What to do when the dog is being naughty?

[Eleonora]

So, we told in another thread that Lotta is often very naughty and that she doesn't care if my friend asks her not to do something. When Lotta is being naughty she growls at my friend. Then she behaves like a toddler that is in defiant stage which is very funny. :rofl1: When Lotta is growling, she behaves like that girl in this video. She answers everytime by saying NO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xutJWMEFueo

There are two things where my friend would need advice when Lotta is behaving badly:

1) Lotta often plays with my friend's things. She likes to play especially with my friend's bags and rucksacks. We can sometimes try to get it on video. Lotta doesn't listen when she is playing with them. So, my friend often needs to carry her out of there. Then Lotta growls at her. My friend knows that one can pick up smaller things but what about the bigger ones like bags and rucksacks? So, she would like to know how to teach a dog to leave things. She knows that there are instructions and tutorials on how to teach the dog to leave treats or other dogs but how do you teach her/him to leave things?

2) When my friend is going out with Lotta. First she acts silly and doesn't come or runs away. When my friend gets hold of Lotta and starts to put harness on, Lotta starts growling at her. Then Lotta either A behaves like a toddler that doesn't want to put clothes on or B doesn't understand that my friend needs to put harness on so that she can take her out. So, how could she get Lotta to stop growling? Then she behaves like that girl in the video linked above. My friend has seen this tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7edMjwEY1c

However, when Lotta was young and friend would had needed ideas, it seemed that it would had taken too much time. (Then my friend needed to take Lotta out very often...)

When my friend has put harness on Lotta, she starts growling and may bark so that my friend would take her out. How could she get Lotta to stop it? We have told in another thread that ignoring doesn't work with Lotta. Besides, she would think that she doesn't need to go out. My friend does ask Lotta to sit at the door. However, she doesn't always sit or gets up before my friend tells her to. When my friend tells Lotta to sit, she doesn't growl (or bark) anymore.

 

[BostonBullMama]

You teach a dog to leave things the same way you teach them to leave treats.

Have Lotta sit to put the harness on, reward her for being calm while the harness is being put on.

My dogs harness goes on over his head, I use treats to lure his head through the hole and then do up the harness while he finishes his treat.

 

[Maxy24]

You can try bitter apple spray or a homemade gross tasting/smelling spray (make sure all the ingredients are safe...a lot of animals don't like strong citrus scents so that might work) to put on objects you want her to leave alone. Also never leave her unsupervised with the objects, either keep her out of the room or remove the objects she likes to chew. That way the only time she's ever around the objects you can be there to interrupt her when she starts to show interest in them. Then you can redirect her to her own toys.

If you need to remove her try using a slip lead instead of picking her up. A slip lead is a leash that goes on without a collar so it's very easy to put it on quickly. It's like a normal leash except instead of a clasp to go on a collar it just has a metal ring. The leash handle goes through the metal ring creating a loop which goes over the dog's head. If you pull on the handle the loop tightens around the neck. If you google it you'll be able to see lots of pictures. Using a slip lead instead of picking her up is less confrontational so she's less likely to be aggressive.



As for putting her harness on I'd try to teach her to sit still using treats. Instead of chasing her around teach her to come target your hand or put her head through the harness hole for a treat.

 

[Eleonora]

You can try bitter apple spray or a homemade gross tasting/smelling spray (make sure all the ingredients are safe...a lot of animals don't like strong citrus scents so that might work) to put on objects you want her to leave alone. Also never leave her unsupervised with the objects, either keep her out of the room or remove the objects she likes to chew. That way the only time she's ever around the objects you can be there to interrupt her when she starts to show interest in them. Then you can redirect her to her own toys.

My friend once tried some spray but it didn't work. (Also I have tried some sprays but they didn't work with my dog either. Neither did chili, tabasco etc.)

My friend knows that one can pick up smaller things but what about the bigger ones like bags and rucksacks? So, how would you teach the dog to leave things that are not hers/his? My friend just tried searching on youtube for tutorials about this. However, she found only ones on how to teach the dog to leave treats or other dogs. Since my friend couldn't find a tutorial, she thought if one of you was willing to make one.

If you need to remove her try using a slip lead instead of picking her up. A slip lead is a leash that goes on without a collar so it's very easy to put it on quickly.......//...... Using a slip lead instead of picking her up is less confrontational so she's less likely to be aggressive.

