How to Train Your Dog Not to Eat Things on Walks

1 Overview

To train ‘leave it’, use a prong (P) chain as an aid. During the process, note how to fit the leash and the timing of correction and reward.

First, how to operate: after setting up the food zone, fit the dog with the P-chain and leash. How you fit it matters – the correct way is that the side you hold faces your direction.

With the P-chain on, lead the dog past the food zone on the leash. If it sniffs the ground food or rushes at it, jerk the leash to pressure it and stop the eating. Once it stops because of your block, move it past right away.

Remember not to reward in this phase; if you do, the dog thinks eating ground food then being stopped earns a reward, causing it to eat ground food often.

After stopping it, lead it past again. If it does NOT eat the ground food, take a treat from yourself and reward it. With this method the dog learns that eating ground food brings pressure and no food, but NOT eating earns better food – correcting the scavenging.

The above is how to correct ground scavenging. During training, vary the food (not one type) and switch scenes. Also, do not drop food on the ground for it in daily life.