Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 1/22/2008

Question
They ruin things before I can retrieve them.  I  have tried calmly going for their favorite treat and of course they release and I take the article.  When treat is not available, I sometimes squirt the water bottle on them
any more ideas on this.

Answer
Hi, Linda,

Thanks for the question.

Try this, from one of my newsletters:

Training a Dog to “Out!”

A puppy should be taught to drop whatever is in its mouth on command, and the command is “out!”  

Do this exercise while sitting on the floor.  Have some diced cheddar cheese or other treats available to you, but not to the puppy.  Give the puppy a favorite toy to play with, teasing him with it first to build his interest.  When he’s really happy about having it between his teeth put a treat under his nose. If he drops the toy, immediately say “Out!” in a happy, inviting tone and let him take the treat.  Don’t worry that giving the command after the dog has already produced the behavior will confuse him—just the opposite.  If he shows interest in the treat but doesn’t drop the toy right away, tease him with it until he does.  Whatever you do, don’t take the toy away from him.  You never want to make a puppy defensive about what he’s got in his mouth. He should be taught to drop it willingly.
 
Repeat this game several times in one session, interspersed with lots of play.  Then repeat the exercise later or the next day.  

After three days, begin using a variable reinforcement schedule.  This means that sometimes you use a treat and sometimes just the command alone. Now you can do the same exercise using a second toy instead of the treat.  

When the dog has the first toy in his mouth, tease him with the second one.  When he drops the first toy, say “Out!” and toss the second one a few feet away for the puppy to chase.  

If you’ve already been using the “Out!” command without first doing these exercises and your puppy is nervous or defensive about what he’s got in his mouth, change the command word to “Drop!”  If the puppy is extremely suspicious, spend a few days feeding him by hand before doing the exercises.  

I hope this helps. It's always better to teach a dog HOW to do something (drop it) than to punish him (squirting him with a spray bottle) for NOT doing something you want him to.

Best of luck,

LCK