My friend knows what kind of lead you are talking about. She can try what you have suggested.

Lotta is not aggressive. She's a very nice dog. Lotta growls at my friend because she behaves like a toddler that is in defiant stage. When Lotta is growling, she behaves like that girl in this video. She answers everytime by saying NO (we weren't able to embed it earlier):
[YOUTUBE]xutJWMEFueo[/YOUTUBE]

As for putting her harness on I'd try to teach her to sit still using treats. Instead of chasing her around teach her to come target your hand or put her head through the harness hole for a treat.

My friend can teach Lotta to come on cue but she has some questions about it. She would rather put them in this thread we had once created: Recall

Have Lotta sit to put the harness on, reward her for being calm while the harness is being put on.

My dogs harness goes on over his head, I use treats to lure his head through the hole and then do up the harness while he finishes his treat.

My friend can try what you have suggested except she's not sure if she can ask Lotta to sit since she has this kind of harness: http://www.petenkoiratarvike.com/koirat/tuote/y-valjaat-fusion-touring-musta-oranssi/51189/

When my friend has put harness on Lotta, she starts growling and may bark so that my friend would take her out. How could she get Lotta to stop it? Like we told, ignoring doesn't work with Lotta. Besides, she would think that she doesn't need to go out.

 

[Maxy24]

If you cannot put the bag away then you must confine the dog away from the bag when you cannot supervise (keep her in a different room). When you are there to supervise if you see her beginning to chew or show interest in the bag you can startle her (clap, make kissy noises, stomp your foot, anything that grabs her attention) and then call her over and entice her to play with one of her own toys. If she does not come over or tries to go back to the bag you can body block her (stand in front of her, between her and the bag, and walk towards her so she backs away, not letting her go around you and get back to the bag). Continue blocking her until she gives up trying to get to the bag, then once again try and get her to play with or chew her own toys. You may have to repeat this several times for her to understand that she cannot go play with the bag. Alternatively you could slip the slip lead on her and move her away from the bag, then redirect her to a toy and use the leash to make sure she can't get back to the bag until you're sure she's given up trying. I find blocking works better, but some people might have trouble if their dog is very fast or agile. I would make a video but my dog really doesn't go after many objects, especially nothing large. I could try doing a video with a tissue (he loves tissues) but it won't work quite the same because if I actually let him get close to the tissue he'll grab it and run. I'll see if I can think of something or find a video online.


As for spray, sometimes a strong scent is more important than a strong taste. If you know of any scents your dog dislikes try to find a spray with that scent. I'm lucky because my dog has a very sensitive nose. I can use citrus sprays or vinegar (especially apple cider vinegar) to keep away from anything.


You can also teach her a leave it command starting with food (these are the videos you've probably seen). You can then practice with other objects, start with small things you can cover or pick up and then later move on to bigger objects (if she ignores the command you can body block her).


For the harness you can have her sit while you put the head part on, then have her stand so you can buckle the sides. Or you can train her to slide her head in voluntarily.
I can make a video of teaching a dog to stay still for the harness, Tucker dislikes having his harness put on too. At this point he knows he has to put it on if he wants to go out so eventually he does come and slip his head in, but I could teach him to stay still so I can make a video for you.


As for getting excited and barking, how long have you tried waiting/ignoring? You may have to stand there for several minutes but I'd think most dogs will eventually be quiet, if only for a second. As soon as she's quiet start towards the door and as soon as she makes noise again stop moving. If simply standing and waiting for quiet does not work you can try "penalty yards". Basically when she barks move away from the door and when she's quiet move towards the door until you are able to walk out. You could also have her follow commands as you go towards the door which may keep her quiet. Things like targeting your hand as you walk, having to sit every few steps, or doing a well trained heel might keep her quiet.

 

[Steve Wisley]

Sometimes dogs just don't like things being put over their heads. You can either train her to accept the harness or they do make harnesses that they step into and buckle over the top. As for being naughty, that is just a matter of training her what is acceptable and what is not.

 

[Eleonora]

My friend could tell you more about other things later but she thought that she would comment two things first:

I would make a video but my dog really doesn't go after many objects, especially nothing large. I could try doing a video with a tissue (he loves tissues) but it won't work quite the same because if I actually let him get close to the tissue he'll grab it and run. I'll see if I can think of something or find a video online.

You could still make such a video because my friend had forgotten to tell you that Lotta also steals tissues.

