Tidy up, taught backward from the edge of the bin

How to teach a dog to put toys away works best built backward. Start with your dog holding a toy right above an open bin, and pay the moment it lets go and the toy lands inside. Then add a short carry to the bin, and only after that a pickup from across the room.

What kind of bin works for a dog to tidy into?

A low, wide bin with an open top. A basket or a sturdy box does the job. The sides should sit low enough that your dog can drop a toy in without lifting its head, and the base should be heavy enough not to tip when a toy lands.

Keep it in one spot. A bin that moves from room to room makes the lesson harder, and a fixed spot gives you the same finish line at each session.

This trick is a chain of smaller tricks strung together, which is why it sits among the tricks to teach your dog. Each link is simple on its own. The work is in linking them in the right order.

Choose one or two toys to begin with, ones your dog carries easily. A soft toy that fits the mouth is easier than a big one. Keep the rest of the toys somewhere else for now.

Why start at the end and work backward?

The method has a name: backchaining. You teach the last link first, so each new link leads into one that has already been paid. The finish gets paid again and again, and every earlier step points toward it.

Think of a short chain with three links: pick up the toy, carry it to the bin, let go over the bin. Teach them in the reverse order. First the let go over the bin, then the carry, then the pickup.

Start at the front and the payoff stays far away while the early links are still shaky. Start at the bin and every new link sits one step before a finish that has already been paid many times.

That is the one new term on this page. The rest is patience and a bin.

How do you get the toy let go over the bin?

Let your dog hold a toy, and bring the bin to the toy. Hold the open bin directly under the toy while it is in your dog's mouth. When your dog lets go and the toy lands inside, pay.

The treat appears only after the toy lands. Do not pay while the toy is still held, because the payment should belong to the release over the bin.

This chain assumes your dog already holds a toy. If that part is missing, teach it first with the take it guide, then come back to the bin.

Do several rounds with the bin at your dog's mouth. Each time the toy lands inside, pay, and then hand the toy back or pick up another. When the let go over the bin is quick, you are ready for the next link.

How do you add the carry and the pickup?

Now build outward from the bin, one link at a time.

1. Stand one step from the bin, let your dog take the toy, walk that one step together, and let go over the bin. Pay once it is in.
2. Add a few steps between your dog and the bin, and pay each time the toy lands.
3. Place the toy on the floor near the bin, and let your dog pick it up, carry it, and let go. Pay after the toy lands.
4. Put a toy across the room, and send your dog for it. Pay when it lands in the bin.
5. Add your cue word before the pickup, once the whole chain runs smoothly.

Climb a rung only when the one you are on is steady. If the toy lands short of the bin, go back one rung and pay there.

Pay each landing with a small piece of our freeze dried cheddar bites, and keep them in their place as a treat, not a complete diet. Throwing a toy and getting it back is a separate game, covered in the fetch guide.