Leave It
Leave It is a self control exercise that teaches the dog that all food is not available to just take. Dogs come hard wired to seek out and quickly consume food, so it is important to teach him what you would like him to do for you before you allow him access to any food. By doing so, he will check in with you instead of bulldozing past you and just taking what he wants out of the garbage, the counter or out of the kids' hands! Leave It is an exercise in "You must give me what I want before I give you what you want".
To teach your dog Leave It, show him a yummy piece of food then wrap it up in your hand and hold it out toward him. He may choose to paw at your hand or nibble on it. If he does, do not yank your hand away or say no. If you do, he will misunderstand the arm movement or the No as the Leave It cue. The Leave It cue should be the food itself. What you want is for him to move away from your hand. Remember, we want to capture and shape behaviours to make them the strongest, so get your clicker ready and watch for any small movement of his muzzle away from the food. When you see it, click, then give him the food from your hand. The final behaviour you want to see is your dog backing away from food immediately as you present it, and offering you eye contact almost immediately. Here are the steps to teaching Leave It:
1. C/T for dog moving his head 1" away from your hand
2. C/T for moving his whole body away
3. C/T for dog moving away from food held in an open hand
4. C/T for dog moving away from food on a chair or table
5. C/T for dog moving away from food on the floor
If at any time your dog attempts to take the food, simply cover the food up.
When the dog is reliable at moving away from the food in all five of the above steps, it is time to add the cue. To add the cue, say Leave It as the food is presented, either in your hand or on the chair/floor. Obviously, your dog needs to be reliable at the Leave It behaviour or you will find yourself saying Leave It and watching your dog lunge and steal the food! You must know that your dog will back away from the food at least 7 out of 10 times before you add the cue.
Once your dog shows good understanding, try the Leave It cue with toys or even other dogs. The moment your dog moves away from the object, C/T.