re lowering your hand, say “leave it” and open your hand. Most dogs will rush for the treat, they can see it now. Once he starts moving toward your hand, close it so he can’t get the treat. Once he moves back from your hand, click and give him the treat.

Dogs are fast! If he successfully gets the treat from you, tether or ask someone to hold the other end of the leash for you. If your dog strains to reach the visual treat, take a step back to “hidden food hand” or try with a piece of kibble instead of a hot dog. Some dogs will do anything for hot dogs! 🙂

Practice 5 times in a row, then end the training session, regardless of success. Breaks are invaluable in dog training. They prevent boredom, and I’ve found dogs excel at the next training session. It’s almost like they marinated over the previous training session, worked out the kinks, and are much more successful during the next training session.

If, even after a break, your dog is still confused, take a step back to “hidden food hand” or “adding a cue.” It’s perfectly normal to take a step back. It’s like learning a new language where you’re confused on when or how to use the new word you learned. 🙂

VIDEO: How to Train Your Dog to Ignore Food on the Ground

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Add a Cue During Training

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When to Add a Cue

How to Train Your Dog
Say “leave it,” as you’re dropping your hand to his nose.

“Leave it” is a must for all dogs, not only will they ignore spilled medication on the ground, but it’s also a great skill to teach self-control. Learn how to teach your dog to leave it using quick and effective steps.

If You Missed Step 1

If you missed step 1, which demonstrates the beginning stage of teaching “leave it,” check it out here. Don’t rush when teaching a behavior. Step 1 is laying the foundation, and a strong foundation supports a new behavior. This is especially important for energetic dogs. 🙂

If, at anytime, your dog becomes confused, go back to step 1. Do know, it’s perfectly normal to take a step back. Think about learning algebra. It’s pretty important to understand what “x and y” mean, right?

Why Add the Cue Later?

Excellent question! I recommend adding a cue once a dog will offer the behavior 80% of the time. By adding the cue later, you’re removing any confusion plus it’s quicker and faster. I’ll give you a scenario to illustrate this point.

Let’s say I’m teaching you a new behavior and I begin by saying “retour.” You’re totally confused because you don’t speak German so you freeze and look at me for help. Instead, I repeatedly say “retour, retour, retour, retour, retour” while getting louder and louder. Does this help your confusion? Probably not.

If I dangle a $100 bill on your nose and lure you backwards while saying “retour, retour, retour, retour,” would that help? A bit, as you’re pairing “retour” with a $100 bill and maybe moving backwards. Now, be honest, all the “retour” babbling probably is distracting you, as I’m getting louder and louder, right? It’s like turning down the car radio when navigating a new route through dense traffic. That’s why we refrain from saying the cue. In the beginning stages, let’s allow your dog to concentrate.

Now, if I clicked and gave you a $100 bill every time your left foot stepped backwards, you’ll start to understand. Once you’ve practiced moving your left foot back several times while being clicked and treated, you’ll feel pretty darn confident. Now, I’ll say “retour” and wait. I’m waiting for you to take a step back with your left foot. Once that left foot moves back, I click and give you another $100. We practice a few more times and soon you’ll pair “retour” with stepping back with your left foot. Voila!

And if you have not Googled it yet, “retour” means “back” in German. 🙂

How to Add the Cue

Once your dog ignores your hand while holding a treat next to his nose 80% of the time, it’s time to add the cue. Say “leave it” as you’re moving your hand in front of your dog’s nose. Click and treat when they ignore your hand.

Tips

  • Say cue once. Repetition is confusing and remember all that “retour” babble. 🙂
  • Give cue as you’re moving your hand toward your dog.

Teach Your Dog to Leave It – When to Add a Cue

How to Stop a Male Dog From Marking

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Dog Marking Behavior

Dog Marking Behavior
Why is he marking?

Tired of yellow spots and stains in your home? Are you irritated by frequent stops, so your male dog can mark everything? Before preventing dog marking behavior, it’s important to understand the cause.