For the harness you can have her sit while you put the head part on, then have her stand so you can buckle the sides. Or you can train her to slide her head in voluntarily.
I can make a video of teaching a dog to stay still for the harness, Tucker dislikes having his harness put on too. At this point he knows he has to put it on if he wants to go out so eventually he does come and slip his head in, but I could teach him to stay still so I can make a video for you.

So we have told that Lotta growls when my friend is putting the harness on. She doesn't do it because she would be anxious. Lotta growls since she behaves like a toddler that is in defiant stage. So, my friend has this question: could she feed Lotta treats when she lets my friend to put the harness on also when she's growling?

 

[Eleonora]

If you cannot put the bag away then you must confine the dog away from the bag when you cannot supervise (keep her in a different room). When you are there to supervise if you see her beginning to chew or show interest in the bag you can startle her (clap, make kissy noises, stomp your foot, anything that grabs her attention) and then call her over and entice her to play with one of her own toys. If she does not come over or tries to go back to the bag you can body block her (stand in front of her, between her and the bag, and walk towards her so she backs away, not letting her go around you and get back to the bag). Continue blocking her until she gives up trying to get to the bag, then once again try and get her to play with or chew her own toys. You may have to repeat this several times for her to understand that she cannot go play with the bag. Alternatively you could slip the slip lead on her and move her away from the bag, then redirect her to a toy and use the leash to make sure she can't get back to the bag until you're sure she's given up trying. I find blocking works better, but some people might have trouble if their dog is very fast or agile.

First of all, when Lotta is playing with my friend's rucksack she may concentrate on it so much that she may not react if my friend says something. She is not sure yet what Lotta would do if she went and tried standing betweeen Lotta and the rucksack. If my friend gives her a toy, she may play with it for a while and go back to playing with the rucksack. So, it would be better to teach Lotta to leave that rucksack. You had suggested that you could make a video where you would be teaching your dog to leave tissues. We told that you could make such a video because my friend had forgotten to tell you that also Lotta steals tissues.

As for getting excited and barking, how long have you tried waiting/ignoring? You may have to stand there for several minutes but I'd think most dogs will eventually be quiet, if only for a second. As soon as she's quiet start towards the door and as soon as she makes noise again stop moving. If simply standing and waiting for quiet does not work you can try "penalty yards". Basically when she barks move away from the door and when she's quiet move towards the door until you are able to walk out. You could also have her follow commands as you go towards the door which may keep her quiet. Things like targeting your hand as you walk, having to sit every few steps, or doing a well trained heel might keep her quiet.

We have told that ignoring doesn't work with Lotta. This is a shorter version of a video we had linked in another thread:


As you can see, Lotta thinks it's a game if my friend turns around. She just goes to the other side. My friend can try those other things you had suggested.

So, when Lotta is growling when my friend is putting the harness on, she doesn't do it because she would be anxious. Lotta growls since she behaves like a toddler that is in defiant stage. You had suggested to give Lotta treats when my friend is putting the harness on her. So, my friend has this question: could she feed Lotta treats when she lets my friend to put the harness on also when she's growling?

About growling: This is not only about Lotta but we just heard that Cavaliers like to make a scene and tell you loud and clearly when they want something (or doesn't want something to be done). My friend just found a video about it:
[YOUTUBE]XJfxR23uhIw[/YOUTUBE]

They are not always that loud though.

 

[Doberluv]

So, my friend has this question: could she feed Lotta treats when she lets my friend to put the harness on also when she's growling?

Yes! You might want to condition it slowly if she's really that agitated. Put it up but not over her head yet...feed. Then a little more as she tolerates the last thing. Use really high value treats...steak, chicken, pork. Try to practice when she's a bit hungry...just before meal time for instance. Make it into a game...be cheery and silly. Up with the harness, down, up, down and praise for reaching through the loop with her head to get the treat.

Growling is only a communication. You're objective here is to make a positive association between the harness going over her head and the treats...making the harness over the head go from a bad thing to a good thing.

The Kleenex stealing could become a trick. Teach her to retrieve and bring you the Kleenex when you sneeze. lol.

Look online for any Kikopup videos on training...leave it, sit, stay, you name it. She's excellent!!!

 

[Maxy24]

So we have told that Lotta growls when my friend is putting the harness on. She doesn't do it because she would be anxious. Lotta growls since she behaves like a toddler that is in defiant stage. So, my friend has this question: could she feed Lotta treats when she lets my friend to put the harness on also when she's growling?

