Training "Give"

For my last blog post, I taught my dog, Gracie, how to roll over. A pretty useless trick. This time I decided if I am going to teach her something it should be useful. One thing that will definitely be useful is to teach her how to "drop it."  I was hopeful that this would help when she takes random objects and runs around the house so we'll chase her. I used 101 Dog Tricks by Kyra Sundance to help me with this. Before I began, I took her for a walk to release some energy, then started training.

Sundance demonstrates that you first find out if your dog is more motivated by toys or treats (26). I know Gracie is more motivated by treats, so that's what I used, first trying to get her to drop a toy. The author adds, "While your dog has a toy in his mouth, tell him to 'give' and offer him a treat in exchange for the toy" (26). This part was pretty easy because Gracie was more interested in the toy than the treat. The hard part is getting her to recognize the command 'give' and doing it without a treat, but that will take some more training and time.



Although Gracie has not mastered this trick yet, the book 101 Dog Tricks was a good starting off point. I think with more time spent on this trick, we'll no longer have to chase Gracie around the house all the time. If you have a pet, how long does it usually take them to master a new trick?