I recently received this tale of woe with its heartfelt plea:
“My pup picks up everything from the floor and chews on it. She has plenty of chew toys and she is driving me nuts. I can’t even leave my shoes on the ground for the time it takes to take them off! I dropped a vitamin and she had it before I could bend down and pick it up. How do I teach leave it?”
This is a common refrain - but really, it’s not necessary!
I can honestly say that my dogs never chew anything that isn’t theirs. Sometimes I have to teach them, and sometimes they just know. My latest pup needed no teaching whatever. He knew that if it hadn’t been given to him, he couldn’t touch it. So he never had to be taught to leave food on the coffee table, for instance, and if his toy landed amongst a coil of electric flexes he’d simply stare at it till help arrived.
So I think a lot of this problem comes from a feeling that puppies chew and you have to expect it.
And as I often say - with dogs and the rest of your life,
What you expect is what you get
So the first thing to do is to change your expectations!
Know that this is an intelligent, thoughtful, being you’ve invited into your home - not a wild animal or a bicycle. People often actually teach their dogs to steal, chase, and chew, by reacting to what the pup does in such a way that guarantees repetition.
Simply saying Thank you, and accepting the object in exchange for a tasty treat (you do always have tasty treats to hand, don’t you?) is actually teaching the beginnings of your retrieve as well!
Start teaching this new 8-week-old baby in the gentlest way possible - no need for any NOs or Ah-ahs or anything else that expresses your displeasure.
You are teaching this young creature. Mistakes are an essential part of the process, and gentle redirection a standard requirement of parenthood!
And yes, offering a treat is a perfectly acceptable way of teaching how to make these choices. This seems to be a continual source of confusion for people.
If your pup makes a mistake and you toss a treat away for him to fetch, you are not rewarding bad choices!
You are rewarding the action of leaving the undesired thing. Think about that for a moment . . . and it’ll make sense to you.
Formal Leave It training
Once your pup is a week or two older you can start teaching this more formally, thereby ensuring that not only your possessions, but also foul stuff on the street, dropped pills, and the like, are out of bounds. This is where this skill can be a lifesaver!
I have often seen people trying to teach this, and because they’ve missed out a vital step, they are simply confusing their dog. It really is important to get into your dog’s head, understand how they think, and teach it the right way!
How to learn it?
You’ll be glad to know we have a full Impulse Control system within the Brilliant Family Dog Academy - teaching self-control around food and objects, of course, but also instilling a thoughtfulness into your dog so he can make the right decisions in the future.
You can learn about the Brilliant Family Dog Academy here, in our free Workshop, which is packed with lessons you can put into practice straight away!
As you can see, this is something I’m passionate about - not only for the health and wellbeing of your dog, and not only for the health of your home and possessions - but for the responsibility your dog accepts in fitting in with your requests (whether spoken or not).
This is a surefire way to bring about a better relationship between you and your chosen companion!
Prefer books about dog training?
Then hop over and pick up Leave It! How to teach Amazing Impulse Control to your Brilliant Family Dog (Essential Skills for a Brilliant Family Dog, Book 2)
Here you’ll find a step-by-step method, complete with troubleshooting and what-ifs, to turn your thieving pooch into a model citizen!
Here’s another resource for you:
I can’t leave any food anywhere - my dog will steal it!
What about chewing?
Knowing what to give your pup to chew that is safe and effective is not as easy as you might think. A little guidance will help you:
I can’t leave any food anywhere - My dog will steal it!
Digging, chewing, chasing, barking: Instinctive drives you love or hate?
In sum, you want to start as you mean to continue, and don’t assume you know better than those who’ve devoted their lives to force-free remedies for common puppy problems!
If I wanted to learn how to make cakes, I’d take a baking course, or at the very least read a step-by-step book. Same goes for any skill you don’t yet have. Learn from those who do have it!
This will save you from making so many mistakes from not quite grasping the lesson, missing some vital aspects and thoroughly confusing your poor dog!
I love it when people plan ahead for their new puppy or dog, and learn what to do before it happens, rather than give knee-jerk reactions when it does.
That’s why the cleverest people join the Brilliant Family Dog Academy ahead of getting their puppy - wise folk!