Save your fingers- how to let your dogs take treats gently from your hands
" To your den!" Palette awaits for me to say this every night. Because she knows she can get her small snack before bed. I follow her to crate and wait for her to lie down. I place her treat on her bed, and when she hears me say "OK", she gently goes for her treats and enjoy every bite of the treats.
4 years ago, when she was still small puppy, she was so enthusiastic about treats that she jump, twirl, jump trying to get to the treat even before I offer the treats to her. If she could smell treats in my hands, she went just like alligator jump up from water for a whole chicken for meal. And, her bed time ritual was just like that, nothing like today. As soon as she saw the treat in my hands, before I even could place it onto her bed, she went for it and, she did not take a moment for a breathe, take treats gently.
At about when she was 3-4 months old, we enrolled to puppy training class and at early class time, we learned how to teach our dog to take food gently from your hands.
The trainer has told us to teach the dogs to learn "take it". When I say "take it", Palette would take whatever you have in your hand gently whether it is a treats or toys. So, for her, "take it" means "take it gently". So, she does not have separate command "Gently". Occasionally, her emotion takes over and she jumps up for treats but, I never let her have it. Only when she is ready to get the treats gently, I let her have it.
So, how our puppy class trainer has taught us to teach "take it"?
As I have written in previous entry titled "Attention-how to keep dogs' attention to you", to teach anything to your dogs, you need to have your dogs' attention to you. If you do not have attention from your dog, you cannot teach anything. So, teach your dog "watch me" before teaching "take it".
If you do use clicker, every time your dog watches you, you click and give them a treats. I usually use clicker until Palette learns the cue & behavior and fade it away. Our puppy class trainer told us that easiest way to get attention from your dog to be able to click and treats, you can grab the treats in hands and hold it at your forehead. That way, dogs' eyes would follow the treats naturally, so when they look you up, you can click and treats.
To read more on clicker training at previous entry " Clicker training: clicker is your friend", please click here.
Once your dogs knows " Watch me", you can start teaching them "take it".
This is very good command to teach because dogs do not know that our skin is delicate.
1. Let your dog sit in front of you
2.Hold treats in hands and make a fist. Dogs would probably bites at your hands first.
3.If they bite at your fist, hide your fist behind you and say "Try again". I personally do not use "No" but rather, I say "Try again". And take a moment for breathe and offer the fist again.
4.Only when they stopped biting at your hands, click the clicker, and you say "Take it", and open the hand and let them take the treats
5. If your dogs paws at your fists or barked at you from frustration, ignore it, say nothing.
Repeat it and they can learn to take treats/toys gently from you with cue "Take it".
Also, if you have watched videos in series of "Palette's note" entries, you can see me place the treats near Palette and I tell her "wait" and take a couple of seconds and finally tell her "OK" to enjoy the treats. It is another way you can teach them to take the treats from you without jumping up to your fingers and also to save your fingers.
It is something you can practice on meal time. If you feed kibble, pour kibble as you normally do into dog bowl and let your dog sit and give you an attention to you.
Then, you can lower the food bowl to floor but as soon as their butt went up to get to the food, food bowl will goes up, and say "ergh, ergh. Try again" and start over.
When your dog sit and give you attention, lower the food onto floor and only when 4 paws and butt on floor, you put the food bowl on floor, say "wait" and give them a second of breathe and release them with cue "ok" or any other release command you use. You can gradually give the breathing time longer as they learn the cue & behavior.
As a side note, "wait" command is also effective for door dasher dog. With door dasher dogs, instead of food bowl, food bowl part becomes door.
1. Let dog sit, watch you
2. Slowly open the door about 1 inch wide and as soon as butt goes up, door close, and repeat it. As they can remain sit position when door open slightly, you can up the bar higher, meaning, open door more wider and practice.
Why teach your dog "take it" with fist and open palm is that dog naturally take food gently if you offer treats on open palm.
Teaching your dog your skin is more delicate than theirs at early age is better. You can teach them "take treats nicely" and at the same time, you also may want to teach them in other scenario.
Especially when dog is puppy hood, they tend to be mouthy and with their instinct, they tend to grab thing that moves. Palette is Corgi and I do not know how many occasions she tried to nip my heal or grab the cuff of jeans.
I turned back to Palette stop moving and ignored her every time she nipped me. This way, she leaned that every time she puts her mouth on me, she loose my attention and nipping has stopped.
Also, it is important to give them plenty of chewing object to protect your furniture and your skin. Especially when teething time, they get more mouthy and our vet told us to give her ice cubes because cold temperature numb the pain and also can satisfy their needs to chew. Also, we were told it is good to give them broth soaked and froze cloth to chew on. Of course, whenever you give any kinds of chew, supervising your dog is necessary.
To read more on long lasting chew/recreational chew in previous entry titled "Long lasting chew/Recreational bones for dogs", please click here.
Lastly, do not play with your dogs the way they see your hands as toy.
