The Bulldog breed was developed for the sport of bull baiting in which a dog competed with other dogs to grab a bull by the nose and pin him to the ground. To maximize performance in this area, the Bulldog was bred for his stocky but muscular build as well as his impressive bite strength. Because the Bulldog has so much strength in his jaws, it can be difficult to wrestle a toy away from him. For this reason, you should think about teaching your dog a “drop it” command instead.

First Steps for Training a Dog to Leave It

Before you can teach your dog to drop something on command and to leave it alone, you should start by teaching him to leave something alone when you tell him to. Start out by sitting on the floor in front of your Bulldog with a treat in both fists. Tell your Bulldog to “leave it” and let him sniff one of your hands – wait until he looks away and then praise him and reward him with a treat from the other hand. Keep repeating this sequence until your dog stops trying to get the treat away from you when he sees it. Next, keep treats in both hands and tell your dog to “leave it” but open your hand so he can see the treat – if he tries to grab it, close the hand. Repeat this several times until your dog doesn’t react when he sees the treat. Praise him and reward him for this.

Once your dog responds consistently in the desired way, try the training sequence by putting the treat on the floor instead of in your hand. Again, tell your dog to “leave it” and praise and reward him if he leaves it alone. If your dog tried to get the treat, cover it with your hand or foot. You can further reinforce this command by putting your dog on a leash and walking him by a treat on the floor – tell him to “leave it” and praise and reward him accordingly. You can also try it with more appealing treats like pieces of a hotdog or something else your dog really likes.

Moving on to the Drop It Command

After your dog has gotten the hang of the “leave it” command you can teach him to open his mouth on command so you can take something from him. Start by gathering a few objects your dog really likes to chew on as well as a handful of small treats. Keep a treat in one hand and use the other to entice your dog to chew one of the items – when he has the object in his mouth, move the treat very close to his nose and say “drop it”. When your dog opens his mouth, praise him and give him the treat as you take the object away. Repeat this sequence until your dog starts to automatically open his mouth when you say “drop it” – at this point you can start phasing out the food rewards.

With time and patience, you can teach your dog to do just about anything. Before you start working with your dog to teach him amusing tricks, however, you should focus on mastering basic obedience as well as some other useful commands like “drop it” and “leave it”.

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