We taught Loki drop and he will even drop a bully stick into my hand, it's awesome, but he's a genius and I'm trying to remember how we taught him... We started with trading, which was great. Then I didn't let him see the trade. I have a container of treats in the other room and I would have him drop it and then we would walk to the other room to get the treat. Or you could have treats in your pocket and reward that way. It's important to reward every time for drop, just like come, because you do NOT want them to decide to ignore you when it's so important! Just keep it fun and make it a game! Playing fetch helps too, especially with a less important toy, when you do the drop/fetch exchange each time.
(By the way, Loki is on a diet and he doesn't get many treats any more and he still listens, but he's 4. So you can phase treats out, but they need a solid understanding of the command first.) | 