Why Dogs Mark

Leaving small amounts of urine behind is normal. It’s like leaving a message for other dogs to read. I joke, but watching dogs sniff urine markings is like reading their Facebook pages. They may choose to “post back” or not. Intact males and females mark more often, as they’re usually trying to find a mate (you can say the same thing for single humans on their Facebook page too). Usually, males mark more often than females, but I’ve watched some intact females that can give the boys a run for their money!

Health

Anytime you notice a change, either heath or behavioral, bring your dog to a vet. As a dog trainer, I’ve personally witnessed an “un-potty trainable” dog that couldn’t hold his urine. This went on for a year, and this poor boy was only a year old. After a thorough vet exam, he had a congenital issue (born with it), which prevented him from holding his urine. After a quick surgery, he’s completely potty trained. Never assume. Always rule out health issues first.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a cause of marking behavior and frequent urination. Plus, if you notice your dog drinking and urinating more, this is cause for alarm. Health issues should be ruled out first before starting any training.

Anxiety

Anxiety is a cause of excessive marking. I’ve encountered this behavior with many stressed male dogs. Usually, anxiety-induced marking is accompanied with other abnormal behaviors, such as hyper vigilance (constant scanning of their environment for threats), suspicious behavior, pacing, moving slowly and/or an inability to relax.

If anxiety is suspected, contact a professional dog trainer or animal behaviorist. He can point you in the right direction. Punishing or expecting an anxious dog to get over it will not work. Just like people, some dogs are unable to calm themselves. In the meantime, try DAP therapy, soft music and Thundershirts. For maximum effectiveness, it’s best to use a combination approach while seeking professional help.

Is He Truly Potty Trained?

It’s a valid question and worth taking a day or two to incorporate potty training tips. If dog marking stops, then he wasn’t really potty trained, which is a relief. You found the cause and can easily move forward. 🙂

Clean the Marked Area

Most pet owners clean urine stains using everyday house cleaning products. While they remove the stain, they don’t remove the urine odor. Have you ever noticed your dog pees in the same place, outside or on pee pads? This is normal dog behavior, and we use it to our advantage when potty training a dog.

Dog have an intense sense of smell. As an example, if you walk into someone’s house and they’re cooking soup, you smell soup. But dogs smell each specific ingredient in the soup, such as onions, carrots, beef, noodles and so on.

Back to cleaning, clean and then re-clean the marked areas using recommended enzyme cleaners.

Dog Marks in One Spot

If your boy marks in one specific spot, keep it simple. Block the area with a gate or close the door. Most pet parents balk at these suggestions. They’re convinced that the door will remain closed or the item will be removed permanently. Actually, by removing the marked object, you’re removing the temptation to mark. When a dog practices a behavior, it gets stronger. Same goes with dog marking. Plus, it can become a learned behavior, which is tougher to manage. Trust me, remove it or close the door, clean the area using recommended enzyme cleaners (multiple cleanings are recommended) and, in six months, your dog will forget about it.

He’s a Multiple Spot Marker

This can be a bit tougher, so I’ll make a few recommendations. Usually, these boys have an underlying anxiety issue. To prevent, seek professional assistance, employ potty training techniques (crate when left alone) and try a belly band. While belly bands prevent urine from touching precious items, it doesn’t really teach a dog not to mark. Belly bands wrap around a dog’s waist, covering his private area, which acts as a protective barrier between urine and furniture.

Punishment

I know you were thinking about it, so let’s discuss it. In my 22 years of dog training, punishment has never worked for urine marking. What ends up happening is your dog will learn to mark when you’re not present. When this happens, you have a real challenge. For anxious dogs, the problem will worsen.

Prevention

Spaying and neutering will reduce dog marking behavior, especially if done before sexual maturity. If you want to dive further into this topic, take a peek at Anneke E. Lisberg’s article about the effects of neutering and scent marking.

