How do I get my dog to take a treat gently from my hand?
— Laura ScottAnswer: Some dogs are naturally very gentle when taking treats while others are like having a shark on the other end of the leash. If your dog is more like a shark, there are some things you can do to teach him how to take the treats more gently.
Taking treats gently is all about your dog exercising some self control. Even though this may not seem like it will help, the first thing you need to do is practice a bit of doggy zen. Place a yummy treat in the palm of your hand and close your fingers in a fist around it. Present this hand to your dog. Don’t say anything, just let him sniff and lick at it. Keep your hand steady (don’t pull it away) and wait until the dog backs off and leaves your hand alone. You can then give them their reward, using your marker word (click, yes, zap, whatever you use), by opening your hand and allowing the dog to take the treat. Your dog has now learned that to get the treat, he must first leave the treat. Practice this until your dog is quickly backing away from your hand closed around the treat. This is very useful for other training, as you now have a dog that knows he won’t get a treat if it’s closed in your hand. You can now carry treats with you and your dog won’t be distracted by them.
Now that your dog knows how to leave the treat, you can start to teach him to take it more gently. With the treat between your fingers, start to offer it to your dog just like you normally would. If your dog waits politely for you to deliver the treat, he may have it. If he jumps up, snatches the cookie or otherwise “sharks” you, pull your hand back quickly and close your fingers around the treat. Try to offer the treat again. It may take a few attempts before your dog realizes that they aren’t getting the treat until they are polite. Dogs who do not take cookies nicely do not GET cookies. If you like, you can add the word “gentle” as the cookie approaches. If they are gentle, they get the cookie, if they aren’t then the cookie disappears.
Practice the treat taking exercise as it’s own training session (ie. not in the middle of teaching something else). Once your dog is good at gently taking his treat, then you can take it on the road. If your dog snatches at a treat you are trying to give in class, remind them of the rules by closing your hand around the cookie and pulling it away.
With young puppies I add one more step. If at any time their teeth come in contact with my hand while I’m giving them a treat, I say “ouch” in a high pitched indignant voice and snatch the cookie away. This is just like the “ouch” or yelp you use for puppy biting. It reminds them that they need to be more gentle with their mouths. This will only work if you start with puppies before they are 12 weeks old.
Throwing the treat to your dog so he must jump and snap to catch it tends to increase the “sharky” behaviour. So, tempting as it may be to try and save your fingers by tossing treats, take the time to teach your dog to be polite. If you must throw the cookie for him, throw it on the floor so he has to go get it and can’t snatch it out of the air.
Keep in mind that the more excited your dog gets the more likely he is to take the treats too quickly and not very gently. You may need a few reminder sessions to go over the rules again.
If your dog is still “sharky” after you’ve practiced the tips above, let your instructor know and they may have a few extra ideas to help you train your dog.