ouch!!!

[AkirasMom]

akira and i have started training classes and it's going VERY well. except for one little problem: she gets SO excited about the soft, extra yummy treats i give her in class, she's nearly bitten my fingers off more than once.

so far i've tried to say OUCH loudly and not give her the treat and then say "gentle" until she sort of licks it out my hand. so that works sometimes, but other times she comes in SO excited that she just bites down. last night she brought tears to my eyes she bit me so hard. i have to say that the more this happens, the less motivated i feel to work with her. i know, i know - that's totally selfish and stupid. just had to get it off my chest.

any suggestions? (before i'm typing here with less than 10 fingers!)

[LORHEL]

When you want them to take a treat nicely, try using "easy"...

make a fist and put the treat inside with only a very small part sticking out, so they can just see it (and of course smell it)...put your hand out and say eaaaaaaasy....if she shows teeth or tries biting, start over, do not give her the treat...if she is gentle and takes it nicely, praise her and let her have it...she will catch on very quickly that if she bites or mouths, she will not get the treat, but if she is gentle and takes it "easy" she gets it...you can do it , just keep practicing. :)

[codglvr]

Saga and Balder both can foget to be easy while training also. I made some adjusments to how I hand them the treat in addition to reminding them to be easy. Experiment with how you hold to treat. :)