Teach The Command "gentle"

[slinkyjinky]

when training a dog with treats how do you teach a dog the command gentle when taking the treat instead of snatching?

[shoemonster]

Theres a good site which has zen on it, scoll down til you get to it

http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Leve...vel/1Level.html

Put simply a closed fist and when the dog backs off they get treat, teaches them that rushing it doesnt get them anywhere, gradually move to open hand

[slinkyjinky]

thats what ive been doing, closed fist and he sniffs and licks then when he stops that i open my palm but then he snaps it

[shoemonster]

Oooh cheeky bugger

Keep the distance so that you have time to close it again before he gets the treat, and use very calm praise and releases, are you using gentle? Say it slow and calm while your hand is opening, give him a good chance to get it right

Edited April 29, 2009 by shoemonster

[TerraNik]

A YouTuber had a cute way of training it...

[shoemonster]

Just reading the zen one again, they drop the treat when teaching it, so the dog doesnt get a change to snap it, and get confused in the beginning

[slinkyjinky]

when he sits and stays infront of me i have the treat in my hand. fist closed i edge it closer saying stay so i have his attention. when it is a few inches infront of him i say gentle and open my hand. he is so quick but i manage to keep the treat and i say no as he tries to get it

[shoemonster]

Yeah and the youtube one she drops the reward too, I'd give that a go

[Nekhbet]

gentle has no meaning until you teach it - and frankly you should not have to attach a word to this action this is a respect and control exercise. What you are doing is building tension and some drive for that food through making the dog wait and gradually creeping towards it.

I was actually helping a client with this last night. Have the dog in close, get the dog to perform an action it knows well eg - sit.

as soon as the dog does it (you will have a treat in your hand) you use a flat hand and put the treat to the dogs mouth and you pretty much press the palm of your hand on the mouth/nose and the dog will automatically lick it off. Having your hand so close and the treat pretty much already in its mouth it will not snap. Just give a 'good dog' praise and repeat. within half an hour the dog was getting treats and not snatching your whole hand.

The trick is to teach that the treat is coming and it will be immediate. Snappy dogs are 1) too excited and 2) sometimes grab it as the timing is rather random.

If the dog DOES try a snap, remove your hand and say 'bahh' then recommand the original position and try again. The bahh will let the dog know that 'you stuffed it up, try again'. No food until the dog is calm - teach calm as an overall habit not as a trick. Also you should be having a command for your dog to eat or take things from you in general this too helps dogs develop control and patience.

[fainty_girl]

What has worked with Tilly was only showing/offering her a tiny part of the treat, and keeping the rest of it in a clenched hand. If she looks too overexcited then I say "aaah", wait for her to relax a little, then use the command "gentle".

She was a bit skinny when I adopted her and I really doubt that she was fed regular meals, because she used to get extremely excited about seeing anything food related (even a glass of water), and in the early days she used to get into our kitchen garbage bin.

Tilly is gentle with food now, although we still use the "gentle" command if needed, especially if feeding anything tasty like a piece of meat, etc.

Good luck