Can Dogs Learn How To Put Their Toys Away?

This is a familiar sight – your dog decides it’s time to play, and has upturned their entire toy basket in the process. Wouldn’t it be nice to get them to clean up after themselves?

As It Turns Out, You Can

There are a few things you need to have in place before you can embark on this journey, since this is a trick that extends a little further beyond basic training. Your dog will have to combine the following actions:

1. Pick up toys that are already scattered across the floor.

2. Place those toys into the appropriate box or basket.

If your dog already knows ‘fetch’ and ‘drop it’, they will learn this trick faster.

What Next?

First, you’ll have to first train your dog to put their toys back into the box – ideally with toys that they’ll want to take from you first. Then, get them to bring it to the box, and command them to drop the toy into it. Over time, you’ll want your dog to learn to drop the toy into the appropriate space by themselves.

After that, you’ll have to teach your dog the command ‘clean up’, so they learn to pick up their toys and put them away. It’s a lot of work, but the end result is always worth it!

Feature Image Source: Pixabay