Grabby Paws: nipping while taking a treat.

Mitten fist, closed fist, pincer grasp of treat.

Do you have a puppy who nips your fingers as they take a treat?

You are not alone. Many puppies have a hard time taking treats gently. Especially when they are a bit hungry (as they should be for training). They get so excited about the reward that they end up doing something they didn’t mean to. We don’t want our dogs to be rewarded for the wrong thing so it’s important for them to take the treat carefully from our hands.

There are a few techniques we use to reward dogs who are grabby.

1.       Use a long wooden spoon smeared with wet dog food, cream cheese or peanut butter. Instead of munching on your fingers they get a lick of the spoon as their reward.

2.       Treat toss. I love using the treat toss with puppies, its fun for them to catch from the air but also a great training tool when teaching place and recall games.

3.       Gentle: Using a thick glove to protect your hand, teach a “gentle” cue. We will begin with a treat inside our fist and teach the puppy to back up from the treat for the hand to open and reveal the treat. Offer the closed fist, as soon as the puppy backs up from your fist, “click” or say “yes” and open the fist. Try this a few times. Once your dog is backing up consistently, start saying “gentle” or “soft” before you offer the gloved fist. Then “click” and release the treat. Next step is to try with an ungloved hand, still hiding the treat inside the fist. Then we move to approaching your dog with the treat between your fingers. Using the “gentle” cue as your hand approaches.

Once your dog responds well to your cue, its time to have others practice it. Ask friends and family to practice “gentle” with your dog so they know they must always take things carefully from humans.

If you need a bit more help please contact me and we can set up a personalized lesson for your training needs.