Dog won't drop toys, growls. How to teach "drop it" without treats?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | spayed | 1 year and 2 months old | 9 lbs
My 1 year old shipoo does not let go of toy, socks or anything in her mouth. She knows the ‘drop it’ command but growls and gets very aggressive when we ask her to drop whatever is in her mouth. She will only drop it if we give her a treat. What can we do to teach her ?
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on February 6th, 2020
Asking her to 'drop it' for a treat is teaching her the command - you should simply continue to practice trading a toy or anything else in her mouth for a treat. If you practice frequently enough hopefully you will be able to ask her to drop it without a treat in an urgent situation, but it's important to continue to give rewards for the correct behavior.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on November 24th, 2017
The first thing to do is to not Chase her. This is a game to get and great fun! Try to “trade” her like you would a toddler. Have a high value treat and tell her “drop it” as she let’s go of the object in hopes of obtaining the treat. Then praise her. This takes a while to teach, but stay persistent and consistent. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
New Pet
My puppy won’t come to me when he has a toy in his mouth and wants to run from me like play. But I genuinely want him to come to me. But when he doesn’t have a toy he usually always comes to me. How can I stop this ? And make him come no matter what.
You should work on a command like ‘drop’ to teach him to put the toy down when you ask, them ask him to come. You will need to offer a high value treat to get him to drop the toy. The growling may be an attempt at getting you to play when you were pulling the toy away from him - if you work on asking him to put the toy down you can probably avoid this in the future. Clicker training can be especially helpful since you can click as soon as the toy is dropped.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I would like to know how to teach Molly to drop things she has in her mouth? She’ll take some of my brothers toys or paper or basically anything and everything she’s not supposed to have but when I tell her to “drop it” she just ends up running all o
The first thing to do is to not Chase her. This is a game to get and great fun! Try to “trade” her like you would a toddler. Have a high value treat and tell her “drop it” as she let’s go of the object in hopes of obtaining the treat. Then praise her. This takes a while to teach, but stay persistent and consistent. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Tach a dog to drop what is in his mouth.
It's usually quite easy to teach your dog to drop what's in his mouth on cue! :)
I would recommend starting with a toy for practice. When he has the toy in his mouth, say "drop it!" in a cheerful voice, and hold a tasty treat in front of his nose. He should drop the toy quite easily to get the treat. When he does, pick up the toy and let him have the treat. Praise him, and give the toy back. Repeat this as many times as needed, until he happily drops the toy as soon as you say "drop it!", without needing to see the treat first. Make sure that you are still rewarding him with a treat every time after he drops the toy, or else he will learn to ignore you unless he sees the treat first.
Once he is good at this with his toy, you can start to practice with other things. When he picks up something he shouldn't have, say "drop it!" and reward with a treat when he does what you ask.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I am trying to teach my dog to play fetch. He goes and gets the ball but will only give it back when I have a treat for him and even then he will try and get it before I can get to it then he won't give it back. How can I teach him to do it without h
Many dogs have trouble letting go of the ball when playing fetch! :) I would suggest playing the game with two balls for now. Throw one, then when he brings it back, throw the other one for him. Most dogs will drop the one in their mouth when you bring out the second ball, and will chase the one that you throw. Pick up the first ball as he runs away to chase the second one, and continue to repeat this so that you always have a ball waiting in your hand to throw as soon as he gets back. Over time, many dogs will get into the habit of dropping the ball when they come back to you, so that you may not need to use both balls forever.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog keeps snatching garbage off the sidewalk, everything from small bones to crumpled papers or rocks. I try to stop him before he grabs them, but he's fast. Sometimes he drops them on his own, other times he eats them. When I try to get him to dr
Many dogs like to pick up objects off the ground - this is a very common issue on walks, especially with puppies and young dogs :) I would recommend teaching your dog a "drop it" cue using treats. To start, practice with a toy or other object at home. When he has the toy in his mouth, say "drop it!" in a cheerful tone, and hold a treat in front of his nose. Most dogs will eagerly drop the toy to eat the treat. Practice this until he will quickly drop the toy as soon as you ask.
