# Taking treats nicely



## Tucker57 (Nov 20, 2010)

I tried searching the archives for help with this, but didn't find anything.....how do you teach your dog to take treats calmly - ie, without grabbing them? 

Shamus (my 9 month old spoo) generally has a pretty calm disposition, but when it comes to taking treats, sometimes he really grabs at them. I never give a treat unless he's sitting calmly, and I'll often close my hand on the treat if he starts to lunge at it, but the behavior hasn't really changed. 

I also have a Golden, so I don't know if part of it is about thinking he has to take the treat before the Golden gets it, even though I don't generally treat one without the other. Suggestions?

BTW, although I have posted a few pictures of my boy, I don't think I ever gave his pedigree.....I think it's pretty interesting to see the connections to other dogs in all parts of the world - had never really thought about it until joining this forum!

Dad is Donnchada Just Right (Justin)..(Mill Rose Masquerade & Pajak Pretty Woman)

Mom is Dominion Take the Lead (Isabella)..(Cabryn Ringleader & Dominion Fluffy White Baby)


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Poppy went through a phase of grabbing. I started by working with her on her own - she ONLY got the treat if she stayed sitting, and took it gently. Otherwise my hand closed and pulled back. If she did succeed in grabbing one, game over. Once she was reliable on her own (didn't take long - these were GOOD treats!) I started the "One for Poppy, one for Sophy" game, and insisted both dogs were sitting before anyone got a treat, and that each took their own gently. We are now up to "This one is for ... Tilly Cat!" and I have both dogs and the cat sitting in reasonable patience for their turn. 

The key is consistency - if grabbing sometimes works, and means he gets one not meant for him, it is rewarding, and will continue. If grabbing never works, but taking gently does, he will quickly get the message!


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Vegas did this too.

Get a glove for this, nothing huge, but you might get nibbled a bit. I didn't use one since Vegas wasn't so eager that I couldn't stand it, but that doesn't mean his treat grabbing didn't piss me off lol.

Get a larger treat and hold it in your hand, once your dog does something and you go to reward your dog, hold the treat closed between your fingers, with just enough showing for the dog to smell. The goal is to wait until the dog starts licking you, while saying 'Easy' to the cue while he does that. Once he starts licking, then treat.


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## robin (Dec 18, 2010)

It sounds completely counterintuitive, but I trained Boon to take treats gently with goldfish crackers.

I'd hold one in my lips/teeth and let him take it. I stuck them everywhere, including my nose (not IN it, just by it), my ears, on my cheeks when I was lying down on the couch ... fortunately, I had friends who thought this was hilarious and couldn't help but want to play too. 

Even a very young dog recognizes a human face as something that must be approached gently. Puppies *lick* human faces, they don't *bite* them. Once Boon got the idea that a goldfish required gentleness in taking, it was easy to transfer that to a goldfish held in the hand. From there to other treats wasn't even 2 steps.


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## Feralpudel (Jun 28, 2010)

I would work on this without the other dog around, to make it as easy as possible at first. 

I'll try to remember how this was described to me, as a trainer taught me this for my foster girl, and it was several years ago. You take a soft treat and "load it" on your thumb and make a fist with the rest of your hand and you sort of push the treat into their mouth past their front teeth towards the roof of their mouth as you say "easy." The pushing motion is key, as you're sort of teaching them that the treat is going to come to them, so they don't need to grab at the treat. It's the exact opposite of what you're tempted to do with a grabby dog, which is to get your hands away as soon as possible.


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## zyrcona (Jan 9, 2011)

When doing training, praise the dog and give the treat. If the dog takes the treat roughly, say "Ow!" and stop interacting with the dog. When the dog takes the treat gently, praise the dog and continue playing with/training it.  Worked for me.


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

I did something similar to what Feralpudel describes ... when mine was young, I'd take something tiny and soft, like a miniscule bit of hot dog or cheese, and mush it into the centre of my palm, then hold my hand out. 

I was trying to teach him to go PAST my fingers and to my palm for a treat. Even now, I rarely give him a treat from my fingers; it is usually held in my palm.


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