Yes, you can still give treats if she's growling. Your goal is to make her like having the harness put on, right now she doesn't like it but if she gets treats while you put it on that should help change her mind.

I've been working on a video of teaching my dog to put his head in his harness himself but he's taking a while to get it. It might be easier just to teach Lotta to sit still while you're putting the harness over her head, then teach her to stand still while you buckle the sides.

First of all, when Lotta is playing with my friend's rucksack she may concentrate on it so much that she may not react if my friend says something. She is not sure yet what Lotta would do if she went and tried standing betweeen Lotta and the rucksack. If my friend gives her a toy, she may play with it for a while and go back to playing with the rucksack. So, it would be better to teach Lotta to leave that rucksack.

Definitely try the body blocking, but try not to push her with your feet because she may get protective. Body blocking is great to teach a dog to leave something alone. It's good that she will play with the toy, if she goes back to the rucksack you should immediately get up and block her and redirect her back to the toy again. Even if she doesn't want the toy that's okay, just keep her away from the rucksack with your body every time she tries to get to it. This will teach her to leave the rucksack alone. If every single time she tries to play with it you block her away she'll eventually give up and learn she can't play with it. You just have to make sure she NEVER gets to play with it successfully, you need to stop her every time.

You had suggested that you could make a video where you would be teaching your dog to leave tissues. We told that you could make such a video because my friend had forgotten to tell you that also Lotta steals tissues.

I can make a "leave it" type video using tissues, not sure how he'll respond though, he might understand right away since he's already learned leave it on other stuff before. It would be just the same as using food though. I'll try to get some body blocking in the video as well. I actually taught him not to steal tissues off of the coffee table with a squirt bottle, but he still takes them if they're left on a chair or fall on the floor (though I don't really care, they're harmless and cheap).

 

[Eleonora]

The Kleenex stealing could become a trick. Teach her to retrieve and bring you the Kleenex when you sneeze. lol.

Look online for any Kikopup videos on training...leave it, sit, stay, you name it. She's excellent!!!

My friend has seen Kikopup's tutorials. She could not teach Lotta to bring her a tissue because she rips them. She also tries to eat them. :rofl1:

Yes! You might want to condition it slowly if she's really that agitated. Put it up but not over her head yet...feed. Then a little more as she tolerates the last thing. Use really high value treats...steak, chicken, pork. Try to practice when she's a bit hungry...just before meal time for instance. Make it into a game...be cheery and silly. Up with the harness, down, up, down and praise for reaching through the loop with her head to get the treat.

Growling is only a communication. You're objective here is to make a positive association between the harness going over her head and the treats...making the harness over the head go from a bad thing to a good thing.

Are you saying that when Lotta is growling when my friend is putting the harness on, she would be doing it because she would be anxious? My friend is not sure if that is what you really thought but if it is, that's not the reason Lotta is growling. She growls since she behaves like a toddler that is in defiant stage. We have just written about Lotta's growling also in this thread: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels...

Yes, you can still give treats if she's growling. Your goal is to make her like having the harness put on, right now she doesn't like it but if she gets treats while you put it on that should help change her mind.

I've been working on a video of teaching my dog to put his head in his harness himself but he's taking a while to get it. It might be easier just to teach Lotta to sit still while you're putting the harness over her head, then teach her to stand still while you buckle the sides.

My friend can try to give her treats when she's putting the harness on her. She has forgotten to tell you about this: Lotta does put her head through the harness or at least lets my friend to do it although she's growling then.

My friend has also forgotten to tell you about this: when my friend has put the harness on Lotta, she starts acting silly: she starts growling when my friend start taking the leash in her hand. Then Lotta often starts pawing at her. She may also start spinning around. So, how could my friend get Lotta to stop growling and acting silly when she starts taking the leash in her hand?

 

[Dekka]

Why is it silly for the dog to be excited?

Why not just reward the dog for what you want. Ie ignore the excited (not silly, that is a bit insulting I think to your friend and dog's relationship. It NICE that the dog is that excited, just not wanted. Its like calling a kid silly when they are super excited to spend time with you. Unless of course you don't think the dog should be excited to go out and do things with your friend...)

So put stuff on and then ignore dog until she sits or does what ever you wish the default behaviour to be and then reward it. Make sure even the smallest hint of what is wanted is rewarded.

