Treating while hard playing

[Christy&Riley]

I am working on getting Riley to not run up to people when they walk by and we are in the yard. She does a pretty good job but she will bolt if they talk to her. I would like to give her treats to reinforce the stay, but I'm concerned about her stomach flipping because she would be eating while playing hard. Should I be concerned or can I give treats after she has been running and is panting hard? Thanks!

[Adina P]

I don't train with treats, but if the treats are small enough (the size of a green pea or smaller) it shouldn't be a problem.  Make them super high value, super tasty treats and it will be like licking a lollipop rather than chewing on a steak.

[Christy&Riley]

We went to a trainer when Riley was around five months and he was strongly opposed to treats. He felt dogs should obey because you are the leader not because you bribed them with treats. We agreed so I only used treats to train in a few scenarios. But, everyone keeps saying I need to use treats to break this excitement thing and I'm willing to give in out of frustration.

[Adina P]

In this video I talk about how I taught a 'sit stay' around people.  I don't train with treats so the actual METHOD won't be applicable.  But what you can take away from this video is simply that you have to start small and work your way up.  It has to be easy and then gradually more and more difficult. People have to be far and then gradually closer.  They have to be silent and then gradually talkative and excited.  You can NOT control people, of course, but you can control where you take Riley.  It's also not rude to say "Sorry we are in training."  Or "We're training right now, so you can't pet him, but would you like to help with an exercise?"  Something like that.  That's the only way I got strangers to help.  I had to be very clear that they *might* be able to earn a petting session but only if they followed instructions. 

[Christy&Riley]

Thanks! I used to do the exercises you mentioned and they were working. But now I realize I stopped when we moved to our new house last year. My old neighbors knew we were training and I would ask them not to pet her until she obeyed. My old neighbors also didn't have dogs so we didn't have that extra stimuli. While I've done some of those exercises from a distance, I need to be up front with people when they approach so we can work on close interaction. What is your method without treats? Riley gets overly excited if you say good job with any inflection so praise works against the goal of keeping her calm.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

As Adina said, if the treats are small enough I would not be at all worried about this.  Small pieces of chicken work especially well.  I should also say that when I talked in the earlier discussion about distracting with treats, that was not meant to replace the training.  I carry treats for those times when the distraction is above Murphy's threshold....like a lunging, barking dog coming right at him.  Because of his training he is calm around most people and dog distractions, but I know that he could not handle that situation...so I use treats to distract him.  If you're out walking in the yard, I'm assuming that there's not a steady stream of people walking by where you would have to constantly treat.  Treats serve as my "safety net" when I know the temptation for Murphy to react is too great.  In those situations, Murphy does not care about collar corrections...the reaction itself is more of a reinforcement to him and I really feel that he's in such an excited state that the correction doesn't even "register" with him.  Calmness is key....so when I turn him away and refocus him I always do it with a calm, soft voice.  Excitement from me usually will generate some reaction from him.

If your issue is training Riley on leash in your yard, maybe you could have someone help you.  Leash him and do some work...like small heel...sit...short stay.  Work for a few minutes to get him in the right frame of mind then have someone walk by at a distance.  Put him in a sit/stay and be ready to correct if he breaks.  I'm guessing he will at first.  When he stays in his sit as the person passes at a distance I would reward with a treat.  I wouldn't say a word (because that generates excitement)...just treat.  Have the person get closer and closer as you practice, and always end the session on a positive note.  Ultimately you should be able to have the person speak to you while keeping Riley in his sit....but then his reward would be to calmly walk by your side to the person.  That's what he wants and that's the ultimate reward.  You need to teach him that that will happen but only on your terms.  It will take some time, but this really is doable.

[Christy&Riley]

Thanks for the suggestions! Your example of Murphy where collar corrections don't register because of his excited state would be Riley when we are up close to people...although I have noticed that I can get her attention more these days. She just has a hard time making the right decision when the people and dogs are so tempting.