Leashes by Design LLC

A tool born out of necessity

Some dogs just can NOT catch cookies…my ten month old puppy being one of them. So, when I started working on his heeling focal point, I would put a cookie under my armpit and then mark and drop the cookie to him when I was trying to reward the behavior I wanted. Instead of catching the cookie, it would bounce off his head or his nose or nowhere close, then he would run around on the ground after it, like a cat chasing a mouse. So, while I was trying to reward him in position, I was actually rewarding him with the cookie nowhere near me.

Because of how I like to reward (with very little extra movement from me), I devised this little tool to hold my cookie. Then, I taught my dog how to jump up and take the cookie himself, while staying in heel position. Within the first ten minutes, I was able to work his heeling, rewarding him exactly how I wanted.

The position of the treat keeper depends on the size of your dog. I started my young dog (about 20" at the shoulder) with the keeper right above my elbow, but quickly moved it up to about armband height. I probably could have left it above my elbow, but it was much easier for him to cheat and grab it. If you have a smaller dog, you could also put the treat keeper anywhere along your lower arm if you heel with your hand down.

Cookies - You need to use something that can be easily pierced and not fall apart. I use good sized pieces of hot dogs, nuked in the microwave for about four minutes, since I hate slimy hot dogs. :) But, cook them too long and it takes forever to try to put them on the plastic strip…trust me.