How to Train Your Dog to Pick Up Laundry

Start by sitting near a pile of dirty laundry and your empty laundry basket with your clicker (if you have one) and bag of treats in hand. Put the laundry basket right in front of you so that it is between you and your dog. Pick up a piece of clothing, hold it over the basket and encourage him to take it.

Once the clothing is in his mouth, offer a treat near his face to encourage him to drop the item. If he drops it in the basket, click/reward. If he does not, pick up another piece and try again. Repeat this step until you have 5 consecutive repetitions of the baited drop into the basket.

Immediately start to abbreviate the luring motion that you use to get your dog to drop the item. Instead of taking the treat right to his face, start only going a foot from his face, then two feet, then just holding your hand in the treat bag, then with your hand at your side. During this process, continue to click/treat for every successful drop in the basket. Once you have him dropping in the basket without the lure at all, repeat 15-20 times to really reinforce the drop in the basket.

It is now time to fade handing your dog the item of clothing. Start picking up a piece of clothing, but just hold it over the pile, near the basket. Click/reward every time he successfully grabs the item and drop it in the basket. Repeat 20 times, trying to hold the item closer to the pile and farther from the basket as you go. Eventually you will no longer be picking up the item, rather just holding your hand over the pile and waiting for the dog to pick up a piece on his own.

Start to fade your hand motion until your dog is picking up a piece on their own and putting it in the basket. At this point you can add the command if your dog is reliably doing the trick on his own. Say “Basket!” as he picks up the piece, and click/reward every time he successfully drop in the basket. Repeat 15-20 times.

It is time to start putting some distance between the pile and the basket, as well as between you and your dog as he complete the task. Continue to click/treat every successful attempt, and make sure you are setting the bar low enough that your dog is successful at least 80% of the time so that you have a rapid reward rate.

Spread the laundry out on the floor and continue the process of extending distance, including moving laundry to other rooms. Continue to also extend your distance from the basket. Eventually you will be able to have an item of clothing in another room with your dog putting the clothing in the basket reliably.

Start with laundry spread on the floor near the place in the laundry room where you want your dog to pile the laundry with your clicker and treats in hand.

Pick up a piece of laundry that is near the pile location, hold it over the pile, and encourage her to take it. As soon as she takes it, offer her a treat to drop it in the pile. Click/treat. Repeat 5-10 times.

Fade the lure as quickly as you can so that she starts to get closer and closer to picking up a piece of laundry and dropping it on the pile on her own. Click/reward every successful pick up and drop, ignoring any unwanted behavior.

Start to add distance between the laundry on the floor and the pile, as well as your distance from both. Make sure you are progressing slowly enough that she is successful at least 80% of the time and you are rewarding at a rate of once every 5-10 seconds. Remember, it is your job to set criteria so she has lots of success!

Once you are a few feet away, and she is reliably picking up laundry and dropping it on the pile, you can add the cue “Laundry” (or whatever you want to use) right as she goes to pick up the piece of clothing.

Continue to gradually add distance until this trick is perfected from every room in the house, without you needing to guide her.

Decide what piles you normally sort your laundry into. Make sure that you keep in mind that your dog is color blind, so do not expect him to distinguish between colors. They can, however, tell the difference between lights and darks, or tell the difference between clothes and towels. Decide on the commands you will use for each pile, and make sure they sound very different. Decide on the location of the three piles, marking them with a sticky note or tape so you stay consistent. For the sake of this guide, we will assume you are using the categories “Lights,” “Darks,” and “Towels.”

With your clicker and treats in hand, start with laundry spread out on the floor within a few feet of your pile locations. Pick up a dark piece, encourage your dog to take it in her mouth, and then guide her with your finger towards the right pile. As soon as she gets close to the right pile, offer a treat so she will drop the item while saying “Darks.” Click/treat when she drops it in or near the right pile.

Continue this process, keeping the bar low enough that she is successful often. This will keep the rate of reward high, which gives your dog confidence and increases the speed that she will learn. As you repeat, make sure you are trying to fade any lures or direction that you are giving as quickly as your dog is ready. Do not correct any mistakes, just ignore them and try again.

With enough repetition close by, over the course of several training sessions, she will be doing the trick without you giving hand cues or lures. Once you are at this stage, and she clearly understands the different items/piles, you can start putting distance between the laundry and the piles. Guide as necessary, but remember to fade your signals as quickly as she is ready.

You can now start spreading the pile and putting distance between you and your dog. Over the course of many training sessions, you will find that she can pick up a piece of laundry in one room and drop it in the right pile without you even being in the room. Continue to practice daily.