# Puppy runs when he gets something in his mouth



## priyankumupal

Corby has been coming around really well. He is the most playful, loving dog. The only thing i can't seem to teach him is that, "give". When he gets something in his mouth, he runs with it. I can never get him to give anything to me on command. He knows sit, down, stay, leave it, come and focus and he does all those commands really well. He just doesn't like to give anything in his mouth to me. 

I trained him give, with giving him food treats everytime he let go of something in his hand. How can i stop him from running away from me and actually giving me what he has in him mouth. He won't even come back for food. Nothing seem to work


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## jrod

Sounds like a typical puppy that found a cool new stick, pine cone, mulch, etc in the yard. They don't seem to want to give that stuff up for nothing. With our boy I just act uninterested, turn my back, walk a few feet, then act like I just found the coolest thing ever! Kneel down and act like I'm playing with it and its really cool. That is usually enough to get him to investigate what daddy found and usually results in dropping the object from his mouth. 

Other times I act like its no big deal, walk out to his side, casually walk behind him, then grab him and remove object from his mouth.


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## GSDBESTK9

Are you running after him?
Does he like toys?

What I would do is grab whatever is most valuable to him (like a ball or his favorite toy) show it to him and run the opposite way. He will probably stay still for a moment wondering why you are not chasing him, but eventually, he will start chasing you. Once he reaches you, exchange items.


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## Cassidy's Mom

What is your reaction when he gets something in his mouth? Have you tried holding onto one end of a toy while you teach the "give" command so he can't run off with it? I've never had any trouble teaching my dogs to bring me whatever they pick up off the floor, but I do tons of trading games with them from the time they're little, having them give me the toy for a treat, then I give back the toy. And if they get something they're not supposed to have, I don't yell or run towards them, I praise them and encourage them to bring it to me.


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## priyankumupal

i do try trading games with him using his toys, he does give me his toys pretty easily, cos he knows he will get them back, but other stuff like socks off the laundry basket, rotten mango, rocks, compost dirt (most of which is really bad for him) he won't give me back cos he knows i will throw them away. 

I do try not to run behind him, but i get scared for his health, when he eats stuff which will give him problems. So those are the things i want back. He does pretty well with, leave it (meaning, if i see him try to take something he shouldn't, and i say leave it. he will) but after its in his mouth, no heaven or high waters can get him to give it back. 

I did try to run the opposite way with his favorite toy, but he doesn't care, he just wants whats in his own mouth more. I really want to be sure he will not eat anything which can be fatal, so its important i teach him the "give" command, right?


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## Cassidy's Mom

I see that he's still very young, not even 3 months old. It is definitely important to teach a give command, but it can take some time to build up a foundation of trust that you're not going to be always taking things away from him. Also, he's at that age where everything goes in his mouth! 

Are you working on trading games and the "give" command several times a day, every day with a variety of different things? Even now with Halo, who turned two years old in November, I reinforce this from time to time. She loves to have a toy in her mouth, and if she walks up to me holding one I'll ask her if I can have it. She'll let me take it, I tell her "good girl!" and then hand it back. Does he like to chase balls? Have him "give" the ball, reward with a treat, and then throw the ball again - double reward!

I've made a game out of it with her, at first always rewarding with a treat, but I no longer need to do that. She learned that she could pick up a toy and bring it to me and I'd reward her with a treat and give the toy back too. Like I said, this took some time, but it built a strong foundation of bringing me things. Most of the time it's something I can give back to her, but sometimes not. If I was taking things away from her more often than I was giving them back to her she would probably be more inclined to run away to protect her prize from being confiscated, which is why I worked so hard to build that trust.


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## Cassidy's Mom

This is one of the games I play with Halo. I started out by holding one end of the bone so she couldn't run off with it, and she ended up liking this so much that she'll pick up a bone and bring it to us to hold for her while she chews it. Since this is just a game, I'm not using my formal "give" command, which means that she must immediately relinquish what she has. This is a game, so I just ask her if I can have it. She lets me have it readily because she knows I'm going to give it back.


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## Emoore

Grabbing something you don't want him to have and running off with it is the funnest game in the world!!! I had a foster dog whose previous owners had obviously played his game-- he was the worst about this that I'd ever seen. Kopper does it too. Do you have another dog? What I do when Kopper gets something he's not supposed to have is go to the fridge and give Rocky something really yummy-- chicken or hot dog or whatever. Kopper always comes to investigate and then I can trade him for whatever he has. 

Hopefully whatever you have lying around isn't immediately fatal to him, like rat poisoning. Having some dirt, mulch, or rotten mango in his mouth isn't good, but it's not the worst thing ever. You have time to go get something really tempting and yummy, make a big deal about it, and when he get interested you can do the trade. Never ever chase him and just take it unless it's something like a knife or rat poisoning that can easily kill or hurt him. Or I guess a diamond ring.


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## Cassidy's Mom

Emoore said:


> Do you have another dog? What I do when Kopper gets something he's not supposed to have is go to the fridge and give Rocky something really yummy-- chicken or hot dog or whatever. Kopper always comes to investigate and then I can trade him for whatever he has.


I've done that too! On the rare occasion that Halo doesn't want to bring me whatever she has I say "Keefer, want a treat?". You BET she comes running!!! :wild:


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## priyankumupal

Thanks guys for the advice, i don't have another dog. But i will try to do as many trading games as possible with him. I think i'm taking more things from him than giving, which maybe why he doesn't want to give them to me. I will try to trade for everything. thanks again


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## Cassidy's Mom

priyankumupal said:


> I think i'm taking more things from him than giving, which maybe why he doesn't want to give them to me.


Exactly. The more you can play trading games with him with his own stuff, the better. That way when you do occasionally have to take something away and not give it back, it's not a big deal. Think of foundation stuff like this as money in the bank. Each time you give something back to him you put a coin in. If there are a lot of coins in there you can take one out from time to time without much fuss.


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