Has anyone got any ideas on how to make my pup take a treat gently.He just lunges at everyone as if hes never eaten.He has a sister who takes treats really softly so I suppose hes trying to get the treat before she does, he certainly isn't learning any of her good habits!  If anyone has got any ideas, I would be really grateful.
Thanks Ange.

If he goes to lunge I would close my hand around the treat and not give it to him. And keep practising that way until he learns. If he takes it nicely say "good boy" and let him have hte treat .
Sometimes its just the way they are though. I know my eldest takes them really gently and always has but we never taught that , its just the way he is :)
You do get used to dogs taking treats nicely though _ I know when i was giving a friends dog a treat he nearly bit my hand off :rolleyes: I just take it for granted they are all the same but theyre not

My oldest bitch used be very gentle when taking treats. However, since I started throwing their biscuits for them she is no longer as gentle and snaps if not reminded to be 'gentle'. Has someone been throwing treats for your dog? It's just a thought. ;)

I am the same as Lel, I won't give my dogs the treat unless they are gentle. My oldest was taught this from the beginning and so takes her treats nicely. Her son, however, is still being worked on. He will sit down wagging his bushy tail and will leap up at me the moment I get a treat out of the bag. I firmly tell him no and make him sit down again. Then with only a quarter of the treat sticking out of my fingers, I put it to his mouth. This way, if he lunges for the treat, he gets half of my hand and he knows not to bite. Because of doing this, he gently takes the quarter of the treat so as to not bite me and then I let go of it, telling him what a good boy he is and that he is being a good gentle boy. It worked for me, hopefully it might help you out some. :) Good luck!

-Tara

Same here, I always make my 3 sit nicely first. Then I say gently, I hold the treat close to them but if they lunge forward I pull the treat away and say no, and repeat until it is took nicely. 2 of them take it nice everytime, without reminders, but Rio (8 months) still has to be reminded occasionally.
I'm sure they will get it in the end, if they think they are going to miss out.

Michelle.

Oh my gosh! I can relate. You know, my two mares were way more gentle than my Doberman. I could give them a tiny piece of carrot with just my fingers holding it and they only used their lips, never their teeth. Of course, they're designed differently.

He sits nicely, but when I use to hold the treat out, it was like a shark feeding frenzie. He still has a tendency to snap, but if I make a real lesson, he's better....like several treats in a row and practice...."gentle." I won't give it to him until he gentles down. I say, "gennnnntle" and hold it so he can't get it easily and present the back of my hand to his mouth first so he has to work around the other side to find it. And I'll hold onto it until he calms down. If he is still rough, I act like I'm mortally wounded and say, "owwwwwwww" crying out, and then he looks shocked and is more gentle. We're still working on that though. The other dogs are gentle, just not him.

You could also just feed him with the flat of your hand, like you should with a horse, not like I did it. Oh....another thing that might work is to put it in the flat of your hand and push it quickly up against his mouth before he has a chance to snap or grab. It's already there so he doesn't have to grab at it. That works with grabby horses.

Carrie

Hi ange

What about teaching your dog the hand touch which is what we use quite frequently when teaching heelwork?

Stand/sit in front of the dog with one empty hand and one with a treat in, when he goes to mug the one holding the food just take your hand away without saying anything.  The dog soon realises the cause and effect sequence and will probably look or even touch the other one, then click and treat.  Every time the dog does more than just nose gently at your hand or try to grab the treat you just remove the treat/hand.  Dogs don't do pointless :) and soon learn to be gentle this way.

Obviously if you are attempting to treat a dog in the company of another one you have introduced an element of competition which means the "hard wiring" for resources kicks in I am afraid :D

Good luck!