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How to teach your dog to leave it

Protect the item, reward looking away with a different, better treat, and add the cue only when success is near-certain. Includes the permission-game alternative.

At a glance

Base difficulty
2/5 (before adjusting for breed, age and size)
Source agreement
4/5 · good (how well the sources agree, not a clinical trial)
Sources cited
10
Session length
No minutes in sources; one source mentions a 20-minute set-up in a walkthrough example only.9
Research updated

Step by step

  1. Use a low-value food item; protect the item (cover with hand/bowl, or keep dog on leash/harness) so the dog can never succeed in getting it. 3,5,8,9
  2. Reinforce any behaviour other than going for the item (DRO): looking away, backing off; mark and deliver a DIFFERENT, better treat (never the item itself). 4,7,9
  3. Progress: closed hand -> open hand -> covered floor treat -> uncovered floor treat; if the dog cannot look away, distraction is too hard: lower value or add distance. 5,7,8
  4. Add the cue only once the dog looks away within about 3 s (Kikopup) / only 'when you can bet $100 the dog will not go for it'. 5,7
  5. Generalise: moving items, toys, new places, leash, then real-life items; build 'leave it' on the walk. 8,9
  6. Alternative (Garrett): teach ItsYerChoice - dog chooses restraint and is given a 'get it' permission, building self-control rather than a cue to be repeated forever. 1,2,6

When to move to the next step

  • Cue only when success is near-certain5
  • Dog looking away within 3 s7

Difficulty by age

Difficulty is on a 1-5 scale, estimated for 50 breed and mixed-breed size profiles. Breed adjustments are generalisations capped at ±1 level, because breed explains only about 9% of behavioural variation; your individual dog matters more.10

Age groupTypical difficultyRangeSuitable for
Puppy
8-16 weeks		3/52-450 of 50 profiles
Adolescent
4-18 months		3/52-450 of 50 profiles
Adult
~18 months-7 years		2/51-450 of 50 profiles
Senior
7+ years (giants often from ~6)		2/51-450 of 50 profiles

What changes at this age

  • Puppy: Games fine; shorter; low-value food.
  • Adolescent: Higher temptation; add distance.
  • Adult: Same.
  • Senior: Same; check vision/hearing.

Common mistakes

  • Adding cue too early5
  • Using the forbidden item as the reward4
  • Intimidating the dog to guard the food5

Troubleshooting

  • Dog lunges at covered treat: cover again/use bowl5
  • Dog still stares: distraction too hard7

Where the sources disagree

Support is the share of the weighted sources that took a stance on the question.

Teach a 'leave it' cue vs permission game

  • leave it cue: 65% support · Used in our plans 3,4,5,7,8,9
  • ItsYerChoice / permission: 35% support 1,2,6

Weighted majority for a cue; the permission game is complementary (also appears in Kikopup 'get it' and impulse-control routine).

Known gaps in the evidence

  • No peer-reviewed evidence

Sources (10)

Source weight (1-5) averages the source's renown and the evidence quality of the specific page; see How plans are made. How plans are made

  1. Susan Garrett blog – ItsYerChoice vs Leave It · weight 4.5
  2. DogsThat (Susan Garrett) – ItsYerChoice game · weight 4.5
  3. YouTube: Kikopup – SAFETY LEAVE IT Dog training · weight 4.5
  4. YouTube: Fear Free Happy Homes – Teach Your Dog to ‘Leave It’ the Fear Free Way · weight 4.5
  5. YouTube: Kikopup – Leave it part 1 · weight 4.5
  6. YouTube: Dogs That – Teach Your Dog The Leave It! Command: Why I Don't And What I Do Instead · weight 4.5
  7. YouTube: Kikopup – Train your dog or puppy Leave It · weight 4.5
  8. AKC – Teach Leave It · weight 4
  9. SPCA of Wake County – Teaching Dogs Leave It · weight 3
  10. Morrill et al. 2022 Science – Ancestry-inclusive dog genomics (PMC)