How to Give your Dog a Treat the RIGHT way!
So how in the world are you actually supposed to hand a dog a piece of food without them biting your fingers?
Alright, guys, I want to show you a tip today that’s super simple but very fundamental. If you’re trying to train a dog, you know that you need your fingers. So, when you’re trying to get your dog to take this tiny piece of food from you, how are you even supposed to do that?
Here’s what I want to show you. When you have a piece of food, you want to place it at the base of these two fingers. Then, put your thumb underneath it. Once your thumb is underneath, you should be able to hold it there. Now, if you’re new to this and have never done it before, it’s best to start with just one piece. I’ve been doing this for a while, though, so I can hold multiple pieces of food in my hand. Let me show you what that looks like.
Now that you’ve got the piece of food in your hand, it’s time to give it to your dog. One last thing to note before I give Creed, my German Shepherd, some food: I almost never give the dog the treat right at the tips of my fingers. That doesn’t mean you can’t train your dog not to take food from your fingers, but many dogs are overzealous and will just chomp at your whole hand if you offer it like that. Instead, use the base of your hand, pinning the treat underneath your thumb.
Alright, let’s grab Creed, and I’ll show you how it works. I have the food right at his mouth, at his nose, with my thumb directly underneath it. No matter how hard he pushes, it’s difficult for him to get the food from me. He’s looking at me like, “What the heck? Why aren’t you giving it to me?” At that point, it’s easy to lure him, and when I’m ready to give it to him, I can simply roll my thumb out of the way.
Let’s do that again. I preload the food into my hand, bring it right to his nose, lure him, and then I just roll my thumb away as I give it to him.
This technique can be used in a lot of different positions. You can use it when the dog is in a down position, or when you’re trying to move them into a heel position. You can bring the food straight down into that little nook of your hand, then roll your thumb away to give it to the dog.
Again, I’m bringing the food up nice and high, then coming straight down and rolling my thumb out of the way.
We should be adding verbal cues, but this tip is meant to be quick. All you’re doing is holding the food at the base of your fingers, bringing it down, and when you like what you see, you roll your thumb away so the dog can get it.
So that’s it! This tip helps save your fingers from being chomped and is a great way to lure and reward your dog while having meaningful interactions.
Thanks for watching, guys! Have a great one, and I’ll see you in the next video!
