🍪Is a Cookie Magnet what you think it is?

Using a treat to move a dog past a distraction, or as I often do, to get them out of trouble when we end up in over our heads... it's more of an art than a science.

It takes a certain feel.

The trick is a few treats, or a single large treat, and you keep it on your dog's nose. Your dog can lick or gnaw at it, but you keep the main part of your treat enclosed in your hand.

As you lure your dog away, if you sense your dog backing off, you slow down or open your hand slightly to allow better access. As you sense them getting more committed to the treat, you can speed up and/or close your hand a little.

If you see that dog is now staring at you and things are about to get harder, you open your hand a little and probably turn your dog away from the distraction. Maybe you even step between or use your body to block your dog's view of the distraction.

This is a distraction/management technique.

A cookie magnet (or magnet hand as some call it) is a great technique to practice so you can use it when the world surprises you and you end up in a situation that is above your dog's training level.

It's a great way out of a situation before your dog has a reaction. But you have to practice it to get that feel. Dr Amy Cook wrote this on her personal FB page last week:

A lot of people might assume that magnet hand is just about luring, and thus really doesn’t take much practice. How hard can it be to hold a treat in front of your dog?

Well, magnet hand isn’t a lure. It’s an active eating process, and the dog needs to learn how to walk and eat without stopping, and you need to learn how to hold treats so they can be eaten rather than doling them out yourself, with your fingers.

But more than that, there’s a mental component when it’s used in management that means you have to do a lot of quick thinking, deciding how much verbal and visual support to provide (whisper? cheerlead? look around? look at dog?), and there’s a lot of splitting your focus, simultaneously paying attention to: -the environment -the eating behavior of your dog -the trigger’s behavior so you know when to support the strongest -the amount of food you have left in your hand -the escape route that is best -how much dog you have left compared to how much ground you still have to cover.

You’ll use your ears, eyes, and the feedback from just the feelings in your hand to know when you’ve got this or when you might need to change.

ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

(On-Line) Leash Reactivity Deep Dive
Starts March 5th, 2025!

Registration is now OPEN for the LEASH REACTIVITY DEEP-DIVE, my group mentorship program in which I spend 8 weeks with a small group of people struggling with leash reactivity. Submit videos, ask questions, and meet awesome people and dogs.

You'll receive daily support and feedback on your training for 8 whole weeks. This is a fantastic way to jump start your training and to get some real progress for both your dog and yourself.

Have fun, build your dog's skills and confidence, as well as your own.

Seriously... this is so much fun. I hope you'll join us!

Click for Info on the Deep Dive!