We have found bribing Molly to do things that she is not keen on essential. Tempting her into a behaviour has stopped her from fighting back against us. 

Bribes have enabled us to:

• Give her baths

• Give her eye drops/wash her eyes

• Wash her ears

• Cut her nails each month

We have found that she is calm and easy to bath if she knows that at the end of the ‘procedure’ she will be well rewarded. To start the ‘procedure’ we always show her what she will get if she goes along with it and behaves well. 

We always use high value treats to bribe her, this could be ham, meat, cheese. It is usually a human food. Firstly, we show her the piece of ham and then we place it on the floor about 0.5 metre away from her. We have found that if she can get to the food then she knows that it is there for her. We then tell her to leave it and we hold her in a position that enables us to do whatever it is we need to do. After the procedure we release her by saying ‘OK’ and praise her well. She can then rush off to the food on the floor and gobble it up!

1. Show her the bribe

2. Leave the bribe out in the dog’s reach

3. Do the procedure

4. Release the dog to the food praising her well. 

​

Bribing Molly has meant that she now just waits for us to bath and wash her, she doesn’t try to jump out of the bath. She accepts for us to trim/cut her nails when needed. She has sometimes needed eye drops/washes which she lets us do. She seems to tolerate anything that we need to do to her if she is bribed well for it. At times when she has needed daily eye drops for a week, she could be bribed with her usual breakfast.