[yorkietalkjilly]

I agree, it is time to change things as he's not learning some actions are bad/unwanted but has instead learned that doing them must be good since eventually they bring a reward. To solve that, say the "Leave It" firmly and with some force now, without a smile or happy voice(of course, don't scare him with shouting or a mean-sounding voice), and then you can say "Good Boy" in your happy, squeaky, smiley voice when he drops it or backs off as you stop treating every time and just reward with the big praise in between treating. After a while, praise every drop/back off but treat only occasionally. And when I said "praise", I mean it. Look in his eyes and really connect with him - let him know you are pleased as punch with him - and keep looking at him and smiling as you praise as you are transitioning from the treat. Later, you can praise less effusively but he will still associate it with that real great connection you have made with earlier praising.

He's presently attached the actions that lead to the reward to the whole exercise without getting the real message yet that the thing or behavior he is being told to leave is a bad or unwanted thing. A big part of the "Leave It" training is to give the dog the definite idea that what they are currently doing is wrong, wrong, wrong BUT that the separate action of dropping the item or backing away is good, good, good and that action only is what they are being rewarded for. In addition to the "Leave It" training, I take my dogs to items I have told them to "Leave" before and showed it to them, saying "bad....bad...Leave It" in a firm, no-nonsense voice and praising when they do back away and then we walk away quickly together. This has reinforced the idea that certain things around the house or yard are not good and must be avoided all the time.

Train "Leave It" as if his life depended on it.

If it is a Nitroglycerin pill your dog has on the tip of its tongue and you say "Leave It", you definitely want him to know that what he is presently doing is very wrong but that, just as he's been taught, as soon as he does spit it out, his happy, smiling mommie will praise and love him for that action. With an ultra-fast-dissolving pill like Nitro, you literally have no time for games as that pill will start to dissolve into his little system sometimes within moments, especially if his tongue is very wet, and very quickly drop his blood pressure to nothing and a dog that will know he's doing wrong but wants to do right fast and make his mommie happy will want to get rid of that bad thing quickly. It will save his life. And before long he will not as readily take another pill in his mouth and hopefully, soon, not at all.

And he will eventually further get the idea that even getting the pill in his mouth was not a good thing at all and that's the big lesson the "Leave It", when trained properly, can teach a dog. They begin to associate the "Leave It" with the things they have had to drop or back away from or the behavior at the moment and begin to actually begin to learn not to do that due to the unwanted, firm "Leave It" command that quickly comes. So just change up how you are training and be very different in the way you issue the command from how you praise reward and when you give the treats. Good luck!