Puppygarten class #2 Leaveit

Lucy and Halle arrived just as Kathy was bringing me in from the parking lot. First Nikki, our teacher, had us demonstrate Look and Sit. Then she started to explain Leaveit, which is a safety command. There are things that poisonous to dogs and even more things that are poisonous to puppies. There are also things that are valuable and should not be used as chewtoys like the family silver, china, or an embroidered Chinese had knotted rug.

Nikki had two systems for Leaveit and she broke the first system into three phases. The discerning canine will note that is three times the treats.

In phase one, she taught Stephen and Kathy to take the Leaveit object, t(he object the pack does not want me to touch or chew), in one hand and put a treat, (yum), in the other hand. They put the two hands at my eye level so I could see them well. Naturally, I went for the treat, and they said "Good Leaveit". Shoots pack, I can do this all day long.

In phase two, Kathy put the Leavit object in one hand and hide the hand with the treat behind her back. If I didn't go for the object, she rewarded me with the treat and said, "Good Leaveit".

In phase three, Stephen put the object on the floor. It was a Carob cookie that looks for all the world like a Chocolate chip cookie. It was really hard to resist, in fact I did not do very well. This is when Nikki taught the second system.

She put that lovely cookie on the floor and when I tried to get it she would block me with her legs and made jokes about dog soccer whatever that means. Eventually I got frustrated and sat, (if you are in Puppygarten, sit is a good bet to score a treat). As soon as I sat, Nikki said "Good Leaveit" and gave me a treat.