teaching 'leave it'

What would be the best way to teach this with a mind to using it to distract from other dogs?
Jobie doesn't like small/medium/very fluffy dogs approaching or going near him on walks. If he sees one he pulls toward it and tries to bite (hence he's muzzled), but oddly he doesn't seem to mind them if he can have a few nips at them and decide that they're okay. He's fine with them in the vets waiting room too though I guess that could just be him being all meek-like I think part of his problem is that he doesn't know how I want him to react to other dogs, but when he's on walks he just goes deaf anyway... I'm going to teach him 'watch me' as well. It's hard because my dad is the one who walks him, and he can't go more than 20 mins without being totally pooped/limping now he's older, and we rarely see other dogs anyway, but I don't want to just leave him having this problem. We're going to try and go to some socialisation classes with a behaviourist over the summer so hopefully that will help. so any ideas for 'leave it' or anything else that might help are very appreciated

We are having this problem with Poppy too, so any ideas you come up with let me know too.
Poppy is fine off lead, it's just the lead She is getting better though, we actually use the words "leave it" and she knows that and is getting better, so I guess it's just a case of keeping it up
Good luck
Elaine xxx

Mo has a problem with Shelties, goodness knows why.
We use leave it and determinedly walk by.

I think what you`re doing is establishing an alternative behaviour - wether a `watch me` or a Sit or a Leave (meaning to walk briskly past as above). I think just expecting a dog to understand `leave` to mean leave the other dog alone is not going to work.
If you use Leave in a bright voice and turn away from the other dog, asking your dog for his attention with treats and body language, that would work IMO. It would re-focus the dog on you and distract him, while helping him break a habit (aggressing at the other dog)

i teach the "leave it"i command. teach it on food, then articles/toys, then in a game, Once the dog knows the command you should be able to use it on anything you want too!Inc other dogs!

yeah thats the kind of thing i meant it is just difficult because when he sees another dog it seems he totally ignores me no matter what i do so i thought maybe if i taught him it on other things i could branch it over? if that makes any sense, lol. i will have to remember to bring the treats with me now!!

thanks mish i will try that do you just, say, put a biscuit down and tell them to leave and give them something nicer when they do, or something like that?

Yes! try it in your hand first, so you have abit of control, then when thats going well put it on the floor.


Have a "get it comand " too though!

(Best not use that with the small dogs aRound though!!!! )

As mishflynn says, train the response first when there are no distractions until the response is almost automatic, so you`re not setting it up to fail. Then use at a fair distance from other dogs and build up. And good luck.