Dog Eats Everything from the Ground: The "Leave It" Training

Discarded sandwiches, compost, or even poison bait in the worst case – a dog that eats everything outdoors lives dangerously. Anti-hoover training is one of the most important survival skills.

The Goal

Not "never find anything" (impossible), but rather: indicate a find instead of swallowing it – or spit it out on command.

The Structure: "Leave it" in 4 Stages

1. Fist Game: Treat in a closed fist – the dog nudges, licks, eventually gives up and steps back → Marker + Reward from the OTHER hand.
2. Introduce Signal: As soon as stepping back works, add "Leave it".
3. Ground Stage: Treat under your shoe, then openly next to it – rewards are always from your hand, never from the ground.
4. Generalize Outdoors: prepared "finds" on the walking path, first on a leash, later off-leash.

The Golden Rule

Giving up must ALWAYS be more rewarding than the find – jackpot reward, not a dry biscuit. And: Never chase after him if he has something – that starts the prey game. Trade instead of chase.

Impulse control step by step – waiting, staying, leaving – builds on "Hört aufs Wort".