Teaching Dogs Self-Control

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How to Train a Dog to Leave ItTeaching Self-Control

By far, this is my favorite behavior to teach puppies and dogs. You’re teaching them to control themselves. This is a must-have for adolescent dogs. I call this “Puppy Zen.” It teaches dogs polite behaviors while remaining still.

Teaching Self-Control

The goal of “leave it” is to have your dog ignore a chicken bone, dropped medication, previously chewed gum or a dead squirrel. “Leave it” is not hard to teach if taught in sections so I’ll explain how to teach the first part. Follow each step in order for best results.

  1. Hold a treat in your left hand. Completely close your hand around the treat so he can’t nibble or take away the treat.
  2. Place your closed fist holding the treat in front of your dog’s nose.
  3. Wait until he stops licking, nibbling or nuzzling your hand. Click the moment you don’t feel him touching your hand and give him the treat.
  4. Practice 5 times in a row.

Usually, by the fifth or sixth time, your dog will ignore your hand, meaning he will not nudge it. Click and treat. This is what you want.

Refrain from saying the cue. We want the behavior taught first, then we’ll add the cue. This will be in “Leave It Part 2.”

Homework

Practice 5 times per day. Always keep practice sessions short or your dog will get bored. Maybe take a few pieces of kibble and practice before meals.

Next Step

  1. Practice Part 1 for 3-4 days, then move to Part 2.
  2. In Part 2, you’ll learn how to add the cue.
  3. Part 3 explains how to use “Leave It” for items on the ground.

Leave It Part 1 (Teaching Self-Control)

The Right Way To Do Dog Time Outs

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Time Out for Dogs

Puppy Time Out
Koufax73/Adobe Stock

Your dog is jumping on you. Immediately, you grab her collar and say “time out” and make a beeline for her crate. If she resists, you stuff her in the crate and close the door. After ignoring her for several minutes, you open the door and praise her. Does this sound familiar? While you might think you’re punishing your dog by putting her in her crate, this can actually confuse your dog.

Don’t Use Crates for Puppy Time Outs

Dog crates should not be used for punishment if a dog misbehaves. It’s different when you tell your child to go to his room because you can explain why and what you expected from him. With dogs, they’re left confused when you force them into their crates. You’re inadvertently teaching your dog to dislike his crate too.

If you’ve been using crates as a place for puppy time out, it’s not too late to change your dog’s perspective. Check out crate training tips for details on creating a crate oasis for your dog.

A More Effective Dog Time Out

Let’s think of time outs from a human perspective. What if your boss said “time out” and walked out of the room immediately after reading your latest report? What does it mean? Did he not like the report or was it something you did? What could you do differently?

“Time out,” and its equivalent “no,” are easy to say, but don’t really tell you what to do instead. When teaching your dog consequences, ignoring your dog for a few seconds is considered a “time out.” Ignoring a jumping dog until she chooses to do the right behavior (e.g. “sit”) is pretty darn effective. Rewarding your dog for good behavior is lost if you leave the room or put her in a crate. You’re missing out on a learning opportunity.

Use a Crate to Teach Self-Control

Dog crates are fabulous for teaching dogs self-control, which is important to teach puppies and adolescent dogs.

When a dog is out of control, doing zoomies behind the sofa or getting excited when guests arrive, grab a food stuffed toy and give your go-to-your-crate cue. This is different than a dog time out. Your dog is voluntarily going into her crate and being rewarded with a food stuffed toy for her good choice.

Now, your dog will settle down and chew on her toy, lowering her arousal rate. Teaching a dog to bring her arousal rate down is equivalent to taking a calming yoga breath to relax.

Once your dog is calm, simply open the crate. Most relaxed dogs stretch and then find a nice place to continue their snooze. Mission accomplished!

When do you use puppy time outs?

Dog Training Nation is a dog training blog for pet owners and dog lovers. We cover a range of topics from puppy socialization tips to dog aggression to dog health. It is our hope you share our content to make the world a better place for dogs.

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