drop it/give not working any more ...

hi
some advice please - Buddy has always had a tendency to want what is not his , but we have always managed to get back whatever he has by getting him to sit and saying give and either replacing with a toy or treat or holding the item to the floor until he releases and then treating .

But over the last few weeks this just isn't working - my OH can normally get him to sit eventually and give him whatever he has but with myself it doesn't matter what I do he sits and then as I approach he runs off - I have held high value treats under his nose everything he just will not sit and let me have the item I am scared he will get something that will harm him and that by the time we do rescue it - it will be too late - he has also started it with his toys when playing we used to say give and he would let us take his toy from his mouth now he backs away -

any advice on how to get him to give what he shouldn't have - if we see him before he has it and say leave he will ..but once he has it totally different story...

thanks as always

he's anticipating you taking his prized possession away from him so he won't stay still for you!

try turning it into a game for a while & swap toy for toy if you see what I mean?

hi I cant get close to swop it he zooms from the sofa to the floor to the chair like a mad thing or if in the garden just keeps zooming round and round - I have tried high value treats toes - ignoring him - If I can get to him and hold hi collar he will sit and let me have it - its getting to him that is the issue

It sounds like he views this as a huge game, great fun, Mum!

Does he have particular toys that are his super favourites? If so, I'd keep those for training, for very special treat time of playing with you. I would then ignore the 'leave it' bit for the moment and instead switch to doing some recall work with him on a line. His reward for bringing his toy back to you and relinquishing it is that you throw it for him again. He's then getting what he wants, i.e. the toy back, and having fun with it, and hopefully learning that dropping it isn't the end of the world. And you break the chase cycle.

If he does get something and runs off, I'd stick with ignoring him or, better still, walking away. The bigger deal you make of it, the more fun it is for him. I'm fairly sure it's not the toy per se that he wants, it's the game. By making his possession of it yield the opposite of what he wants, it should make the game no longer worth playing. It may take some time as this is clearly a game he loves, but I'm hopeful that the penny should drop eventually.

thanks liz I will give it a go , I will do some recall and on a line , and try the ignoring and see how it goes