August 15, 2024, 6:04 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Owners often cannot react quickly when dogs chew on forbidden items on a walk. To be on the safe side, giving out food or objects should be done on signal. Otherwise, a walk can quickly end with a visit to the vet. In the PETBOOK Dog School, owners learn the essentials and basic signals of dog training.
Teaching the “drop it” command – that’s the focus of the second episode of PETBOOK Dog School with dog trainer Verena Backhaus. Learning this command is particularly important for everyday interaction with dogs. After all, releasing food on command could save the dog from potential poisoning in an emergency. This command can also help prevent unwanted behavior.
Overview
The groundwork
Giving food is an important signal if it works. The dog learns to release food at the command “drop it.” Before starting the training, owners should do a little preparatory work to choose the right reward – the favorite treat is particularly suitable for this. Using the right object during training can also make it easier for both dog and owner to teach “drop it.”
Teaching ‘drop it’: avoid the wrong training structure
A common mistake when teaching the “drop it” command is to start with exercises that are too difficult for the dog. Spitting out a beloved sausage or favorite chew stick is usually particularly difficult. This results in the object being “stolen” from the dog’s mouth. The dog then associates this with a negative feeling.
Start with something unappealing and work with swapping
To make it easier to train the “drop it” command, start with something less appealing. An object that the dog cannot crush and swallow directly is suitable in this case. This is how to do it:
- The first step is to let the dog chew on the object.
- Hold the treat of choice to the dog’s nose and wait for the object to be given voluntarily.
- When the dog voluntarily releases the object, say the word of praise of choice, such as “good,” at the same time. The dog is then allowed to eat the treat. In this way, the object is not stolen from the dog, but an exchange takes place. The animal learns to give tasty things voluntarily and not to swallow them immediately out of fear of them being stolen.
- At the beginning, the chew stick should be given to the dog after it has successfully given it away. Especially if the dog is initially reluctant to give it up despite the treat.
Caution: No more than one second should elapse between praise and feeding to ensure that the dog associates the word of praise with the subsequent reward.
Repetition during training pays off
The exercise should be repeated until the dog has understood it. This approach can consolidate learning processes and prevent negative experiences.
Integrate the ‘drop it’ command
Once the dog has understood the exercise, the “drop it” command can be introduced.
- The dog is now allowed to chew on the object first, followed by the “drop it” command.
- In the next step, a treat is taken out of the pocket immediately after the “drop it” command is given and held to the dog’s nose.
- When the dog drops the object and eats the treat, the praise word is used again.
- Repeat the exercise until the dog is sure of what is being asked of him.
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Important tips for teaching ‘drop it’
To successfully teach the “drop it” command, keep the following points in mind:
- The right size and quality of the chew item are important so that the dog is happy to swap it for a treat.
- Hold the chew item with your hand at the beginning.
- If the signal exercise works well, the level of difficulty can be increased as required.
- What counts is the more practice, the better. Because breaks should not be forgotten either.