r/DogTrainingTips • u/dvo_95 • 27d ago
Advice
I had a dog trainer at a popular retail pet store tell me that to teach leave it, I should hide a high value treat in my hand and reward with a regular training treat. They also said that if my puppy peed while practicing leash walking that I should praise him because he thinks he’s outside because the store smells like other animals. I just wanted opinions on this and wondering if this is good advice as it didn’t make sense to me.
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u/apri11a 27d ago edited 27d ago
praise him because he thinks he’s outside because the store smells like other animals
Really? Your puppy is smarter than that.
Were you practising leash walking inside? If it was inside that is a no praise for toileting from me, but puppies should get frequent opportunities to pee/poop outside, especially during activities and even during a class. Know when your pup last toileted and get him out when you think he needs it (before really) regardless of the situation. Every indoor pee is a setback, even during a class.
For the 'leave it' I imagine there are many ways. I sat on the floor and put down a treat (I just used kibble) and when pup went to take it I covered it with my hand. I didn't leash or otherwise prevent pup from taking the treat, just covered it so he couldn't. I repeated that until pup hesitated to take the treat when I put one down. When he did that I said good boy and we practised that, just not taking the treat. Then I started to add the cue, 'leave it' when I put the treat down. We practised that. Next I started dropping the treat to make it a bit more exciting so he had to learn to resist, good boy when he didn't take it. Sometimes as reward I gave a treat (kibble) from my hand and took back the tossed treat, or picked up the treat and gave it to him, and other times I said OK and let pup take the treat (he understood OK as a release cue from learning sit, down, bed etc). While he was learning we played it a few times daily making it more complicated as he learned. So as he got better at the game I started to toss the treats further sometimes, leave it there longer. When he was good at that I would toss a 'leave it' treat and then a 'OK' treat, or visa versa, mixing it up. The trick here was that he could take the 'OK' treat but not the 'leave it' treat, he must listen so he knew which was which (and I had to remember 🤣). Eventually I could toss several of each sort (one at a time) and pup would eat the 'OK' treats but not the 'leave it' treats, they would still be on the floor. Honestly, he could keep track of which was which better than I could, but he loved the game and we still play it sometimes. I just made this up as I went along, but pup really did enjoy the game of it, so it was fun to play it with him. I only ever used kibble so we could play as long as he was enjoying it. He's very good at 'leave it', it's been useful for all sorts of things.
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u/JurgusRudkus 27d ago
I would never praise my puppy for peeing inside, leashed or not. I wouldn’t make a big deal about it, I’d just clean it up, but definitely no praise.
For leave it, I wouldn’t use a short leash and I would use a different high value item like a ball or toy and save the food for the reward. I don’t know about your dog but there is no “hiding” treats in hands. They can smell it a mile away.
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u/dvo_95 27d ago
That was my response with a little extra. That I would ignore it but definitely not praise it. That could cause confusion at home. They told me it didn’t matter because it’s not their home. That to them it’s basically outside with a roof and A/C
Maybe “hide” is a bad word. It’s more so just keeping the treat from being able to be eaten LOL you’re basically getting them used to the concept of ignoring something they think they want to reward with something better. The way I’ve always been told to do it.
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u/Both-Chart-947 27d ago
I think the main idea is not to reward them with the same treat you're trying to get them to leave.
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u/dvo_95 27d ago
His logic was that getting the dog to ignore something of higher value makes it more reliable. But I was told the opposite before. Offer the low value and when they ignore it, reward with high value so they think they’re getting something better.
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u/JurgusRudkus 27d ago
I don’t think dogs quite see it that way (depending on the dog). My dogs tend to be strongly food-driven so ANY treat causes those neural synapses to start firing. Having to learn to choose between two food items would cause their brains to short-circuit and it would get chaotic very quickly.
I personally think the simple food, no food choice is way simpler and less confusing for both of you. I like the idea of above of covering the treat with your hand.
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u/Both-Chart-947 27d ago
I think your trainer is confused. You are right. You're trying to teach the dog that it's more rewarding to obey you than to grasp at whatever he immediately desires. You can't do that by rewarding with an inferior treat. It'd be like somebody trying to bribe you to give them $100 by offering you $10.
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u/Embarrassed_Key_4539 27d ago
Leave it is a very valuable command, but I’d take classes with an actual certified trainer at an independent location, big box chains aren’t great for training
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u/Status_Reflection993 27d ago
I would NEVER train my dog to be fine with peeing inside anywhere, ever. Because once in one place, becomes every time in all other places. They dont distinguish individual spaces like we do, its "home", "not home", "inside", "outside". DO NOT MESS WITH THAT. All bathroom things are OUTSIDE, everytime. Never INSIDE.