Hi i was just wondering if i teach my shepherd girl the leave it comand ,when we are out on our walks could it be affective in getting her to ignore other dogs and focus on me ? As when we are out there are certain dogs who shout and she has a good shout back .

That is what i do with my girl and it works - with toys, with meeting other dogs out, with food, with anything dropped - it is invaluable. When she first went into her teenaged stage, she 'forgot' she knew leave it, but now she is remembering again and it is great. We taught her with food first, putting food on a chair with her in sit in front, and then covering it and saying 'leave it' and she was only allowed to take the food when she heard 'take it'. Tone of voice is important, so for 'leave it' it has to be serious and deep, but for 'take it' light and cheery. We just took it from there and when she got toy possessive, we used leave it, and now when I walk her and she sees another dog, I tell her leave it before anything even starts and it really helps.

Hi i am glad to hear this, she odes not no this command so we will be learing this for the next few days as i was hopeing that it would help. she is getting a little better when we are out ,long way to go but we will.XXXXX

I use 'leave it' for food mostly, but sometimes when they are trying to go up to another dog - very useful! I also use 'enough' for calling them away after playing, before telling them to come, and also 'watch me' if I think they might be starting to eyeball another dog some way away.

Yes, ebough is brilliant too! We use this when we want to end play or barking (when she barks, when we say enough she stops). We trained this with barking first, by saying it and doing a hand action when she stopped barking and then praising her, and being a shepherd she picked it up very quickly. Watch me is great too. Use food to do this at first, get your dog to do a sit and watch the food, which you hold near your face/eyes. It has helped to stop her getting narky with dogs at puppy class.

Yep.  'Leave it' is very useful for many things.  Once they've got there with the less exciting things they buld up to be able to leave the more exciting things too. If they like to show an interst in people leave it is also good... but some people don't like being referd to as 'it'.  I maybe should have just taught 'leave'. :rolleyes:

We use leave it too and very useful it is, although I have to confess that I often use gentily if they are approaching another dog or a person. Leave it always makes me think of them sitting watching their dinner bowl drooling for England until they are told to 'take it'. 

I found that when I used certain words that to 'us humans' meant what it said, ie: leave it, was a trigger to the dog to do just the opposite. Very cute some of the brainy ones, they catch on quickly. ie: when I said 'look at me', meant they caught on to 'a dog was coming'.  So, 'leave it' could do the same thing unless you get the dog centred on something else very quickly when you say the given command.
I hope I have explained that easily.:-)

It depends on how you teach the dog and what you reward them with - maybe your rewards weren't valuable enough to your dog jummbuck.

Very true - I've seen that many times. Just as bright dogs realise that the smell of 'Antimate' sprays means there's a bitch in season about! They can be too clever by half.

I've been guilty of telling dogs to 'Heel!' when they're pulling - so they learn that 'heel' means 'pull' not 'don't pull'. :rolleyes:

Luke can fixate on another dog the other side of the field and I cannot get his attention back on me at all - or move him without great difficulty. Normally he's very toy obsessed, but when he focuses on another dog he's like the immovable object....(that's when he's on lead.) It's so annoying and I'd love to know how to handle this one He does know "wait" and "leave" but in this situation he's just deaf to everything....:-(

carene, I have always had this problem with mine, but as he has got older he has been less inclined to want to leave me, also i have managed to get him ball obsessed by using 2 balls and a chucker which is an absolute godsend.

I have this problem at the moment because of all the zillions of rabbits around at the moment. Trying to walk safely along the lanes with bunnies scampering all over the place is well-nigh impossible. Even if the dogs can't see them the smell around the warrens must be heaven - and nothing will distract their attention. It's a nightmare - and will only get worse as spring wears on unless someone goes ferretting.

My boy has just started to fix on other dogs. Up to now he's had a perfect recall but he is 12 months old now and I think the hormones have kicked in. Off lead he's always wanted to go play with other dogs... it's hard getting the need for socialising ballance right... but I think I prefer a friendly dog even if that makes some later 'ignore dogs' training more difficult... just my preference.  Right now with most dogs he's getting better at keeping his attenton on me... but when the dogs come up to us and jump on him he slips back into go play with dog mode.  I think we will get there in the end... part of it is them growing up as well as tearing our hair out ( I mean training )

We have been learning 'leave' at our training class and my pup is getting really good at this. However the trainer told us that after saying leave,you GIVE the dog the food rather than say take it.  The reason behind it is that if they are allowed to take the food themselves at the end, they will anticipate this and when it really counts, they could take whatever, expecting the take it command. I have found his really works well.  When I am feeding my horror face, I say 'wait' rather then leave, and then when I'm ready I tell him to take it. But if I say 'leave' when I click he will still wait until I give him either the food used, or pick that up and give him a different bit of food.
Just thought I'd pass this on as I for one, had never really thought about letting the dog take it, or giving it to him at the end of the session.

Hi Digger, you having a dig at me.:-) My rewards were good enough. I was talking generally. :-) All my dogs come when called and do instant downs.

No matter how true it is....Never say that!  Now you  are doomed! :D ;)

Ah, but jumbuck's dogs may well be perfect! ;)

(Unlike those of us whose dogs are only too pleased to make eejits of us when we tempt fate!)

I can tell you i know that feeling well, as long as she does come back (be it like british rail but she gets there in the end) i am happy.

Sadly those that used to are no longer with me, but I have a new one to practise on now. :-) He is only 14 weeks and already doing amazing recalls, all be it indoors and in the garden, despite distractions of birds and other dogs :-)