As an aside you can train her not to eat/chew tissues. Dekka has been known to retrieve hot dog weiners and not chew/eat them. And she loves hot dogs.

I have said this before but I bet if you stop thinking the dog as being silly etc your friend will have a lot more success training. IME clients who think this way often have a harder time being objective when training. Also forget thinking how to stop behaviours vs how to get behaviours. So instead of thinking how to get Lola to stop X think about how to get her to do what it is you want. That gives you something positive to work towards and is often much more straight forward to work on.

 

[Eleonora]

Why is it silly for the dog to be excited?

Why not just reward the dog for what you want. Ie ignore the excited (not silly, that is a bit insulting I think to your friend and dog's relationship. It NICE that the dog is that excited, just not wanted. Its like calling a kid silly when they are super excited to spend time with you. Unless of course you don't think the dog should be excited to go out and do things with your friend...)

So put stuff on and then ignore dog until she sits or does what ever you wish the default behaviour to be and then reward it. Make sure even the smallest hint of what is wanted is rewarded.

As an aside you can train her not to eat/chew tissues. Dekka has been known to retrieve hot dog weiners and not chew/eat them. And she loves hot dogs.

I have said this before but I bet if you stop thinking the dog as being silly etc your friend will have a lot more success training. IME clients who think this way often have a harder time being objective when training. Also forget thinking how to stop behaviours vs how to get behaviours. So instead of thinking how to get Lola to stop X think about how to get her to do what it is you want. That gives you something positive to work towards and is often much more straight forward to work on.

First of all, the majority of what we have written in this forum is my friend's thoughts/opinions. I just write what my friend is saying/thinking, they are not my opinions...

Besides, "silly" means in finnish "funny" and my friend didn't know that in english it would mean also "stupid". When my friend has said that Lotta is silly, she has meant that she is funny.

The reason my friend has asked for advice how to teach Lotta to leave things is that she hasn't find that information herself. They talk in tutorials mostly about how to teach the dog to leave food.

When my friend has asked for advice on how to get Lotta to stop acting silly when she's going to go out with her, she also would like to know what she could teach Lotta to do instead. Ignoring doesn't work with this. We can tell you more about it. My friend would still like to know how she could get Lotta to stay calm when she is taking the leash in her hand.

 

[amberdyan]

When my friend has asked for advice on how to get Lotta to stop acting silly when she's going to go out with her, she also would like to know what she could teach Lotta to do instead. Ignoring doesn't work with this. We can tell you more about it. My friend would still like to know how she could get Lotta to stay calm when she is taking the leash in her hand.

You have been given some really good information on this, but I'm going to try to break it down in steps. You say that ignoring Lotta's excitement does not work. That's possible, because once you pick up the leash she may be so excited that she is "over threshold", meaning she is so amped up that she is not in a good place to learn. It is very hard for her to learn when she is that excited, so you need to teach her when she is "under threshold."

First, when does Lotta seem to notice that you're going some where? Is it when you approach the area the leash is kept? Is it when your hand touches the leash? You need to figure out when NOTICES that something good might be happening (look for her perking up) but stop BEFORE she gets super excited. That's the emotional state you want Lotta to be in while you work with her.

Once you know you're in that "zone," wait until Lotta gives calm behavior. Maybe she sits, maybe she gives you eye contact, maybe she's just standing still. Any calm behavior that you like should be rewarded. As she gets better at it, only reward for VERY calm behavior.

Once she gets good at it where you are, move a little closer to the leash and completely start over- rewarding for ANY calm behavior. Eventually she will understand that good things happen if she's calm.

I'll restate the process by giving you an example with my dog. Hugo used to get SUPER excited whenever he saw another dog because he really wanted to play. We practiced by going to the dog park on leash and being REALLY far away from the other dogs. So far away that he could see the dogs and noticed them, but wasn't too excited. I gave him treats for being calm and focusing on me. Once he was completely ignoring the other dogs, we took five steps closer and started over. Now Hugo is much better at focusing when we're near other dogs and he will come back to me if I call even if he is playing with other dogs.

I hope this helps.

 

[Dekka]

First of all, the majority of what we have written in this forum is my friend's thoughts/opinions. I just write what my friend is saying/thinking, they are not my opinions...

I know its not you personally. But when one replies to threads often the 'generic' you gets used, not specifically you. Its a lot easier to read and understand as well as easier to write.

