Is it important to have seperate cues for 'leave it' and 'drop it'? Is 'leave it' for not getting the thing in the first place and 'drop it' for dropping it? Can you use 'leave it' for both? I've noticed people where I live tend to use 'leave it' for everything and want to ask what you find the best to teach? Having a puppy certainly makes you think but I don't want to bombard Dexter with more than is necessary. I'm holding back on a cue for the delivery to hand as I want to get that consistent first and feel it might be better to use 'give it'. I've just forgotten to carry on working with 'drop it' and find we are starting to say 'leave it' for all the above . Owner in training
Our trainer uses "leave" for everything. Leave food/object on the floor or offered, leave another dog (lunging & barking), leave (drop) the item in your mouth. I already trained (and continue to do so) "let go" for dropping the object in his mouth (one of the kennel staff told us they'd been training "let go" when he was in rescue, so it seemed sensible to carry on with it). If and when I start training delivery to hand, I'll pick another cue.
Yes it is, I trained these cues I try to keep my cue's to a minimum because I wouldn't remember them all and don't see the need for lots!
I use 'leave it' for something I dont want her to touch, and 'give' for her to actually give me something out of her mouth (dummy, sock, something disgusting she's picked up...)
It's as I've now got the hang of using the clicker as a marker, I realised that the two behaviours are so very different. I'm going to go back to square one and start again, getting the consistent behaviour using the clicker to mark it and then proofing and proofing before adding the cues and proofing and proofing. And more proofing
Well, how often are you actually going to want Dexter to drop something out of his mouth on to the ground? Mostly you are going to want him to give something to you. I've never needed a 'drop it' cue as such. Each person and dog is different of course, but like you I dont want to confuse the issue by using too many cues.
I don't have a 'drop it' cue. Just 'leave it' and 'give'. They are completely different things, and in my view need a separate cue. Although the time Charlie picked up a rat, and I told him 'give', I rather regretted not having a 'drop it' cue.....
I have "Leave it" for anything I don't want Juno to touch whether it is indoors or out, food, clothes or poop - its the same. I also use the same cue in French at different times - both work well. I use "Drop" for anything outside, which is normally a stick nowadays, which I don't want to hold and use "Give", or again the French cue, indoors for anything to place in my hands.
I have three cues. LEAVE IT is obvious. DROP IT is for when I don't get the leave it out of my mouth fast enough. GIVE is for something that maybe should not have passed Leave It but I want it back, and I want it in my hand. Or Give follows a FETCH command. Same as others said above they all mean quite distinctly different things.
I was glad I had "let go" when Coco picked up the dead polecat-ferret yesterday I really didn't want him to "give" it.
Thank you all, I've had to be in the house a lot today as waiting for a delivery, so lots of training time. I also tried just running around in the garden to just have fun, that went down like a lead balloon with Dexter , he looked at me like I was a total uncontrollable nutter and promptly jumped up at me, grabbing the sleeve or any other part of my jacket in his mouth and barking at me. I stopped that fun pronto . Don't want Mr Bitey back again We went back to lots of short sessions which included 'leave it', 'stay', 'sit', 'down', 'go', 'find it', 'OK', 'give it' 'take it' and 'bring it'. Many were slow paced in door games and some faster outside games. I may introduce 'drop it' again at a later stage but for now I'll get proofing these further. By this evening he was leaving his ball as I dropped it to or slowly rolled it on the floor, even when it rolled and touched his foot. I could then pick it up and ask him to take it, which he did. I let him have a play with it before saying "bring it", a cue that came about very early on in his puppyhood and has stuck, it often gets repeated too so will change it at a later date to fetch, then say "give it" and he gives me the ball. All done in a calm manner. With his teddy, I can say "leave it" as I throw it accross the room then send him to bring and give it. His dummy is second favourite to his ball and he managed that to but in a controlled way as with the ball. I ended up adding the cues as he repeatedly offered the behaviours once he worked out what I was C&Ting for. When he lobbed the ball at me, I didn't click but just kept my hand open until he put the ball in it. I'll keep at this level and introduce different items before adding intensity, then build up from the lower value (to Dexter) items to his high value ball and food. Bless him, he even took his teddy when asked and gave it up to my hubby when he got home . I have told hubby, if he ever says leave it, DO NOT repeat it and don't use give it until I've done a lot more proofing. Teddy is fine for now for him
