Taking Treat Away...Issues

[xoxodoglover89]

I just got the bully sticks that I ordered today in the mail & gave one to Sasha to try. She absolutely loves them. My problem is that I know as soon as I try to take the stick away, she's going to get really defensive when I try to take it away. Actually to be honest, she pretty much turns into "devil dog" if I try taking away any sort of treat or anything that she knows she isn't supposed to have. She'll get aggressive and actually try to bite. Does anyone have any tips as to how I can get it away from her to show my dominance over her?

[cdawnfine]

Does she know any commands...you can try either Drop it or look at me I did both with Milo. I tell him to look at me and then when he does I show him a treat and say drop it he will drop what he has I take it away and give him the new treat. this takes Lots and Lots of practice. Your dog needs to learn that everything belongs to you. Do you make her sit before you give her food. I make Milo sit before I give him is food and than I make him stay untill I tell him he can have it.

[xoxodoglover89]

Originally Posted by cdawnfine

Does she know any commands...you can try either Drop it or look at me I did both with Milo. I tell him to look at me and then when he does I show him a treat and say drop it he will drop what he has I take it away and give him the new treat. this takes Lots and Lots of practice. Your dog needs to learn that everything belongs to you. Do you make her sit before you give her food. I make Milo sit before I give him is food and than I make him stay untill I tell him he can have it.

Yes I always make her sit before I give her any kind of treat. I've been attempting to teach her drop it, but whenever she has something that she really likes, she completely basically forgets everything and does not listen. I saw on another thread that some people have suggested to stand over her and pretend to bite their neck with your hand and say sternly drop it. I don't know, I'm kind of at a loss at what to do here.

[marcerella02]

Originally Posted by xoxodoglover89

I just got the bully sticks that I ordered today in the mail & gave one to Sasha to try. She absolutely loves them. My problem is that I know as soon as I try to take the stick away, she's going to get really defensive when I try to take it away. Actually to be honest, she pretty much turns into "devil dog" if I try taking away any sort of treat or anything that she knows she isn't supposed to have. She'll get aggressive and actually try to bite. Does anyone have any tips as to how I can get it away from her to show my dominance over her?

Layla can't have bully sticks for that reason too- ANY OTHER treat i can take away from her- i just say AH AH loudly and DROP IT- and she does- bully sticks and anything like it- she is just AWFUL- so she doesn't have them anymore- i think it is an instinct thing...

but if this is for ALL treats- you gotta show her you are in charge- sitting for treats, to eat, to go outside, you are in charge of walks (she walks next to you) you eat first, I usually pretend to eat Layla's food before i give it to her- as if to say- i'll take what i want and i'll give you the rest (What an alpha dog would do). Maybe hold off on bulllies until you have the dominance thing under control. It takes a bit but it can be done- Layla had HUGE alpha issues but with some hard work we got it under control!.

[cdawnfine]

When I was training Milo when ever I needed to get his attention from something he was fixated on I would have my handy little can with a few coins in it. It makes an unpleasant noise and distracts them from what they are doing at the moment.

[marcerella02]

Originally Posted by cdawnfine

When I was training Milo when ever I needed to get his attention from something he was fixated on I would have my handy little can with a few coins in it. It makes an unpleasant noise and distracts them from what they are doing at the moment.

[xoxodoglover89]

Originally Posted by cdawnfine

When I was training Milo when ever I needed to get his attention from something he was fixated on I would have my handy little can with a few coins in it. It makes an unpleasant noise and distracts them from what they are doing at the moment.

Maybe next time I will try using something loud like that to get it away from her. I was able to get the bully stick away from her. Unfortunetely, I had my hand in 2 oven mitts as she was ready to bite me. I had my hand clawed over her neck and I kept constantly saying drop it, but she wouldn't listen. At one point, she actually began chewing on the stick while my hand was over her neck.

Could it help at all if before I give the stick to her, I hold it firmly in my hand and when she grabs it & tries to take it, say "no" or "drop it" or "ah ah"?

I really want to get this controlled. I try to overpower her, but I will admit that I was actually scared of her with the way that she was acting.

[cdawnfine]

If you can get her to sit and stay until you tell her it is ok to eat her food I would give it a try with another treat first. I would hold off on the bullies until you get it under control with everything else. Once you are afraid of a behavior of theirs they will use it every time to get what they want. The hardest thing for us is not to take it personally, and remain calm at all times. I have never used the technique that you spoke of, I have always used distraction when working in a situation where the dog gets fixated.

[chattiesmom]

I play the "trading game". I have a highly valued treat in my hand when I approach one of my guys and ask them "wanna trade?" Generally they drop what they have -- and since they have to sit for a treat they sit, take the treat from me and I pick up the other treasure.

Funny, I never ever thought I was training a specific command, but I guess I was.

[tritsy]

the trading game is a very good idea.

