Dogs are curious, and it’s perfectly natural for them to want to investigate anything and everything they come across. Of course, in some situations, you’ll want to make sure your dog will “leave it” as soon as you give the cue!
Teaching “leave it” is an important way to keep your dog from picking up something that could be toxic or dangerous in some way, encountering a dog you’d like them leave alone, or doing anything that might cause them harm, according to Sally Silverman, certified professional dog trainer, Canine Good Citizen and Tricks evaluator, and training director at Y2K9s Dog Sports & Training Club.
Whether you want to learn how to teach “leave it” to a puppy or a fully-grown dog, Silverman says to make sure to train the cue in stages, with consistency—as you’d train any new skill! You’ll also want to train in various scenarios, in different places, so your dog truly understands the desired behavior.
Read on for expert tips on teaching your dog a super-strong “leave it” cue.
Pro tip: Private training sessions provide one-on-one guidance to teach a strong “leave it” cue. Search for a dog trainer near you to level up your dog’s obedience skills.
Teaching a Basic ‘Leave It’ Command
When teaching your dog to “leave it,” start simple, says Shelby Semel, senior trainer and founder of Shelby Semel Dog Training and head of training and behavior at Animal Haven.
A steady, gradual approach sets your dog up for success, so avoid the temptation to jump straight to the hardest version of this cue.
Our experts give step-by-step directions for teaching a basic “leave it” cue with positive reinforcement training:
- Put a low-value treat in your closed hand and present it to your dog: Let them sniff, lick, and paw at it, but don’t let them eat it.
- Wait for your dog to disengage: Eventually, your dog will pause, look away, or pull away for a second.
- The moment they disengage, mark it with a “yes” or click, and give them a reward from your other hand: Don’t use the treat you told them to “leave” as the reward. Instead, reward them with a high-value dog training treat the moment they make the correct decision in the form of looking away, backing up, or otherwise disengaging, Semel says.
- Once your dog consistently backs off the closed hand, add the cue “leave it” right before you present your hand: Wait to associate “leave it” (or any other words you choose) with the behavior until your pup understands they’re not supposed to get whatever it is or until they get another cue.
- Next, try the floor test: Place food on the floor, and if your dog goes to the food, cover it with your foot, Silverman says. This doesn’t mean correcting your dog or pulling them away from it. You’re just making the reward inaccessible for your dog until they stop trying to get it on their own.
Increasing Distractions and Temptations
When training a new behavior, it’s always a good idea to add various levels of difficulty by incorporating distractions and temptations with movement and outside elements.
Movement makes everything more exciting for dogs, Semel says.
These tips can help add a challenge when teaching “leave it”—without making the exercise too difficult too quickly:
- Start small: You might gently roll a piece of kibble across the floor or drop a toy a few inches away.
- If your dog can still hear the cue and chooses not to grab the item, mark and reward: The reward should have a higher value than the item you told them to leave.
- Gradually increase the difficulty: You can do this by tossing the item farther, walking past something tempting, or practicing on the leash outside, for example.
When taking the “leave it” cue outside, Silverman says she’ll take a dog on a leash and set up a scenario where there are things she wants a dog to leave and use the cue before they’re on top of it.
She recommends:
- Building up incrementally until your dog gets really good at leaving things alone.
- Walking your dog by something at a distance great enough so the object isn’t too tempting or right under them.
- Stopping or going in a different direction if your dog moves toward the object.
- Asking your dog to “leave it” when they’re in a neutral position to avoid proofing “sit” and “stay.” (If you put food down, say “leave it,” and they don’t go for it, then you know they understand you.)
You can practice “leave it” with many different setups:
- Treat in a closed hand
- Treat in an open hand
- Treat on the floor
- Toy on the floor
- Dropping food while cooking
- Walking past items on the sidewalk
“The key is progression,” Semel says. “If you go straight from a treat in your hand to a chicken bone flying across the sidewalk, the dog isn’t being stubborn—the assignment just changed dramatically.”
Generalizing ‘Leave It’ to Other Objects
The goal of teaching “leave it” is making sure your dog knows when to leave something alone for their safety and social manners. You can use this cue for anything your pup wants to engage with—a wall they want to climb, a person or dog they’d like to greet, or something icky they find on the sidewalk.
Silverman recommends proofing and practicing your dog to “leave it” with other valuable, non-food objects. “The more things that you do it with, the more the dog will generalize it,” Silverman says. “But it has to be something the dog wants.”
Take care to proof the “leave it” cue at home before moving onto other objects and scenarios inside or outside your home. You should be able to give this cue successfully and offer a higher-value reward for a job well done in the form of treats, praise, or pets—or better yet, all of the above!
Tips for Teaching a Super Strong ‘Leave It’
Silverman doesn’t consider “leave it” a difficult behavior to teach. Of course, practice makes perfect when it comes to training.
Experts offer some important tips for training “leave it”:
- Reward your dog with a high-value alternative: “If you’re asking your dog to leave incredibly valuable things—pizza crusts, chicken bones, street garbage—but rewarding with a single piece of kibble, that’s not a very compelling deal,” Semel says. “Dogs are constantly comparing outcomes. If the alternative reward isn’t competitive, they’re eventually going to stop participating.”
- The more specific the cue, the better: Clear communication is crucial. Dogs generalize, so they need help sometimes. “A dog who understands ‘leave it’ in your kitchen does not automatically understand that it also applies to that half-eaten bagel on the sidewalk,” Semel says.
- Lower your criteria in a new situation: Any time you change the distraction, distance, difficulty, or duration, expect less and reward your dog for being successful before you build up to the change, Silverman says.
- Practice the cue often in low-pressure situations: “The less you rely on the cue only in emergencies, the more reliable it becomes,” Semel says. “If the cue only shows up when the stakes are extremely high, dogs quickly learn that ignoring it sometimes works out in their favor.”
- Focus on engaging, quality repetitions: A dog’s interest in training can vary widely. Some dogs might be done after three repetitions, while others may want to do dozens. Silverman recommends gauging your dog’s interest by starting with 10 repetitions and taking 10 treats in your hand for a reward. Once you’ve used up those 10 treats, take a break for about 30 seconds before checking their interest in continuing.
Always keep training positive, rewarding, and fun! Your dog is learning something new and doing their best, after all!
