The Most Common “Leave It” Mistake Dog Owners Make in Dog Training and Puppy Training

Teaching your dog a reliable “leave it” cue can be a lifesaving skill. Whether it’s food dropped on the pavement, rubbish on a walk, or something potentially dangerous, a strong leave-it behaviour helps keep your dog safe.

However, one of the most common mistakes I see in training sessions at Help with Hounds is how the reward is used during the exercise.

Many owners ask their dog to “leave it”… and then allow the dog to have the item they were told to ignore as the reward.

While this might seem logical at first, it can actually weaken the behaviour you’re trying to teach.

From a learning perspective, your dog isn’t developing real impulse control. Instead, they’re learning a different pattern: “wait for a moment, then I still get the thing.”

In everyday life, that’s rarely what we want. When you ask your dog to leave something, it’s usually because it’s something they should never pick up or engage with.

Common real-world examples include:

🚫 Food dropped on the ground

🚫 Something potentially dangerous

🚫 Wildlife, rubbish, or another dog

A strong “leave it” should mean your dog disengages from the item completely and chooses something better instead.

That’s why the reward should come from you, not from the item itself. By doing this, you reinforce the idea that ignoring the object leads to something more valuable.

Effective rewards might include:

✔️ A high-value treat from you

✔️ Praise and interaction

✔️ A quick game or play session

✔️ Access to something appropriate instead

When trained this way, your dog learns that turning away from temptation pays off, which builds genuine impulse control and reliability.

At Help with Hounds, we focus on practical training skills that hold up in real life — not just in controlled training exercises.

Based in Coggeshall, Essex, we provide in-person dog behaviour and training sessions across Mid and North Essex, as well as online consultations for dog owners throughout the UK.

🐶 Does your dog have a reliable “leave it”?