If your dog lunges at dropped food, bolts through open doors, or turns into a blur of paws the moment dinner is being prepared, you are dealing with an impulse control problem — and no amount of repeated commands will fix it on its own. The good news: there is a famously simple game, popularized by world-class trainer Susan Garrett and known as It’s Yer Choice, that teaches dogs genuine self-control in just a few minutes a day. Instead of telling your dog what not to do, you let the environment do the teaching. The dog discovers, through his own choices, that calm behavior is what makes good things happen.
Why Self-Control Beats Constant Commands
A traditional leave-it cue works, but it has a hidden weakness: it depends on you being there to say it. A dog with real impulse control behaves differently. He has learned a rule that applies everywhere: good choices produce good consequences, and pushy choices make rewards disappear. Trainers describe this as controlling access to reinforcement rather than controlling the dog. Because the lesson comes from the dog’s own experience, it holds up even when you are across the room — or not in it at all.
The Game: Treats in a Closed Hand
- Hold a few pieces of kibble in your closed fist and sit down, resting your arm on your leg so your hand stays steady at nose level.
- Say nothing. Let your dog sniff, lick, paw, and nudge. Stay patient and perfectly still — this is where the learning happens.
- The moment your dog backs away or pulls his nose off your fist, open your hand.
- If he dives back in, close it again instantly. No scolding and no verbal corrections — the closing hand is the entire message.
- When he can keep his distance from an open palm, use your free hand to pick up one treat and deliver it to him. If he lunges toward your delivering hand, simply return the treat and repeat.
Keep sessions to one or two minutes and end on an easy success. Most dogs show visible improvement within two or three short sessions.
Level It Up, Layer by Layer
Once the hand game is solid, move the challenge to the floor. Cover a treat with your palm, then with your foot, letting the same rule play out: fuss at it and it stays covered; back off and food comes to you. From there, practice walking your dog past uncovered food, then past a favorite toy, then in busier rooms. Each layer is a small decision rehearsed many times — and those small decisions stack up into reliable self-control in real life.
Everyday Places the Game Pays Off
- Dropped toast at the breakfast table stays on the floor instead of being intercepted mid-air.
- Dinner prep happens with four paws on the floor instead of paws on the counter.
- Open doors become a pause-and-check moment rather than an escape route.
- Walks improve too: the same dog who waits calmly for a treat is far less likely to lunge after squirrels and skateboards.
- Greetings get politer, because waiting quietly becomes the default way to earn attention.
Three Mistakes to Avoid
First, do not talk. Verbal corrections turn the game into a command drill and shift the control back to you. Second, do not reward movement — deliver the treat while your dog is in a sit, stand, or down of your choosing, or you will accidentally train a backing-up behavior. Third, do not rush the layers. If your dog fails twice in a row at a new level, drop back one step and make it easy again.
Impulse control is not about creating a robot; it is about raising a dog who thinks before he acts, even when you are not watching. Five minutes of It’s Yer Choice, played a few times a week, will quietly reshape nearly every corner of daily life — and it is one of the most generous gifts you can give a dog, because it teaches him that the world makes sense and that his own good choices are what make good things happen.