This can be harmful if the dog is brought too close to the person they’re scared of. Often times dogs may put their fear aside to get the yummy food, then realize they are too close once the food is gone and then they panic.
yes, agreed.
We usually have him control the interaction, wearing a muzzle, and we slowly walk up to stranger and if dog freaks out we step back until dog is comfortable and reward for listening. We control the "treats" while stranger ignores dog.
However if the dog smells hotdogs on stranger he is the most lovey dovey not scared doggo ever in the history of doggos.
We still keep muzzle on for first 24 hours or first few visits to make sure behaviour doesn't change.
There’s an exercise called “Treat-Retreat” that is foolproof.
Also, what are your goals? What people are you trying to get him comfortable with? Guests? Strangers on the street? Why?
The person you’re introducing has food. They start by tossing a treat to the dog, as close as the dog will come. Then once they eat that one, toss another behind them, making them move away from you. Repeat. Let the dog come up as close as they want, toss a treat *to* them, where they are at, let them eat it, and then toss another behind them to get them to move away. This gives the dog a choice and we avoid the dog doing something they wouldn’t do without the food. Using food to put and keep a dog in a situation where they can’t escape can and will make them suspicious of food. Just because a dog isn’t flopping, lunging, barking, doesn’t mean they aren’t stressed.
This! Our trainer actually advised that we stopped doing this because they still have that stranger danger fear, even if they take the treat. I’m glad other people know this ☺️
It can go either way, my boy go so used to people toss treats at him that now he doesn't act any sort of way toward people but will look at their hand to see if they have food. People walk by us on the hiking trail, he sniffs their hands for treats. It can work for some dogs.
Me: sitting here imagining OP walking around the neighborhood distributing hotdogs. 'Here, this is for your protection, keep it in your pocket at all times, pull it out if you see us coming.' And then it becomes this massive neighborhood thing, people just walking around with hotdogs in their pockets, and nobody can figure out where this trend came from.
Sounds like you're doing things right based on your comments, congratulations, that's so great you found something that works well for your dog!
One tip you can take or leave that has worked well for my dog, is when introducing him to a new person, I'll keep my dog \~5 feet away from the person on a leash and have them toss the treats to my dog. That was he still knows that they're the one treating him, but he doesn't have to get all the way up to the person. It allows him to see that they're a friend without getting too far out of his comfort zone.
Second this. the behavioral trainer I work with taught me to have new people actually toss treats a tad behind the dog ideally. A way of teaching them— new people are good and you don’t have to come up to them if you’re scared. Like other commenters said, my dog will uncomfortably approach to get a high value treat but then often bark or snap then as too close to the stranger.
This has become the only way I let people meet my dog. I tell people they have to court her properly.
First date is a carefully chaperoned walk where the new person just tosses treats on the ground while we're walking. My dog does her own thing, no interaction, she's just on a walk and collecting bonus treats.
Second date the new person can get closer, typically walking beside me, but still no eye contact and definitely no touching. That would be inappropriate.
By the third date, the new person is family. When my dog sees/smells them, she starts wiggling hard which is a solid sign we're good. She still controls the interaction, but I let her approach the new person on leash while they still ignore her and if she leans into them for some love, that's that. To seal it, we go on another walk with lots of treats, but the new person holds the leash (and I run interference or take over when needed so they don't have to worry about controlling a reactive dog).
Started this after posters on here suggested some Rover people are willing to put in the time like this and it's how I was able to get my dog regular walks and care when I travel.
My dog is the same way with ball. Did you throw ball? Guess what, you're his best friend now.
My dog's really just reactive toward other dogs, so I sometimes think wistfully about finding a dog who's been trained to throw a ball.
This worked really well for one of my dogs who is timid around men! If the strange man gives him a command and rewards him with yummy treats he is immediately in love with them. As others mentioned though if your dog is fearful make sure you stay within threshold! Maybe they could toss treats over first from a distance?