4 years ago, when she was still small puppy, she was so enthusiastic about treats that she jump, twirl, jump trying to get to the treat even before I offer the treats to her. If she could smell treats in my hands, she went just like alligator jump up from water for a whole chicken for meal. And, her bed time ritual was just like that, nothing like today. As soon as she saw the treat in my hands, before I even could place it onto her bed, she went for it and, she did not take a moment for a breathe, take treats gently.
At about when she was 3-4 months old, we enrolled to puppy training class and at early class time, we learned how to teach our dog to take food gently from your hands.
The trainer has told us to teach the dogs to learn "take it". When I say "take it", Palette would take whatever you have in your hand gently whether it is a treats or toys. So, for her, "take it" means "take it gently". So, she does not have separate command "Gently". Occasionally, her emotion takes over and she jumps up for treats but, I never let her have it. Only when she is ready to get the treats gently, I let her have it.
So, how our puppy class trainer has taught us to teach "take it"?
As I have written in previous entry titled "Attention-how to keep dogs' attention to you", to teach anything to your dogs, you need to have your dogs' attention to you. If you do not have attention from your dog, you cannot teach anything. So, teach your dog "watch me" before teaching "take it".
If you do use clicker, every time your dog watches you, you click and give them a treats. I usually use clicker until Palette learns the cue & behavior and fade it away. Our puppy class trainer told us that easiest way to get attention from your dog to be able to click and treats, you can grab the treats in hands and hold it at your forehead. That way, dogs' eyes would follow the treats naturally, so when they look you up, you can click and treats.
To read more on clicker training at previous entry " Clicker training: clicker is your friend", please click here.
Once your dogs knows " Watch me", you can start teaching them "take it".
This is very good command to teach because dogs do not know that our skin is delicate.
1. Let your dog sit in front of you
2.Hold treats in hands and make a fist. Dogs would probably bites at your hands first.
3.If they bite at your fist, hide your fist behind you and say "Try again". I personally do not use "No" but rather, I say "Try again". And take a moment for breathe and offer the fist again.
4.Only when they stopped biting at your hands, click the clicker, and you say "Take it", and open the hand and let them take the treats
5. If your dogs paws at your fists or barked at you from frustration, ignore it, say nothing.
Repeat it and they can learn to take treats/toys gently from you with cue "Take it".
Also, if you have watched videos in series of "Palette's note" entries, you can see me place the treats near Palette and I tell her "wait" and take a couple of seconds and finally tell her "OK" to enjoy the treats. It is another way you can teach them to take the treats from you without jumping up to your fingers and also to save your fingers.
It is something you can practice on meal time. If you feed kibble, pour kibble as you normally do into dog bowl and let your dog sit and give you an attention to you.
Then, you can lower the food bowl to floor but as soon as their butt went up to get to the food, food bowl will goes up, and say "ergh, ergh. Try again" and start over.
When your dog sit and give you attention, lower the food onto floor and only when 4 paws and butt on floor, you put the food bowl on floor, say "wait" and give them a second of breathe and release them with cue "ok" or any other release command you use. You can gradually give the breathing time longer as they learn the cue & behavior.
As a side note, "wait" command is also effective for door dasher dog. With door dasher dogs, instead of food bowl, food bowl part becomes door.
1. Let dog sit, watch you
2. Slowly open the door about 1 inch wide and as soon as butt goes up, door close, and repeat it. As they can remain sit position when door open slightly, you can up the bar higher, meaning, open door more wider and practice.
Why teach your dog "take it" with fist and open palm is that dog naturally take food gently if you offer treats on open palm.
Teaching your dog your skin is more delicate than theirs at early age is better. You can teach them "take treats nicely" and at the same time, you also may want to teach them in other scenario.
Especially when dog is puppy hood, they tend to be mouthy and with their instinct, they tend to grab thing that moves. Palette is Corgi and I do not know how many occasions she tried to nip my heal or grab the cuff of jeans.
I turned back to Palette stop moving and ignored her every time she nipped me. This way, she leaned that every time she puts her mouth on me, she loose my attention and nipping has stopped.
Also, it is important to give them plenty of chewing object to protect your furniture and your skin. Especially when teething time, they get more mouthy and our vet told us to give her ice cubes because cold temperature numb the pain and also can satisfy their needs to chew. Also, we were told it is good to give them broth soaked and froze cloth to chew on. Of course, whenever you give any kinds of chew, supervising your dog is necessary.
To read more on long lasting chew/recreational chew in previous entry titled "Long lasting chew/Recreational bones for dogs", please click here.
Lastly, do not play with your dogs the way they see your hands as toy.
Posted by yassy at 3/9/2010 11:07 AM 
Categories: Dog training
Tags: long lasting chews take it recreational bones wait
Categories: Dog training
Tags: long lasting chews take it recreational bones wait
Great ideas for training! I don't use a clicker, but the rest of it, is something I do use usually.
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Thank you for comments and your feedback video on our treats. I enjoyed watching your crews in video lining up for treats and after taking one biscuits,they go off side for others to come up to you.I thought it was very cute. I saw how your crews take treats from you but, when Palette was puppy, she was much more alligator. She was alligator in small body
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