The Dog Behavior Answer Book - Arden Moore [53]
Ignoring Temptation
Q My elderly mother lives with us and needs to take medication for her heart and for high blood pressure. I worry that she may accidentally drop a pill on the floor and Pebbles, my pug, will think it’s food, eat it, and get sick. Pebbles constantly has her nose to the ground, trying to sniff out anything edible. Is there any way I can teach her not to eat something she shouldn’t?
A You are right to be concerned about Pebbles accidentally mistaking a pill for a food find. With her small size, she could become very sick and possibly even die from swallowing human medication. However, it is canine nature to explore using the nose and the mouth. After all, our thumbless dogs can’t pick up a tempting object in their paws and scrutinize it. They are designed to sniff and sample.
It is far better to be safe and prepared by teaching your dog to leave it and drop it. These behaviors work in partnership, so think of them as the Dynamic Duo for Dog Safety. They are effective whenever you need your dog to ignore something within reach or to release something already in her mouth, such as the TV remote or a bottle of pills.
To begin, put Pebbles on a leash and practice in a quiet room in your house to avoid other distractions. Teach her to leave it first. Your mission is to stop her before she can put the object in her mouth. Put a treat in your hand and make a fist. Without her knowing, hide a second treat nearby. Let Pebbles smell your hand. She will probably lick your hand, paw at it, and try to get you to surrender the treat to her. Practice some patience. Wait for her to give up and stop pawing at your closed hand for a few seconds. Then, praise her and hand over the hidden treat. Repeat this until Pebbles catches on that by honoring your leave it request, she gets the goodies.
Then you can up the ante. Put Pebbles on a leash and bring out two types of treats: so-so and delicious. Drop a piece or two of the so-so treat on the ground in front of Pebbles and tell her to leave it. Restrain her with the leash if necessary. Once she ignores the temptation, hand over a few of the better treats to her and praise her. Practice this often on your walks to reinforce the desired behavior in different situations.
Next, teach the drop it command. Start by enticing Pebbles with one of her B-list toys. Let her put the toy in her mouth and play with it for a minute or so and then show her one of her all-time favorite toys or a yummy treat. As soon as she opens her mouth, say drop it. You are pairing the phrase drop it with the behavior — releasing the toy from her mouth. Praise her when she lets go of the toy and approaches you to take the new treat. Vary the objects (always getting her to trade up to a more desirable object) to expand her understanding of the drop it request.
These phrases should be in every dog owner’s repertoire. My neighbor Flo can testify to how valuable it is to master these commands. Buddy, her miniature schnauzer, likes to steal household objects and stash them in his bed. To him, it’s a game. To Flo, it’s a crime. One day, Flo accidentally left her hearing aid on the end table. Buddy quickly confiscated it and started to dash off. Instead of giving chase, Flo told Buddy to drop it in a calm tone. He did immediately and then sat. Her hearing aid was unharmed and Buddy got rewarded with a special food treat — not for stealing