Honest opinion Licky treat & Thimble … ??

OK… so I have to ask… what are others feeling on this issue…. When offering licky treats to use a thimble… so that when they do ‘bite / strike’ … they learn that it does not do any good…

The reason I ask is that when I got the twins… Surge was a lunger and a biter … every time… and I did use this method… along with a lot of other bonding techniques… and he did turn 180 degrees and became a lover… I have thought about offing this as a suggestion in ‘special’ cases… but wanted to get the wisdom of the board and their opinions on this idea…

PLEASE keep this within board rules… I know I have opened myself up here, and if it is not within board rules but you feel you need to express yourself please PM me directly… I am a big boy and can take it … as always… thanks for the input…

I tried this one time with my Carina, since she would cobra strike & bite me when I offered her licky treats. After that first time, she was very offended & would not even take the licky treats off the thimble. She would just glare at it when I offered them to her. However it was either then or a short time after that that she totally stopped biting....so maybe it did influence her.

Wow, Thats a great idea. I see nothing wrong with it really because they chew on anything anyways. The only concern I would have is them biting down onto the thimble too hard and hurting their teeth.

Exactly… and that is why I am looking for view points on this… Thanks

John, this has been my advice for years, and I totally belive in it, or I wouldn't suggest it. But, your missing one point.

You do not use a metal thimble, you use a plastic quilters thimble. It only has a band that goes around your finger, like down by the base of your nail, and then it has a part that goes up towards your tip and is curved. So the nail is exposed, it's a hard plastic, but does not hurt their teeth, and.. they can still smell your finger. After they stop biting, lunging, then you stop using the thimble.

At least, that's how I do it with a bad biter. And it has always worked for me

Good post.

Here's a pic of one for those who aren't familiar with them

Becki… you are the link queen… ****** I bow down to thee ********* lol.. thanks that is a great help.. and just to clarify… I only used it for a short time.. but it did seem to make a difference… I may just have to pick one of those up… just for reference sake…

John, it's funny you say that, other people call me that too

There are thimbles that are regular thimbles but made of plastic. If you can't find a quilter's thimble, just don't use a metal one as it could cause damage to their teeth if they bite to hard.

hmmm..learned something.

I got mine at WalMart, they are only a few $$

While a metal thimble could damage teeth, it seems like with a plastic thimble, I would not be concerned about your suggie getting injured. I think this is a really good option for gliders who are lungers/biters and this is a big obstacle to their bonding. I would fully agree with using this strategy for a glider with this behavior. I think it is completely humane and it sounds like an effective way to change their behavior.

There is also thimbles made of rubber... not sure if anyone has ever used those.

Ok plastic it is. I will look into getting one of those if I ever get a biter Right now my two girls are awesome and have never biten me to hurt me just play but I guess its just luck sometimes.

Wow! I had thought of using a thimble a couple years back with a lunger but was scared to. I had no idea they came in something besides metal. (that's all I had in my grandmas stuff and I've never used them for sewing)

I have a semi newbi baby boy that takes a sudden notion to bite randomly while giving treats. I gotta go get one of those!

Thanks!!!!!