If you like the dog whisperer, he has done a lot of shows on this issue. (of course, when he does it, it works in about 2 minutes!). So you could check his website for tips. My poodle was becoming aggressive with bones, and I did the "standing over her" thing, and because I am already dominant, she backed up, i kept standing over her, and she finally sat and dropped the treat. (thanks to cesar, I am dominant!). So it can work, but it does need practice and patience. (sigh, and what doesn't?)

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

I play the "trading game". I have a highly valued treat in my hand when I approach one of my guys and ask them "wanna trade?" Generally they drop what they have -- and since they have to sit for a treat they sit, take the treat from me and I pick up the other treasure.

Funny, I never ever thought I was training a specific command, but I guess I was.

this is a great method. you need to find a high value treat like chicken that she will go crazy for. My dog doesn't have these issues as she will drop anything i ask her to, or leave it. Some high value treats tho would be chicken, cheese, stella and chewy's carnivore kisses, and any "human food" she thinks i am eating.

there was actually an episode of "its me or the dog" on last night where she trained a black pom with this method. worked like a charm

[toke]

I don't get Cesar on my cable...no Nat'l. Geo without paying extra. So, I can only tell you what I have done when growled at by my favorite Yorkie boy ever...my Charlie, the Snakekiller, lol. He growled at me once, out in the yard...so long ago, I can't remember why he did it. Anyway, I used my low-register fiercely menacing voice...gave him a bigtime "shaaaaame on you", flipped him over on his back and stared him down...eyeball to eyeball, Charlie held down belly-up...for a good minute or two. He never did it again. I don't see much point in negotiation...I'm the boss, ALL the time. Not to say I'm not always looking for training help, but I absolutely will not stand for any aggression directed at humans. Not ever.

[xoxodoglover89]

UPDATE: Well late this evening, I tried the "trade ya" trick with her. I didn't use a bully stick though, but a Twistix (a dental chew she absolutely LOVES) I gave her the dental stick & made sure I had a smaller different kind of treat in my hand. My first choice was a piece of cheese. I tried to grab the stick from her and asked her to drop it, which of course she didn't and proceeded to growl at me a little bit. I then showed her the cheese and said "trade ya" and she immediately dropped the dental chew and ate the cheese & I was able to grab the stick. I praised her immediately afterwards as well. I tried it a few more times as well as using a small piece of the jerky Wellness treats, worked just like the cheese did. I'm hoping this will at least be a start. I'm going to slowly work my way up to trying it with the bully stick, but I figured I'd post an update. Thank you everyone for the advice.

[Erin]

Trading is great advice and I have a bit to add. You have to practice giving the valued item RIGHT BACK. Loki used to be like Layla and I worked with him for months (and still do just for fun) and he is MUCH better now. I did the trade with a higher value item and I used the command "drop it" and he also knows "leave it" but that is for things he does not yet have, like a sandwich on the table, but same concept! Anyway, when he is chewing on something I go over and sit by him and pet him and say "Drop it!" as happy as I can - he will give me his stick and I look at it, say "Thank you!" and give it right back and continue to pet him while he resumes chewing. That way he is used to someone invading his space while he chews and if he knows he is going to get the item right back he doesn't mind giving it to me. Do this a lot so that the one time you do take it away (like at bed time) it's not the only thing they remember. Just make it a game. Give them the stick. Ask them to drop it. Ask for a sit. Hand it back and sit there and pet them for a minute. Then repeat! Loki gets bored after a few times and I swear he rolls his eyes at me, but he does what I ask.

I really need to do this with Sam too. She doesn't snap so I haven't had the need to teach her but I really should. It's funny how the dog who was worse when he was a puppy is trained better than the "good" one out of necessity. We think Sammy is smart but she relies on her cuteness most of the time instead of her brain LOL

[chattiesmom]

Originally Posted by xoxodoglover89

UPDATE: Well late this evening, I tried the "trade ya" trick with her. I didn't use a bully stick though, but a Twistix (a dental chew she absolutely LOVES) I gave her the dental stick & made sure I had a smaller different kind of treat in my hand. My first choice was a piece of cheese. I tried to grab the stick from her and asked her to drop it, which of course she didn't and proceeded to growl at me a little bit. I then showed her the cheese and said "trade ya" and she immediately dropped the dental chew and ate the cheese & I was able to grab the stick. I praised her immediately afterwards as well. I tried it a few more times as well as using a small piece of the jerky Wellness treats, worked just like the cheese did. I'm hoping this will at least be a start. I'm going to slowly work my way up to trying it with the bully stick, but I figured I'd post an update. Thank you everyone for the advice.

Thank you so much for the update. It sounds like you have a fantastic start to correcting this problem.

Please remember, this is a "fair trade" not a bait and switch. When you go to "make the trade" it should be a happy event for both of you -- and she should learn to be polite..... sounds like you are well on the way.