Taking treats like a shark

[Toller_08]

I'm not sure if this actually belongs in the training section or not, but I thought maybe. I am starting to work with Keira a lot more and I am really enjoying it. We are going to start taking some Rally or Obedience classes soon and then move onto more Agility once she's gotten used to a class setting and has more focus. But I have one minor but painful problem. She knows how to take treats nicely if it's just a cookie or something, but when we're training, she's awful! She's put holes in my fingers. And if I tell her to be nice before I give her a treat, it kind of defeats what I was trying to reward her for. Click/"be nice"/Treat just does not work and she learns nothing.

She's just so excited to be working and eating that she totally forgets her manners for taking treats. Is there a way to fix this? Or just live with it? It makes it kind of unenjoyable for me when my fingers are bleeding and bruised, as you can imagine. And she won't work for toy rewards and toys don't mean anything to her usually.

[Aleron]

My GSD girl Jora was a piranha and I solved it by...tossing he treats

[Saeleofu]

Logan was like that when I first got him. I really don't know what changed other than him growing up and getting some manners.

I did do a lot of treat zen, I think that may have been at least somewhat helpful.

[Fran101]

Training wise working on leave it and being calm around treats and that kind of thing would help

but some other quicker solutions maybe..

Like this..
except teach her to accept treats straight from the dispenser instead of them coming from your hand?

Or perhaps using peanut butter on a spoon?
Throwing treats on the ground?

Or even just spraying bitter apple on your fingers.. help bring the lesson of "open your mouth and treats go in= yummy. Hands in mouth=yuck" home

[Laurelin]

Food zen exercises would be my first thought.

[MericoX]

Kiba is usually good, but when she's "high" she will turn RogueShark on me. I either toss them, or offer them to her in my open palm. I don't like throwing treats on the ground because I like to keep her focus on me versus sniffing around trying to score floor cookies.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by MericoX

Kiba is usually good, but when she's "high" she will turn RogueShark on me.

That's how Jora was too. She could do food zen and other sorts of "leave it" type exercises without an issue but she was always VERY excited to work and the more excited she got, the harder she took treats. I tried lots of stuff with her, none of it really worked and eventually I decided that it was just how she was and I didn't care that much. I did warn others who wanted to give her treats though!

[Toller_08]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

What is food zen? I don't think I've done or heard of it before. Definitely interested.

I've tried tossing them, which does work for a lot of exercises, but I have a hard time with tossing a treat while working on heel. I find it very awkward, but I'm trying to get the hang of it as it is a much better alternative than getting accidentally bitten.

Peanut butter might work. Haven't done that.

She does have a solid leave it and is ordinarily very nice with taking food, but she gets really amped up and enthusiastic when we're actually training. But working specifically on food exercises might just help with that... which I'm thinking is what this "food zen" is about.

Throwing treats on the ground I don't think would be good in her case. She's so easily distracted as it is I think all her brain would do is go "omg there are cookies on the ground! Must get them! Where are they?!". She totally wouldn't care about my existence anymore, haha. Plus, I don't really like my dogs taking food off the ground.

[jenv101]

I wear gloves lol. Or you can hold the treat with your thumb and the palm of your hand with your fingers together. (does that make sense? hard to describe) It does work but its harder to get it in place if you're working fast.

[MericoX]

I also have a squeeze tube that I'll use for agility and you just squeeze out the wet food.