If you have a dog who struggles to drop something they shouldn’t have. Read on….
When a dog gets something they shouldn’t have – it sometimes becomes a very high value item to them. This is because they love the reaction they get from their owners – the urgency it creates as they try to get it back, the chasing around the house and being rugby tackled to the ground to get the exciting “illegal” object off them. Basically some dogs love the drama that stealing an item creates and this in itself makes the item very high value.
There are a few different techniques to encourage your dog to drop something but if all else fails, the counting game is my “go to” method.
The Counting Game:
🐶 If your dog grabs something he shouldn’t have – get your treats.
🐶 Walk calmly up to near your dog and start dropping the treats on the floor.
🐶 Count as you drop 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and so on.
🐶 Your dog will watch you dropping the treats one by one and become more interested in what you’re doing.
🐶 Eventually your dog will decide that it’s worth moving away from the item in eat the scattered treats on the floor.
🐶 He may move away on treat no. 4 or he may move away on treat no. 13. It doesn’t really matter – as long as he moves away!!
🐶 It’s important that you count as you drop the treats one by one so that your dog understands there will be some tangible value in moving away from the object and the counting becomes the precursor for the game. Rather than chucking a handful which the dog probably won’t see.
It’s always best to teach a really solid DROP commend but the above is a great trick to try in those emergency cases.
Always control the environment the dog lives in so that they can never get anything either precious and expensive (eg. your spectacles 👓) or something dangerous (eg. your medication 💊)
Isabelle Adams-Papé IMDT
Ringwood Dogs, Three Legged Cross on the Dorset, Hampshire and New Forest border.
Dog Training, Dog Day Care, Home Dog Boarding, Dog Walking
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