Once he's good at this at home, you can start using it when you go for walks. Make sure to take very tasty treats with you to reward him when he does what you ask! It may take some practice, but most dogs get very good at this once they realize that you will always have something better for them if they drop what they are holding.
If you have trouble teaching this, I would recommend getting in touch with a good reward-based trainer in your area who can help you in person if needed.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
New Pet
Our 6 month old Austrian Shepard puppy is having some aggressive issues when he grabs objects that he knows he is not allowed to have He will growl, snap, run away and bite when we try to get the objects back. We have tried to use distractions (a toy
He’s using this as a way to get you to play. I would try to put up things he shouldn’t have and ignore him when he takes something. Your trying to get it is what he wants. If he likes to go outside or for a walk take the leash and act like you are leaving so he’ll want to join you and hopefully will drop the object. When I teach the command ‘Drop’ which is what you need in this instance, is to offer him a very high value reward. Steak, cheese, hot dogs or his favorite toy. In order to get the reward he needs to release the object he isn’t supposed to have. I recommend putting him on a short leash, giving him a toy and working on the ‘Drop’ command. That way he can’t run away, and soon he’ll learn what you want. He’s just a bratty teenager so don’t go along with his games. He will improve as he gets older. A general group obedience class will help you learn to work together also, and is fun. Thanks for using Boop by Petco to help you care for Jax.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My puppy is really good at drop it and will do so when we tell her to at a close range. But when she has something in her mouth she knows she shouldn't, she keeps her distance from us. When we tell her to come she'll come and when we reach our hand o
The best way is to trade her for something better. A high value treat, like a piece of hot dog, or a toy she loves. Basically when you give her something she can have she gets praised for dropping what she can't have. Tell her drop it again and good girl when she does. Good luck and kisses to Koi!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My puppy is almost 5 months old and so she still puts everything in her mouth. When she finds something on the floor that she knows she shouldn't have, she bolts away from the closest person she sees. It's quite the cute playful puppy thing to do but
General obedience training is where to start. Once Koi learns to come, stay, down and heel you will have better control over her behavior. To get her to drop an item I like to teach the Drop command. Do this with a toy or ball. Toss the toy, call her and ask her to Drop the toy by having a yummy treat in your hand. She'll drop the toy to get the treat and then you can praise her and give another treat. Once she learns this command you should then be able to say Drop, and she should drop the item and come looking for a treat. Be patient with the training, she's a puppy. Don't chase her when she takes something she shouldn't as this will encourage her to make a game of it. Instead say Treat and throw a treat to her if she won't come. Usually a treat is more enticing and she'll leave the item she's not supposed to have. Thanks for using Boop by Petco to help you care for Koi.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Food & Nutrition
I am noticing some food aggression in my puppy. She got cow tail chew treat from the pet store and she laid down on the floor to chew on so i tried to take her treat away she growled and barked at me. She usually doesn’t act this way when we are at h
Hi there. Resource guarding is a very common (and normal, to some extent!) behavior in dogs. Do not try to take high-value treats away from her while she is chewing them, as this will only teach her to be anxious and on guard whenever you approach. Instead, leave her alone to chew them in peace.
You can also practice walking up to her while she is chewing on something, dropping a tasty treat like a piece of cheese or a hot dog slice, and walking away without bothering her. This way, she learns that having you approach her when she has a "treasure" is a good thing, and not a threat!
If this behavior escalates over time instead of getting better, then I would recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can evaluate her in person and help you put together a training plan to address it.
Play growling during tug of war is normal, and it not typically a cause for concern.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I had this issue just now where she started growling at me immensely when I tried to take a toy away from her and my dog has never done hay before. She's gotten vicious with the toy to the extent where she was trying to bite me if I would have gotten
Toy guarding and resource guarding can be a scary experience. There are a few things you can try, such as removing the toy completely so that it isn't guarded, or trying the "trade game" The trade game involves using Nala's favorite treat and "trading" the toy for the treat. Every time she drops the toy, give her a treat, and then give her the toy again to help her learn it is a GOOD thing to give up the toy, and not scary. If the behavior continues or she does actively try to bite you, then talking with a veterinary behaviorist in your area is best as aggression toward people can be difficult to treat and requires professional supervision.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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