Teach Your Dog to Take Treats Gently

Here at Canine Campus we receive a lot of great questions related to dog care from our customers. One of the questions we hear fairly frequently is how to stop their dogs from nipping at their fingers when feeding them treats.

While nipping at your fingers when giving your dog treats can be a big problem, there’s actually a simple solution.

If you have a puppy with tiny little needle teeth it can really hurt if they nip you. And of course you want to use plenty of treats when you are training your puppy. The goal is to teach your puppy (or older dog) it’s their responsibility to take treats gently, rather than your responsibility to remind them.

Before You Begin

The first step in addressing the issue of taking treats gently is to rule out underlying causes. Medical issues, fear, anxiety, frustration and aggression can all lead to this type of behavior. When a dog who normally takes toys and treats gently suddenly becomes more forceful and less discriminating with his or her teeth, it may indicate a medical problem or a sign something is agitating him or her in the environment. If this is the case, seek the help of your veterinarian, who can rule out any medical issues or refer you to a canine behavioral specialist.

More commonly, though, your dog’s nippy behavior is motivated by excitement; he or she knows grabbing it from your hands is the fastest way to get it.

How to Teach Your Dog (or Puppy) to Take Treats Gently

1. Choose a time when your dog is relaxed or tired
2. Start with a non-high value treat, like kibble
3. Place the treat in your open palm, right where your fingers start
4. Hold the treat with your thumb covering the treat
5. Moving slowly, present the treat to your pup, using the “Gentle” command
6. If your dog is rough, move your hand away
7. If your dog is gentle, reward him or her with the treat and praise by saying “Good Gentle”
8. Gradually introduce using more high value treats as these will be more challenging to your dog
9. Continue to practice this training every day until your pup understands the “Gentle” command and has learned not to nip you when you give him or her treats

Teach Your Dog to Take Treats Gently in Different Places

Once your dog has the hang of taking treats gently, it’s time to teach your dog good manners apply everywhere. Start with a different room in the house. Avoid too many distractions. Wait until it’s quiet and there isn’t a lot going on around you.

Now, start working through the steps above as if you’re starting over. It may take your dog a few moments to realize the Gentle command applies here too. But usually the process will be faster each time you work through the steps. Repeat in different locations throughout the house, then start practicing in different public places, like a park. Try to find quieter places at first until your dog understands the rules apply in the new location too!

Teach Your Dog to Take Treats Gently with Different People

In this final step, you’ll need someone to help. This step will teach your dog manners apply to other people, not just you. Find someone your dog knows and trusts. Ask them to work through the above steps in turn. Again, your dog may not understand at first the rules apply to someone besides you, but he or she will figure it out pretty quickly. Once your dog has learned this with a few different people, he or she will remember them for good, no matter who is offering the treat.

Practice Makes Perfect

Don’t move on to a new step until your dog is successful with the one you’re working on. If your dog starts to have a hard time, either take a break or go back to the previous step for a while and practice a little more.

How Long Should It Take to Teach Your Dog to Take Treats Gently?

You should be able to work through Steps 1-9 fairly quickly, even in one day. Try breaking the training session up into shorter times (a couple of minutes) each. Training in different locations and with different people will take longer. Work on this command at least once a day for the training to become ingrained.

What Might Go Wrong

There are two main problems that generally occur when training your dog to take treats gently. The first of these is the most likely.

Potential Problem #1. Your Dog Hurts Your Hand

If your dog is being really rough and hurting you, try wearing a glove. Gardening gloves usually work well. Once your dog can be gentle when taking the treats reliably, try without the gloves. You shouldn’t have too many problems because by now your dog realizes biting the glove doesn’t give him or her the reward of getting the treat sooner.

Potential Problem #2. Your Dog Bites Your Fingers

Most dogs will have become more restrained once they’ve worked through the above steps. But if your dog still bites your fingers, place the treat on the floor and push it towards the dog.

Repeat a few times then hold onto the treat as you push it along the floor. Move your hand towards the dog still holding the treat and release it when the dog mouths gently or licks at the treat. With practice, your dog will learn you won’t allow biting or nipping to be in the equation.

Benefits of Teaching Your Dog to Take Treats Gently

Teaching your dog to take treats gently is much more than it seems. Your dog – or puppy – is learning to control him or herself. In addition, your dog is learning he or she can elicit a certain response from you or someone else based on his or her own behavior. Learning to take treats gently lies at the heart of all successful dog training and will help you in the future as you embark on your training journey together.

Have you taught your dog or puppy to take treats gently? What tactics did you use? Please share in the comments below…