Picture the scene – your dog picks up an object you dont want them to have – a sock, a dead fish, a stone, a child’s toy, another dog’s ball… You try to get it from them and they clamp their mouth shut (meaning you prise it open), you try to grab it back, you offer a treat so they drop it but they grab it back before you get it (amongst other responses)… The result over time is that the dog will:

• possibly find such an item and remove it away so you dont see it
• they run away and lay under a chair/table or get behind the sofa

The dog is taking avoidance action as you are the issue for them as you stop their interaction with this item. They may still swap for a treat (but not always)

OR

• they lay the item down between their paws and stare hard at you
• they dodge away from you so you cant reach them
• they get very stiff and still, stare hard and then growl as you approach – escalating over time to snarling, snapping and then biting

In all these situations, the dog is resource guarding. This is NOT a dominance behaviour i.e. the dog being in charge – aka ‘alpha dog’. This has been disproven by current thinking/science and a lot of research.  The dog values this item, at this moment and doesnt want to give it up.  The resource guarding can be towards a person or another dog (or both). It can occur in specific locations (on the bed), at a specific distance (as you get closer) or with many other factors.

Prevention is better than cure!

Teach swap

You need 2 potential behaviours on cue – 1 is swap where you exchange the item for another high value item (like a piece of cheese or sausage). However, there is an art to this…

If you swap and then remove the item – many dogs will start avoidant and/or guarding behaviours since you removing the item means they wont get it back… So try this instead:

• Find a low value item which your dog will be interested in, but is safe if they mouth it
• Let the dog find it and pick it up
• Offer them a high value treat as a swap – drop it on the floor so the dog is more likely to spit the object out
• If the dog doesnt pick it back up – say ‘thank you’ and reach for the item, picking it up with 1 hand
• Offer it back to the dog with 2 hands…

Repeat the steps until the dog is not interested in having the item back again.

• If the dog grabs the item after eating the treat – keep offering the swap and when they relax enough to drop it, dont pick it up immediately – try throwing the swap treats a bit further away and repeat until the dog is relaxed around the item before you attempt to pick it up…

Teaching drop/leave it

In this game, it doesnt matter what you decide to use as a verbal cue – for ease of teaching, I will call it drop…

If you start with an item available, the dog already has to make a decision about whether they really want it, or will give it up to you, so for many dogs this is already a conflict and can make teaching much harder. So – crazy as it sounds, we are going to start in the absence of an item – we are going to pair the cue word with something great!

• Put some high value treats behind your back, or on the side where you need to reach to get them. Do not have them in your hands where the dog can see this (this can become the prediction that treats are available)
• Say you cue word ‘drop’ in a cheerful voice, now reach for a treat/bring your hand in front of you – offer a treat

Repeat… after 5-10 repetitions if your dog starts to look cheerful when you say ‘drop’ they are starting to understand that this word makes good things happen, so…

• Repeat the same steps, but start to build in a small delay as the treat comes – this allows for the dog to build their knowledge that a delay is ok as its still coming, thus keeping frustration levels low..

Repeat until you can have a short gap in treat delivery. Now you are ready to increase the difficulty

• Repeat the steps above, but drop the treat on the floor by moving your hand down towards the floor – you want to teach them that the hand reaching down isnt anything to worry about (in case you needed to pick something up from the floor)…
• Repeat and proof in different locations and positions – in the kitchen, sitting room, hallway, in the garden, on a walk, outside the house, in the car etc, by your bins, by the BBQ etc… Now try whilst you sit in a chair in the kitchen, sit at the table, sit in the sitting room, sit on a chair on the patio (like a BBQ type scenario), on the edge of the bed etc..
• Practice stooping down to drop the treat (like if you dropped a piece of rubbish or food and needed to pick it up) – do this slowly, and get faster over time and repetitions
• Now practice whilst you are chopping vegetables, washing up, sweeping the floor, putting your shoes on etc

These steps are to generalise the learning so the dog understands that this cue could be used anywhere (location) with you in any position and doing any activity.

Adding objects

Now put together some low value objects – a washing up bowl, a saucepan, a measuring jug – whatever you can think of that your dog will be interested in but not be likely to grab and chew…

• Clear the floor in the room you will practice in
• Put your chosen item on the floor
• Start with the dog on lead and away from the item
• When the dog looks at the item, say drop and give a treat

Repeat and gradually get closer. Be mindful of the ‘danger zone’ where the object is reachable as this can be where dogs want to investigate and can become less responsive…

• Switch objects and repeat the steps…

Over time, introduce more interesting items, dog toys, balls, squeaky toys, shoes, remote controls, large stones, tissues etc etc…

If they grab the item, stay calm and repeat your drop = food game. If you grab for the item, the dog will lose trust and the prediction that food is coming… Pick your objects wisely (so they are safe). If necessary, put smaller items (like stones or tissues) in a clean plastic box with a lockable lid initially.

Chirag Patel has an amazing video if you want to watch the teaching steps for drop