The Joys of the "Leave it" command

When I first started fostering Kino, our walks in the neighborhood were pretty miserable, for me anyway.  Kino was hyper-reactive to everything we saw when we were out on a walk . . . other dogs, squirrels, cats, etc.  When he saw one of these animals, he would make this horrendous sound, a combination of a high pitched squeal and a scary bark, all while lunging in the direction of the animal. He was so strong that even though I out-weigh him, he could yank me almost off my feet each time we had one of these encounters.

While Kino and I were attending training classes and we learned about the importance of the command "leave it."  The idea is that if you can break the dog's focus off what they are looking at, they won't become fixated and escalate.  When you say "leave it" the dog is supposed to look at you instead of the animal, and when they look at you, you give them a treat.  (and I try to always follow up with a "thank you for listening.")   :-)

Since last fall, we have made good progress when he just SEES an animal but if the other animal (normally a dog) barked at him, then no amount of "leave it" made a difference.  If a dog barked at him, he was determined to bark back AND yank me in the direction of the dog.  In those moments he seemed to become completely deaf to the "leave it" command.  All right, lets be honest, in those moments, he also seemed oblivious to the fact that I was even there.  :-)

I noticed that he reacted less if the dog was inside the house, rather than on the other side of a fence or out on the street, so I began giving him a treat every time a dog barked at him and he didn't bark back, whether we could see the dog or not.

I am happy to say that over time he has made great progress.  Our walks now are much better.  Gone are the days of me being dragged up someones driveway, or having my shoulder nearly come out of it's socket when a squirrel runs up a tree.  We can now pass dogs on the opposite side of the street and Kino can remain calm, as long as I have a pocket full of treats.

I have however noticed recently that Kino will stare at me while we are walking.  He won't be looking at the road ahead, instead he will have his head turned towards me as we walk down the street.  Each time he does it, I find myself asking him, "Did you do something treat worthy?" and laughing. This past week, I focused in even more and what I heard made me giggle . . . I realized that when a dog inside a house barks, he thinks he should get a treat.  I swear, I can hear his goofy little voice saying, "Umm, mom, that dog just barked at me" and he will continue to stare at me until he gets a treat.

This command has become helpful around the house as well.  One day, there was a ball on the floor in front of me and Kino was staring at the ball and then looking up at me, so I thought I'd kick the ball down the hall for him to chase.  Unfortunately, he decided to pick the ball back up at the exact moment I went to kick it . . . which resulted in a puncture wound on the top of my foot.  Fortunately, I learned rather quickly that if I am going to kick a ball in the house, I need to first say "leave it" and then I can safely kick it without getting a tooth in my foot.

When I drop food on the floor, if I say "leave it" he won't touch it and I can pick it up and eat it, if I feel like honoring the three-second rule.  :-) "Leave it" seems to be the command that has resonated with Kino most, because he always listens when I say it.  I must say, I am quite grateful for the command, as it has made life much easier for Kino and I.

And it also saves lives  . . . because one morning, I opened the back door to let Kino out to go potty and within seconds, I heard barking and high pitched squealing emanating from his vocal chords.  When I ran outside to see what was going on, Kino had a squirrel in his mouth.  I was so freaked out that I am sure plenty of other words came out of my mouth first . . . but eventually I managed to scream "leave it" and he promptly dropped the squirrel.  (and much to my relief, the squirrel ran to safety).

I never thought two little words would have such a big impact on Kino's development but clearly, they are two of the best words I ever learned to say.  If you have a reactive dog, that command is a great addition to your tool kit.