"Drop It" Part I: Why you need it

Earlier this week, Oakley (my rottweiler) disappeared into the bush for a few minutes and came back crunching on something that sounded like bone.  He looked pretty proud of himself, but I knew it was probably something I didn't want him to have - and likely something I didn't want to touch!  We weren't far from home anyways, so I let him carry it home so I could a) grab a really high value reward (lunch meat) to give him if he dropped it/trade for if he didn't just offer the drop in the first place; and b) grab a few plastic bags to pick the item up with after he dropped it.  He spit it out willingly and scored some meat and if you want to see what he spit out, click the button below - WARNING if you don't want to see a dead animal part, don't click the button!

EEEEW!

One thing I've found with my dogs (and dogs in general) is that they really aren't grossed out by anything; in fact, the nastier something is to us humans, the more valuable it usually is to the dog.  Most of these nasty things turn up when we aren't prepared and they usually aren't things we regularly practice asking our dogs to drop, which is why it's a good idea to build your "drop it" cue with a higher value items and practice it regularly with a variety of items so it's there when you need it.  I will be discussing in Part II how to get a reliable drop it cue, but for this post I am just going to say if you don't have a good drop cue, trading for something higher value is going to give you best results.

What not to do:

1. Don't panic - if you start acting crazy or angry, your dog is more likely to get scared and/or defensive, which is not going to help anything.  The calmer you can be, the better your dog will respond to you.
2. Don't run at your dog - this is a common human reaction, which usually either scares the dog and they will run from you out of fear or get defensive, OR it can turn the whole ordeal into a big game of keep-away, which is really fun for the dog but not so much for you.
3. Don't yell at your dog - many people try to startle the dog by yelling/shouting, but yelling/shouting often does nothing more than make you look like you're barking at and challenging/threatening your dog, which usually results in the dog displaying defensive behaviour.  Remember that dog's don't speak English but they do use vocalizations.  Therefore, the way you say things often means more to the dog than what you say.
4. Don't continue to approach your dog if it is stiffening, growling or showing its teeth.  These are your early warning signs and if you keep going, you're likely going to get bit.  Also, if you punish your dog for giving these warning signs you are likely to have the dog escalate to harsher displays/aggressive behaviour if not this time then in future incidences.  Please consult a qualified positive reinforcement trainer for hands-on help if this is happening.  This post is NOT intended as a fix in resource guarding cases.
   

All of the above scenarios can be avoided by having a reliable drop it cue.  You will be less likely to panic, run at your dog and shout if you are confident that your dog will drop items on command.  You also won't give your dog a chance to turn it into a game of chase if you teach them to drop items on command (they younger they learn it and less chances they have to turn it into a game of chase, the better).  Lastly if your dog is happy to drop items and is expecting to get something better in return, they won't be guarding items in the first place.

Any time you try to take something from your dog while trying to use intimidation you are creating a negative association with the situation, and the next time it happens you will likely see more avoidance and/or defensive behaviour, which will cause it to become harder to get items away each time.  The reason I have mentioned to trade for something higher value is that you want the dog to be happy to give the item up - dogs don't guard things when they know they are going to get something better.  They do appear to guard more fiercely when they are being defensive and have a negative association with having things taken away.  Many owners don't realize that they actually create or exacerbate guarding behaviour by punishing or intimidating their dogs.  Once again please consult a qualified positive reinforcement trainer for hands-on help if you are seeing guarding behaviour.  This post is NOT intended as a fix in resource guarding cases.

Check back soon for "Drop It" Part II: How to get it!