Teaching the dog to drop objects is a very useful exercise for training dogs, playing with them and avoiding the protection of resources. During this exercise, in addition to teaching your dog to drop things, you will be teaching him to play tug-of-war or fetch according to certain rules.
Most trainers who compete in dog sports take advantage of the game to train their dogs. This is because food is an excellent reinforcer for training new behaviors, but it generally doesn't provide the intense motivation that games do. In this article on our site we will explain how to teach your dog to drop objects and things of any kind such as toys and balls Keep reading!
Instinctive behaviors associated with hunting are the ones that are most used in training because they can be channeled relatively easily. Among these behaviors, the most common are those that lead to capture Games of tug of war provide an easy way to simulate these predatory behaviors and therefore they are very useful to give more intensity and speed to the responses of dogs.
Another advantage of using games during training is that food is no longer the only positive reinforcer. In this way, the variety of reinforcers is increased. It will also depend on the dog to be attracted to one type of game or another. Golden retrievers, for example, tend to be more motivated by games of retrieval, such as throwing the ball, than by games of tug-of-war.
In this article you will learn how to teach your dog to drop a toy that he is playing tug of war with, so he you will train the "Let go" command while playing with your dog. However, before you start, you must take into account certain rules so that the game is useful and safe.
Rules prior to teaching the "Let go" command
- Use a specific toy: Many dogs like to nibble on certain toys, such as balls or rubber bones, for hours on end. When training, you should use a single toy that prevents your dog from developing resource protection towards him. You will always have it in your possession and you will only use it to work on this exercise.
- Don't force the toy away: Especially if your dog hasn't learned yet, growls at you or doesn't seem to want to offer it, never you must remove the ball from his mouth by force. Although it is unlikely, you could hurt him, although more often than not he will hurt you. On the other hand, the dog will think that you want to take away the toy and it will be more difficult to educate him in collecting objects.
- Prevent your dog from biting your hands: except in those cases in which the dog does it unintentionally, when the dog bite your hand to try to remove the toy you must stop the exercise, put the ball away and go to another room. In this way and after several repetitions, he will associate that biting brings about the end of the game.
- Choose an appropriate place: Practicing with a ball indoors can be a little risky for your furniture, to say the least. It is advisable to set a place where your dog can work quietly, especially without distractions.
Keep reading and discover the training criteria that our site offers you to teach your dog to drop objects on command.
How to teach the dog to drop objects?
For your dog to drop the object you will need more than just instructions: a treat This can be dog snacks, frankfurter bits or a little I think You should choose the prize based on what your dog likes the most. Generally food is usually the best reward, although there will be dogs that prefer a second toy, petting or a "very good".
Also discover on our site which are the best treats for dogs.
Follow this step by step:
- Offer the ball to your dog and let him catch it.
- Get his attention and pronounce "Let go" while showing him a piece of food.
- The dog's natural instinct will be to go to the tasty call, the food, and drop the ball.
- Catch the ball and throw it back.
- Repeat the procedure for 5 or 10 minutes.
This simple step-by-step will teach your dog to correctly associate the verbal cue "Let go" with the very act of leaving the ball. Also, by returning the ball and following the game, the dog will understand that you are not trying to take it away, so behavioral problems are unlikely to occur.
The dog already understands the command
Once our dog has learned to drop objects, it is time to continue practicing so that this behavior is not forgotten or it begins to develop inappropriate behaviors. The ideal is to practice obedience every day between 5 and 10 minutes reviewing all the commands already learned including collecting objects during this time.
Also, we will begin to replace food with verbal reinforcement Varying the dog's "reward" will allow us to have a good response whether or not we have food. It will also be helpful to practice the same command in different places. Later we can even change the toy we have chosen to work the "loose" order.
Common problems practicing the command
Below we will mention some of the most common problems that can appear when we work the collection in dogs, take note:
- The dog ignores the food and doesn't let go of the ball: Each dog shows a particular predilection for one type of reinforcer or other. Food, toys or our attention are some examples. You should find what motivates your dog the most.
- Dog growls, barks or attacks: Aggression is a serious behavior problem. If you are not a specialist go to a professional immediately, such as an ethologist, educator or trainer. Don't try to "fix" the problem yourself, as you could make the behavior worse.
- The dog is not doing it right: some dogs will need few repetitions, others will need many. Avoid scolding him, since this tends to demotivate the individual a lot, and bet on continuing to reinforce and work on this exercise in a fun and entertaining way.
- My dogs are fighting over the toy: we must avoid working on an exercise in the presence of other dogs if they are not on a leash, since this way it will be impossible to properly reinforce. Let's do the exercise first with one, while the other is in a room, and vice versa.
To finish, we want to remind you that it is not advisable to exercise immediately after the dog has eaten or drunk a large amount of water. Similarly, wait at least an hour to give him plenty of food or water after the game.
