Day 3 Dog Training Challenge: Drop
(Trainer Taylor)
LET'S TRAIN!
So what's in store for today?
For today's challenge, we're going to give you a practical skill - potentially a lifesaving one, too!
We're going to teach your dog how to drop ANY item on cue.
Would you believe that at the end of this video, the dog drops a hot dog? A REAL, WHOLE HOT DOG. I totally just gave away the ending, but you've really got to see it for yourself!
And yes, your dog can do this too. Seriously. They can do it. Just be sure you're following the steps exactly as we lay them out!
This challenge is a challenge of YOUR patience. The first step of this challenge is working with absolutely nothing in your dog's mouth, and it can be tempting to jump the gun and start trying this out with items in their mouth.
But we have to first create a STRONG association between the word "drop" and something fantastic coming from you. That's the pixie dust, and you have to really dig into that step before you can wave your magic wand to get your dog to really drop those high-value items.
And like everything else, once your dog is proficient at dropping items, you'll practice this at random - different times, locations, items, etc. That way it doesn't feel like training!
Huge thanks to Chirag Patel for this excellent training protocol.
Note: If you have a dog with any history of human-directed aggression around food or toys, please toss your food well away from the item, skip the step of pointing out the pieces of food on the ground, and exercise caution when picking up the dropped item.
Level Up: What Can Your Dog Drop?
It's ok if you don't get to this step for even a few days after we post this video. We don't want you to rush it!
Only once you 1) create a strong word association and 2) have success with your dog dropping low-value items should you move to more exciting items.
But once you're ready, we'd love to see what your dog can drop!
(This video is part of our 14-Day Dog Training and Enrichment Challenge - check out the rest of the playlist for all 14 days of videos!)
