Drop It

Imag­ine you are hold­ing a win­ning lotto ticket.  Let’s pre­tend it’s a win­ning scratch off ticket for $10.00 and your friend asks, “Let me see it?”  Now pre­tend it’s a com­plete stranger who asks, “Can I see it?”  Now pre­tend it’s a $100,000,000.00 win­ning ticket.  Would you let your friend “see it?”  How about a com­plete stranger?  What if the per­son ask­ing gives you the same amount as the ticket in cash as col­lat­eral while they hold it?

Now… imag­ine your dog with his “lotto ticket.”  How much is it worth to the dog?  Why (in the dog’s point of view) should he give it up?  Is there a pos­si­bil­ity of not get­ting the item back?  Is it fun and non-threatening to relin­quish the item?

Always remem­ber the dog is always a good dog for giv­ing up any­thing he has!  If the dog drops his toy you should have the same reac­tion if the dog drops the TV remote con­trol he was just chew­ing.  Be happy and REWARD the dog for giv­ing things up.

Step #1:  Your dog feels com­fort­able with you around him when he has some­thing in his mouth.  (Ask about resource guard­ing if you are not sure about this.)  When your dog has some­thing, walk toward your dog, say, “drop it” and drop a treat on the floor beside the dog, and keep walking.

Step #2:  Your dog feels com­fort­able with you talk­ing to him when he has some­thing in his mouth. Walk toward the dog, say, “drop it” and drop a treat on the ground.  Stand near the dog.  Let the dog eat the treat and just praise the dog.  Walk away.

Step #3:  Your dog feels com­fort­able with you pet­ting him when he has some­thing in his mouth.  Walk toward the dog, say, “drop it” and drop treat on the ground.  Pet and praise the dog.  Walk away.

Step #4:  Your dog will give up what he cur­rently has tem­porar­ily to get some­thing else, and is allowed to go right back to the item he had.  Stand near the dog.  Say, “drop it” and wait for the dog to “spit out” the item.  Click the moment the dog gets the object out of his mouth.  Throw treat on floor away from the item (about 3 feet.)  Allow the dog to eat the treat.  Repeat.

Step #5:  Your dog will give up what he cur­rently has to get some­thing else while you reach for the item (but not pick it up.)  Stand near the dog.  Say, “drop it” and wait for the dog to “spit out” the item.  Click the moment the dog gets the object out of his mouth.  Throw sev­eral treats on floor away from the item (about 3 feet.)  Allow the dog to eat the treats as you touch the item.  Repeat.

Step #6:  Your dog freely drops items in his pos­ses­sion to get some­thing else.  Doesn’t try and race you back to the object, you can now pick item up with­out any objec­tion from the dog.  Same as step #5, except you are now pick­ing up the item instead of just touch­ing it.

• Remem­ber to prac­tice with items you can give back to the dog.
• If you are work­ing with a “resource guard­ing” dog, there are safety pre­cau­tions that are nec­es­sary.  Ask your trainer.
• This is an exchange exer­cise in the dog’s point of view.  Remem­ber to give your dog some­thing good for giv­ing up his “lotto ticket.”