They are talking about food stealing and that is one of those behaviors that I have not seen a positive trainer be able to really cure. People want a dog who won't try to eat the food on the table, the shoes in the hallway, the napkins on the table, etc. I have a dog who steals stuff and know the average family is not going to be okay just keeping everything picked up for the next 12 years while they have the dog. If they can stop the stealing by using abusive methods they will, it's either that or have your things destroyed and let your dog continue this potentially deadly behavior. Teaching a leave it only works for things that are temporarily there. If I have my lunch on the table and need to step out of the room for something I could say leave it and have my food remain safe. But for something that's just THERE, pens that lay on the coffee table, shoes that stay in the hall, candy in a candy dish for the holidays, bread that stays on the counter, or holiday decorations out for the season, then a leave it is not an appropriate command to give, you can't expect a dog to actively follow a command 24/7. Leaving these things is a matter of manners, the dog just knows never to do it, it doesn't get turned on and off by a command.
I’m not even a pro trainer, and my dogs (trained with food) do not steal food or any other resources. Its called a DEFAULT leave it. Doggy zen, its yer choice... Explained perfectly in the video greenmagick posted. The dog learns that food is to be earned through behavior, there is no self-serve buffet.
Not one leave-it said here either. Its a default behavior. Taught with reinforcement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzoRRPRpjoU
It is unfortunate that PR training STILL has the reputation of being permissive, all about management, and not as reliable.
I think we forget too that punishment doesn’t teach SELF control. I can punish a dog for taking a shoe, but that’s not teaching the dog to be able to see the shoe and decide on his own to leave it. It simply teaches the dog to avoid the shoe, shoe = danger. That’s not necessarily going to generalize very well to other objects I don’t want the dog to mess with. JMO and experience, but behaviors taught through reinforcement seem to generalize better.
Also JMO and experience, but punishment simply can’t compete with deep seated instinctual behaviors. Wolves don’t stop chasing moose when they get kicked, they simply learn to avoid the hooves. (Yes, I know dogs aren’t wolves - pointing out about instinctual behaviors.)
Get a dog with enough drive to do certain behaviors and you’re going to quickly find yourself escalating the punishment past a quick squirt of water. Get a dog smart enough and he’ll figure out exactly when the bottle is available and when it isn’t. We had a Malamute back in college who was the smartest, sneakiest bugger. He knew exactly where the punishment was coming from and would figure out how to get around it I think just to prove he could. Kind of like dogs who sit at the edge of the electric fence letting the collar beep until the battery is drained, then go for a stroll around the neighborhood.
I’m not saying punishment doesn’t have its place. Done right, P+ can be a valuable and valid tool. Unfortunately it is rarely done right. Dogs quickly habituate to the punishment so it has to be escalated, dogs quickly figure out where its coming from so the dog learns to avoid it, dogs know its coming so it loses its surprise value... And finally punishment doesn’t teach the dog what to do, just teaches the dog what not to do. If you say don’t jump, that leaves the dog 20 other behavioral options, 19 of which you may not like either. I find its just easier to tell the dog“do THIS†and reward him for doing so.