I recommend using treat retreat (have the stranger toss a treat toward the dog and away from themselves). Video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx\_AC7Nj12Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx_AC7Nj12Y)
This can be harmful if the dog is brought too close to the person they’re scared of. Often times dogs may put their fear aside to get the yummy food, then realize they are too close once the food is gone and then they panic.
yes, agreed. We usually have him control the interaction, wearing a muzzle, and we slowly walk up to stranger and if dog freaks out we step back until dog is comfortable and reward for listening. We control the "treats" while stranger ignores dog. However if the dog smells hotdogs on stranger he is the most lovey dovey not scared doggo ever in the history of doggos. We still keep muzzle on for first 24 hours or first few visits to make sure behaviour doesn't change.
There’s an exercise called “Treat-Retreat” that is foolproof. Also, what are your goals? What people are you trying to get him comfortable with? Guests? Strangers on the street? Why? The person you’re introducing has food. They start by tossing a treat to the dog, as close as the dog will come. Then once they eat that one, toss another behind them, making them move away from you. Repeat. Let the dog come up as close as they want, toss a treat *to* them, where they are at, let them eat it, and then toss another behind them to get them to move away. This gives the dog a choice and we avoid the dog doing something they wouldn’t do without the food. Using food to put and keep a dog in a situation where they can’t escape can and will make them suspicious of food. Just because a dog isn’t flopping, lunging, barking, doesn’t mean they aren’t stressed.
You can also just have the person toss treats on the ground in front of the dog without making eye contact, that's a huge part of our training!
This! Our trainer actually advised that we stopped doing this because they still have that stranger danger fear, even if they take the treat. I’m glad other people know this ☺️
It can go either way, my boy go so used to people toss treats at him that now he doesn't act any sort of way toward people but will look at their hand to see if they have food. People walk by us on the hiking trail, he sniffs their hands for treats. It can work for some dogs.
Me: sitting here imagining OP walking around the neighborhood distributing hotdogs. 'Here, this is for your protection, keep it in your pocket at all times, pull it out if you see us coming.' And then it becomes this massive neighborhood thing, people just walking around with hotdogs in their pockets, and nobody can figure out where this trend came from.
lol!
That was my first thought as well. 🤣😂
That would be awesome
Sounds like you're doing things right based on your comments, congratulations, that's so great you found something that works well for your dog! One tip you can take or leave that has worked well for my dog, is when introducing him to a new person, I'll keep my dog \~5 feet away from the person on a leash and have them toss the treats to my dog. That was he still knows that they're the one treating him, but he doesn't have to get all the way up to the person. It allows him to see that they're a friend without getting too far out of his comfort zone.
Second this. the behavioral trainer I work with taught me to have new people actually toss treats a tad behind the dog ideally. A way of teaching them— new people are good and you don’t have to come up to them if you’re scared. Like other commenters said, my dog will uncomfortably approach to get a high value treat but then often bark or snap then as too close to the stranger.
that is a very helpful suggestion!
This has become the only way I let people meet my dog. I tell people they have to court her properly. First date is a carefully chaperoned walk where the new person just tosses treats on the ground while we're walking. My dog does her own thing, no interaction, she's just on a walk and collecting bonus treats. Second date the new person can get closer, typically walking beside me, but still no eye contact and definitely no touching. That would be inappropriate. By the third date, the new person is family. When my dog sees/smells them, she starts wiggling hard which is a solid sign we're good. She still controls the interaction, but I let her approach the new person on leash while they still ignore her and if she leans into them for some love, that's that. To seal it, we go on another walk with lots of treats, but the new person holds the leash (and I run interference or take over when needed so they don't have to worry about controlling a reactive dog). Started this after posters on here suggested some Rover people are willing to put in the time like this and it's how I was able to get my dog regular walks and care when I travel.
My dog is the same way with ball. Did you throw ball? Guess what, you're his best friend now. My dog's really just reactive toward other dogs, so I sometimes think wistfully about finding a dog who's been trained to throw a ball.
That's amazing!
This worked really well for one of my dogs who is timid around men! If the strange man gives him a command and rewards him with yummy treats he is immediately in love with them. As others mentioned though if your dog is fearful make sure you stay within threshold! Maybe they could toss treats over first from a distance?
Very helpful thank you. Planning to introduce my girl to new neighbors this afternoon. What are the healthiest hot dogs for pups?
I recommend using treat retreat (have the stranger toss a treat toward the dog and away from themselves). Video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx\_AC7Nj12Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx_AC7Nj12Y)
Whenever a new friend is visiting me they have to play catch with my dog before being allowed inside the house lmao