Oops, before I go, I want to post something and I don't know where to put it but this is my stomping ground so I will put it here. Maybe someone can use it someday, I don't know, it's kind of totally random.
So Sammy, the younger of my two Shelties, has the bad habit of snatching food if you offer it from your hand, and you're liable to lose a finger. I don't like this, of course, so I wanted to find a way to teach him to take food gently from my hand. I've found two ways. The first way is for small, dry treats. I hide them in my closed hand and he has to kind of dig them out with his snout as I slowly open my hand. This has helped a lot. The second method is for bigger treats. I make the dogs chicken meatballs* and freeze them. They are about an inch in diameter, so I want to be able to offer them between thumb and forefinger - without, as I say, losing a digit! So I've been offering them in a pair of metal tongs. Sammy has learned that it's not comfortable to chomp down on this, and also that he doesn't get the treat if he does. He's learning to grasp it delicately and then I will let it go. I say, "easy, easy," as he takes it. I'm going to continue this for the rest of this week, then try it with my fingers. Progress report to follow!
*old chicken used for broth, shredded, mixed with brown rice, nutritional yeast and coconut oil.