My Puppy Eats Everything on Walks: How to Teach ‘Leave’ and ‘Drop’

If your puppy seems determined to eat everything they find on a walk, you’re certainly not alone! Autumn leaves, discarded food and other much less appealing detritus can all seem irresistible to a curious young dog. You might not mind them carrying a big stick, but you don’t want them eating other dog’s waste.

At Canine Kids, this is something we regularly help owners with during our puppy training classes in Surrey.

Puppies explore the world with their mouths, so picking things up is completely normal. However, teaching your puppy to respond to cues such as ‘leave’ and ‘drop’ can make walks safer and much more enjoyable.

Why Does My Puppy Pick Everything Up?

Scavenging can happen for several reasons. Your puppy may simply be curious, they may have discovered that picking something up gets your attention, or they may find certain objects particularly rewarding.

Chasing your puppy or trying to grab an item from their mouth can sometimes turn the situation into an exciting game. Instead, we prefer to use positive reinforcement to teach puppies that leaving or giving up an object leads to something even better.

Teaching Your Puppy ‘Leave’

Start practising ‘leave’ somewhere quiet at home before expecting your puppy to manage the cue during a distracting walk.

Place a low-value treat in your closed hand and allow your puppy to investigate. As soon as they move away from your hand, mark the behaviour with praise and reward them with a different, higher-value treat.

With repetition, your puppy begins to learn that moving away from something they want can earn them a reward. You can then gradually introduce the word ‘leave’ and practise around increasingly tempting distractions.

This type of impulse control training for puppies can be incredibly useful both at home and outdoors.

How to Teach ‘Drop’

‘Drop’ is slightly different because your puppy already has the object.

Begin with a toy rather than something they should not have. Offer your puppy a tasty treat near their nose. When they release the toy, say ‘drop’, reward them and, where appropriate, give the toy back.

Returning the item sometimes is important because your puppy learns that dropping something does not always mean losing it forever.

Practising When Walking in Surrey

Once your puppy understands these skills at home, gradually practise them outside. Keep rewards handy and start in quieter environments before introducing busier locations and more tempting distractions.

At Canine Kids, our puppy classes in Surrey use practical, reward-based methods to help puppies develop focus, confidence and everyday life skills. ‘Leave’ and ‘drop’ form part of the essential foundations that can make walking and exploring together safer and less stressful.

If you are looking for supportive, reward-based puppy training in Surrey, our classes can help you and your puppy build good habits from the very beginning. 

For more information, simply contact our friendly team today.