Oh, I had to teach "leave it" pretty much from day one as I take medication and feared dropping a pill somehow and seeing him with one in is mouth or something! Plus, just the things he might get in his mouth dictates early training in that. He does that so well that he drops his chewie, his food, toy, whatever he has in his mouth and moves away to the middle of the room or yard to distance himself from that object that was in his mouth or whatever he was about to partake of when he got the command! He always gets an extra treat for appropriate response to "leave it" as that is a command a dog has just got to get right every time. Tibbe is such a good little learner. (I can't believe he was so "feral" almost when I first got him, I called trainers in North Dallas on Day 3 when I had him to see if they could assess him for mental acuity as I thought he might be brain damaged! He just knew nothing at all about life outside a cage and was very dead acting - nonresponsive except to run, scream, yelp, growl and he was scared of everything!) He's come so far.
__________________  Jeanie and Tibbe One must do the best one can. You may get some marks for a very imperfect answer: you will certainly get none for leaving the question alone. C. S. Lewis |