Dog Hiking Foundations (Wk 6)
This is part 6 of a 6 part series geared towards helping you prepare your pup for off leash adventures of their own! If you want to read the previous entries in this series, click here for part 1, here for part 2, here for part 3, here for part 4, and here for part 5.
We’re nearing the end of our little training and hike prep journey and hope you’re seeing positive changes in your pup’s behavior! The last few tips we have for this week focus on another ever-important skill we require all of our hiking pups to have: the ability to drop or leave something alone!
There are so many things your pup may come across out and about. There is trash and discarded food items that could be dangerous for your pup to ingest, critters that you don’t want your pup to chase, people who don’t want dogs in their face, or dogs who don’t want dogs in their face! Even horses, dead animals, or poop bags have proved to be worthy adversaries for many of our hiking pups!
If your dog knows how to drop something they have or leave something alone reliably, they are much better prepared for success in the woods than those who don’t! Your dog doesn’t want their mouths forcibly opened to retrieve a plastic bag, and they don’t want to be dragged away from new friends because they got a bit overzealous! Help them (and yourself) have a smoother, more conflict-free time outdoors by teaching these two useful tricks!
*Train your pup what “drop it” means with either of these two methods*
The first thing you should try when teaching this new trick is to simply say “drop it” and scatter food on the ground randomly near your dog to get them used to stopping what they’re doing and eating, even when they don’t actually have anything to begin with. “Drop it” will signal food is about to appear for them- it also will condition them to enjoy your approach because they get good stuff! Once they’re enthusiastic about eating the scatter when they hear “drop it,” you can start to use it when they DO have something, like a stick, or are sniffing something. Just something mildly distracting but not so distracting they don’t want to be taken away from it. Approach and say “drop it,” scatter food near them, then walk away. As the dog gets better and better at redirecting themself from whatever they’re doing to eat the scatter, you can start waiting to scatter the treats until AFTER your pup stops what they’re doing when they hear you say “drop it.”
The other way to teach a "drop it" uses toys! The attached video is going over this particular method and we suggest checking that out if you think this method is better suited for your toy loving pup. It's helpful to match your methods to the dog in front of you. If you have a dog who doesn’t give a hoot about play but loves food, use food trade methods like above for that pup. If you have a dog who LOVES to tug and play with you and others, then try these play methods in this video more. Mixing it up is ideal if you CAN, but not every dog enjoys the same thing as every other!
The final step for ANY “drop it” method is to practice taking the thing the dog previously HAD as the dog gets their reward for dropping it. You want them to be committed to the reward and preoccupied with it before trying to take their thing. Start with things they don’t particularly care much about. Take the thing you asked them to drop but give it right back! And reward some more after, since this will go far to build their trust in you.
MOST of the time, give them their thing back and you'll have a much more reliable drop trick. Think of it like this conversation “Oh wow, what do you have, can I see (drop it)? Awesome thank you (yes and reward)! Here, have it back (return the thing)!”
The more they trust you, the better and quicker they tend to listen to "drop it!"
*Train your pup what “leave it” means using the It’s Your Choice game*
Hopefully you remember this concept from earlier in this series with doorways! This same concept can help teach your dog a reliable "leave it!"
As a reminder, It's Your Choice is a game where the dog is shown a temptation, and given the choice to go for it. If they go for it (which is the normal first impulse) that's a bad choice and we simply block their access to the temptation. They don't win it. Then when they back off (however long that takes), we give them the choice again- we show them the temptation. If they can see it and wait or resist going for it, that's a good choice and we reward them by giving them the temptation.
Instead of using a doorway, use a handful of food in your hand and then later on the ground. Show your dog the food, but close your hand or cover the food if they try to immediately go for it (the bad choice). If they can see the food and watch it instead of go for it, THEN they can have it when you say! You should say " leave it" each time you present your dog with the choice of food available and ready for the taking… just remember that some dogs are fast and you have to be faster! Of they go for it before you give the ok, you need to cover or block the food in time so the dog doesn't accidentally reward themself for acting on impulse!
ON leash, you can also say the cue "leave it" and toss a temptation just out of reach of your dog… stand your ground and be ready because they'll probably want to go get it! Hold pressure back on the leash when they reach the end, and sustain the pressure, even moving backwards slowly, until they give up trying to reach the temptation and go to you instead. Then praise them and give them a treat from your hand OR run with them to the food on the ground as a reward!
Mix it up and make it unpredictable to your pup whether they'll get their reward from you or from the temptation.
With repetition of these exercises/lifestyle habits, especially when paired with the verbal cue "leave it," your dogs will learn better self control and be able to respond more and more reliably to the cue "leave it." Just remember to practice. Because without practice, you can only be reactive and that is a harder situation to manage.
This video here will help you understand the mechanics involved for the It's Your Choice game with food.
https://youtu.be/odGnYw9bD8o
We hope you've enjoyed learning alongside your dog these past few weeks! If you want to keep the momentum going, check out the resources page on our website to learn more! We've gathered all sorts of podcasts, videos, local trainer referrals, and more for you to dive into.
Keep practicing all your pup's new skills, and we hope to see you out in the woods someday!
Sincerely,
The entire team here at A Dog's Life