Foolish is a better synonym to silly than stupid.

Amberdyan gave you some great advice. You need to get to a point where ignoring the behaviour works. If ignoring isn't working then step back till it does. If the dog is that worked up she isn't likely going to be learning well.

Try teaching calm self control in a boring environment and then use that when she starts to get excited.

 

[Eleonora]

I know its not you personally. But when one replies to threads often the 'generic' you gets used, not specifically you. Its a lot easier to read and understand as well as easier to write.

Foolish is a better synonym to silly than stupid.

Amberdyan gave you some great advice. You need to get to a point where ignoring the behaviour works. If ignoring isn't working then step back till it does. If the dog is that worked up she isn't likely going to be learning well.

Try teaching calm self control in a boring environment and then use that when she starts to get excited.

First of all, my friend may have misread one of your previous messages. Actually, we often use "you" ourselves in our messages. So, maybe my friend didn't notice that you weren't talking only about her or us.

Like we told, my friend didn't know earlier that "silly" means also "stupid". She has read about it in this dictionary page. She didn't know either that it would mean also "foolish". Like we told earlier "silly" means in finnish "funny". When my friend has said that Lotta is silly, she has meant that she is funny. So, can my friend still call Lotta "silly" if she means "funny"?

We wrote in the previous message that we can tell you more why ignoring doesn't work in this case. These are the reasons:
1) Lotta often stares at my friend.
2) Like we have told earlier, Lotta thinks it's a game if my friend turns around. We had linked a video about it in this thread.
3) Lotta might start to think that if my friend tried ignoring her, she would start thinking that she would go out without her.

My friend can try other things suggested although ignoring doesn't work.

Does anyone still have any ideas how to teach the dog to leave things?

 

[BostonBullMama]

I don't see a problem with calling your dog silly.

Why is that a problem? opcorn:


Teach your dog to leave things:

1) Find a thing (toy for beginners)
2) Bring your dog, on leash, passed the 'thing'
3) As you pass, allow your dog to sniff the 'thing'
4) Cue "Leave it" and continue to pass the 'thing' - click + treat.

Repeat.

When dog is successfully leaving the beginner 'thing', upgrade to something of higher value.

 

[MilliesMom]

You have been given some really good information on this, but I'm going to try to break it down in steps. You say that ignoring Lotta's excitement does not work. That's possible, because once you pick up the leash she may be so excited that she is "over threshold", meaning she is so amped up that she is not in a good place to learn. It is very hard for her to learn when she is that excited, so you need to teach her when she is "under threshold."

First, when does Lotta seem to notice that you're going some where? Is it when you approach the area the leash is kept? Is it when your hand touches the leash? You need to figure out when NOTICES that something good might be happening (look for her perking up) but stop BEFORE she gets super excited. That's the emotional state you want Lotta to be in while you work with her.

Once you know you're in that "zone," wait until Lotta gives calm behavior. Maybe she sits, maybe she gives you eye contact, maybe she's just standing still. Any calm behavior that you like should be rewarded. As she gets better at it, only reward for VERY calm behavior.

Once she gets good at it where you are, move a little closer to the leash and completely start over- rewarding for ANY calm behavior. Eventually she will understand that good things happen if she's calm.

I'll restate the process by giving you an example with my dog. Hugo used to get SUPER excited whenever he saw another dog because he really wanted to play. We practiced by going to the dog park on leash and being REALLY far away from the other dogs. So far away that he could see the dogs and noticed them, but wasn't too excited. I gave him treats for being calm and focusing on me. Once he was completely ignoring the other dogs, we took five steps closer and started over. Now Hugo is much better at focusing when we're near other dogs and he will come back to me if I call even if he is playing with other dogs.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the step-by-step, I'm going to give this a shot on my three.

 

[Eleonora]

Teach your dog to leave things:

1) Find a thing (toy for beginners)
2) Bring your dog, on leash, passed the 'thing'
3) As you pass, allow your dog to sniff the 'thing'
4) Cue "Leave it" and continue to pass the 'thing' - click + treat.

Repeat.

When dog is successfully leaving the beginner 'thing', upgrade to something of higher value.

My friend can try that.

Thanks for the step-by-step, I'm going to give this a shot on my three.

My friend can also try what amberdyan had suggested. :thumbup: So, she can try things suggested in this thread. It may take some time...