How would one train dogs to wait for a treat to be handed to them?

[MANDY MCANINCH]

My mom has two dogs, and I have one. Though they always get the same treats, they each try to snatch food when it’s being offered to another. 
 

For example, I had all three sitting down, and went to give a treat to the oldest first. The middle went to take it from my hand, so I moved it away and pointed the middle further away. Though she did listen, the youngest tried to take it when I offered it to the oldest again. We’d like them to wait their turn so they don’t feel as rushed to take it, as the oldest two sometimes bite fingers on accident.

[JMFS]

Hi Mandy,

The short and quick version:  I would lower the criteria to make it easier for them to put the pieces together.  E.g., instead of having them all together, teach them separately to wait until the treat is offered to them.  Once they have that down you can move them closer and closer until they're all together.

A bit more detail:

Another option would be to have a partner to help.   The partner would hold dog 2 and 3's attention while you give dog 1 a treat.  Since it sounds like dog 1 knows how to wait, dog 3 would then be entertained while you give dog 2 a treat.  Finally, dog 3 gets their treat while dog 2 is either eating theirs, or being entertained by the partner.  Over time the assistant can be phased out as they start to get the whole, "wait your turn," thing.

Look at Me, Wait, and Leave I think would be good sections to look at.

We have our bigger girls lie down on their bed.  When they're both calm and giving us a rolled hip (laying to one side or the other instead of in a pounce position - which is called sphynx), Gertie gets her treat first because she's a slower chewer (and more polite), then Esther gets hers.  Some days it's like Whack-a-Mole as one pops up when the other lies down, so I'll admit we don't have it 100% fluidly taught.  My husband has lower expectations than I do so we often get about an 85 - 90% grade on this exercise because he's happy enough if they sit.

Look at Me - they have to look at you before they get praise or a treat

Wait (Stay) - don't take it until I say so, even if it's touching your nose (this is great for impulse control!).  I couldn't find an actual "wait" which can be used a bit differently than stay, but it's much the same concept.

Leave - don't take it at all (in this case you might offer from one hand and when they leave it you reward with the Other hand)

I teach each of our dogs from day one to wait for their meals.  This is a segue into waiting for treats, like you're wanting to do.  Mealtimes are regular occurrences, and excellent training times for impulse control.  #4 on this list briefly goes over how to teach a pup to wait for their meal.  Esther and Gertie will wait until I tell them it's "ok" to eat.  I can walk away from their bowls, sometimes even go downstairs and come back up, and they will wait for me to say "ok," give a hand signal, or both (I use the ASL sign for "eat" to release them for meals - it carried over from teaching my daughter how to ask for food before she was able to talk, lol).

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there!

Welcome to the forums, Jennifer has given you great tips there!

One question that comes to mind is: "how closely are you keeping the dogs when practicing group sits? Are the younger ones breaking their sit/stay to snatch the treats you are offering your older dog, or are they just stretching their neck?

If they are stretching their neck, then you can easily solve this by giving them more distance. This can help weed out the chances for any misinterpretations in case they are thinking the treat is being offered to them. 

If they are breaking their sits, they may need more training individually as Jennifer has pointed out and also working with a helper keeping them on leash at a distance and then gradually closer.  This can also turn into a great impulse control teaching moment, where they learn that "patience pays."

Basically, when they stay nicely put, you will proceed to feed the older dog first and then immediately afterward they get their treats. If your dogs try to snatch the treat you are giving your other dog, your hand will close and you will move away (which is pretty much what you have done already). They should basically, learn that their pushy behaviors, yield nothing.

This is a good lesson in impulse control training and also creates indirectly some positive associations with the other dog being fed (every time, the other dog is nearby, he/she gets fed, and then right afterward, I get a treat right -it's nice to have him/her nearby!).

In terms of human comparison, think about this as being on plane, being extra hungry to the point of your belly growling and anxiously anticipating meal service.  You go to ask the flight attendant if they can make an exception and feed your meal early than the rest of the passengers, but they say they don't offer any special treatments, and that they must follow the rules and serve everybody food at the same time, following a special order. 

When you finally notice the flight attendants get the food cart out, you feel good, even if they are feeding other people in the seats ahead of you first because you know your meal will soon be coming.

Moral of the story: Pushy behavior yields nothing, patience pays. 

Now, consider that sometimes, there is competition among dogs over treats. So if there are cases of resource guarding, you need to practice caution and play it safe. In these cases, group training can turn risky especially if you happen to drop a treat in between two dogs or two dogs bunch up trying to access it. If there is very, very mild competition though, the positive associations created by the contingency of  "I get fed if I stay seated nicely, and the other dog is fed" can help with that since treat delivery becomes contingent upon the other dogs being fed first. 

For the biting on fingers, this can be due to high arousal levels, the treats being very salient and competition with the other dogs (are they less rough when trained solo?). Here are some exercises to train a dog to take treats more gently:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/

In this case,  "patience pays" applies as well, basically treat delivery is contingent upon gentle mouths. The dog should therefore learn the contingency that: "my owner releases the treats only if my mouth is gentle, if I am rough, the treat is never delivered." Patience pays!

Happy training!