How do I stop my puppy from picking up sticks and leaves on walks?

Hi, this is quite the annoying problem you are having. First, you are doing the correct thing when telling her to drop it or give it to you. I would reinforce this with giving her a treat after she lets go of the object she's not supposed to have. Train her to keep her attention on you while walking by giving her commands randomly such as sit or wait, and reward her with a small treat. Then she will be looking to you for rewards instead of the ground for things to chew. Good luck, I hope this helps!

It's normal for puppies to be very interested in rocks and other things that they can pick up in their mouths - this is how they explore the world, similar to the way that human toddlers want to touch everything with their hands. I would recommend teaching your puppy a reliable "drop it!" command so that you can ask him to drop anything he picks up outside that he shouldn't have. Start with a toy for practice - when he has the toy in his mouth, say "drop it!" in a cheerful tone of voice and put a treat in front of his nose. Most puppies will readily drop the toy to get the treat, praise and reward as soon as he does. With practice, he will begin to drop the toy eagerly as soon as you say "drop it!" without needing the food lure in front of his nose. Make sure that you still reward with a treat every time - we want this behavior to be very reliable! Once he's got the idea, you can start to use this command when you are outside in the yard or on a walk - if he picks up a rock or something else he shouldn't have, just say "drop it!" Praise and reward immediately as soon as he does - you will need to bring treats with you for this purpose. As he gets older, he should grow out of this behavior, so just be patient and consistent in the meantime.

When going to the dog park, I recommend that as soon as she starts to pull, immediately turn around and go away from the dog park for at least 10 steps, then you can turn back and try again. When she starts to pull, once again turn around and take 10 steps away. Give positive reinforcement with treats when she walks by your side where she is supposed to. The goal is to teach her she will get to the park faster if she doesn't pull. Blowing leaves are often a big trigger, and dogs want to chase them. This can be harder to directly train for because the wind is unpredictable. One thing you can do is give Sie a command to look at you. This can be "look", or "Sie", or another word you choose. She should look at you, and not at the treat. She only gets the treat when she looks at you. But if she can learn to stop what she is doing and look at you and away from whatever she finds interesting, this can help with many issues. Then on windy days, you can ask her to sit as the leaves blow by, and stay focused on you. Any training issue requires time and dedication to fix. Be patient and consistent, and over time it should improve. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

If it is that big of an issue, I would look into teaching Snowball "Leave it". You can find various tutorials on YouTube that will walk you through it. Basically, it teaches Snowball that it isn't OK to just pick things up off the ground and eat them, and that she'll be rewarded for leaving it behind instead. Teaching other things such as drop/trading what's in her mouth for a reward, may also help. You should still be walking her, but you can keep an eye on her during your walks, and if you see her start to eat something, move her to another area, or remove the item from her mouth. If she's very mouthy and likes to carry toys, you can also bring a toy along on your walks for her to keep in her mouth and potentially deter on other things. If she does get into something she shouldn't and is ill, having your local vet's number on hand is always best as even the most vigilant of owners and well-trained of dogs can sometimes get into things they shouldn't.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If this is a behavior that you would like to stop, I find that using a spray bottle filled with water and spraying a dog lightly in the face helps to correct the behavior. Also, using an empty can filled with coins and shaking it loudly can help as well. I used both techniques on my dog and it worked quite well. The can trick was by far the most effective in my case. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please remember to rate this answer as helpful or not. Thank you!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend using a Gentle Leader collar to help control him better. When he stops and you tug on the leash, it will pull his entire head to the side you are pulling making it uncomfortable for him to the point that he should respond to your command. Be persistent with this technique and don't give in to him stopping in the road. Dogs test us and will continue to push boundaries to find out what they can get away with. It is your job to make him understand who is in charge. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Sounds like Louie is doing exactly what he is bred to do; sniff around and look for little critters to munch. If your pup has been a regularly obedient boy, getting him to resume his normal behavior should hopefully be no more complicated than rewarding him for the desirable behaviors. On your walks for the time being, make sure to carry treats with you that you can use. Also, use a clicker for training if you would like to maximize effectiveness. There are numerous great video series on clicker training that you can watch for free. I am typically not a proponent of choke collars, but in some cases with large-necked breeds like Pitties, they do require. Definitely not staying to start there, but it might be something to consider down the line if his behaviors are getting worse. You also may want to give a try to the gentle leader. That way you will have better control over his head, and ultimately, the direction in which he travels. Hope this answers your question. If you have further questions, please feel free to obtain a consultation.