How to Train Your Dog to Drop It

"Drop it" is one of the most important commands to teach your dog, for your convenience and for his own safety. Someday your dog will grab something that he shouldn't eat and you'll be glad you took the time to train this. It's useful on an everyday basis when playtime or bone-chewing time is over so you can get back the toys or bones. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Pick your training treat: To train this command you need to figure out what treat your dog adores above all others. You're basically going to be offering to trade whatever he's holding for the treat, so it has to be a treat that's really worth it. Cheese? Hotdogs? Liver? Don't hold back.

2. Offer a trade. Play with your dog with a toy--don't use one of her favorites--and get her to take it from you. When she has the toy in her mouth, put one of the treats right in front of her mouth and nose. If you've picked the right treat, she will open her mouth to take the treat; and the toy will fall out. Do this a few times till you've both got the hang of it.

3. Associate the command: Now, offer the trade, and the instant the dog opens his mouth, say "Drop it." Timing is important: you must say it precisely as the mouth starts to open.

4. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Give the dog many chances over the course of several days to trade the toy for the treat while you say the command. With repetition, the dog will learn to associate mouth-opening with "Drop it" the way Pavlov's dogs associated bell-ringing with food.

5. Test the command: When you feel confident, try the command without the treat in front of the dog's nose. If you've trained enough, the dog should drop the toy. Now give the treat--this time, after the toy has dropped.

6. Stop paying every time. Once your dog obeys the command reliably, don't give the treat afterwards every time. Do it every other time, then on a random schedule, then when you don't have a treat in your hand and have to take it off the counter. This will teach your dog to obey the command when you don't have a treat in your hand right this minute.

7. Up the ante. Try the command when the dog is holding more and more desirable objects. You may need to go back to the start for a while to get him to drop a bone or his favorite toy.

[philinspain]

on 1/2/2009 This works a treat - no pun intended, a healthy dose of patience is rewarded by never having to wrestle the tennis ball from unwilling jaws on those long walks - everybody is happier!

[philinspain]

on 1/2/2009 This works a treat - no pun intended, a healthy dose of patience is rewarded by never having to wrestle the tennis ball from unwilling jaws on those long walks - everybody is happier!