Luring is a common practice in dog training where the dog trainer uses a food reward or other motivator to guide a dog into a new position. Luring can be used to help teach all kinds of basic obedience such as sit, come, down and heel.
Although it’s very useful in starting off a new skill, the dog needs to be able to perform the task without a treat in front of their nose eventually. In order for this to happen, you need to fade the lure.
Knowing When It’s Time
The first step in fading the lure is choosing the right time to do it. If you try to fade the lure too early, your dog may not be able to perform the task. If you never fade the lure you’ll never know if your pup knows the command or if they are just following their nose to the snack.
In general, you should lure until your pet is offering the behavior easily every time you lure. If you’re trying to teach them to get on a platform for example, and they are leaning to get the treat, dancing back and forth along the edge, and then jumping on the platform—that’s not a good time to fade the lure.
On the other hand if they know you want them to jump on the box and do so as soon as they see the treat, this is a good time to fade the lure.
Fading the Lure
The first step to fading the lure is to give your dog some other indication of when it is time to jump on the platform. This would be either a verbal cue or a hand signal. Say “Up!” for example, and lure the dog on the platform.
Do this several times, and then say the word “Up” but don’t lure. Did the dog still jump up? Lavish them with praise!
If they don’t, that’s okay. It’s a pretty extreme jump between following a treat and listening for a cue. While many dogs are able to guess what you want them to do correctly, others are just wondering where the treat went.
For the dogs who still don’t quite get it, try using your pointed finger as a lure and no treat in your hand. If they jump up, treat them after they’ve done so. This way they know they guessed correctly.
Finally, try once again to ask them with the voice command or hand signal and no lure. Do they do it? Lavish with praise! If not, keep using the minimum lure the dog will still perform the cue for until they can do so without a lure.
Similar Posts:
- What is Luring in Dog Training?
- Platform Training Your Dog
- Teaching Your Chihuahua to Sit, Part 1
- Two Paws Up: A Handy Skill For Your Pet
- How to Teach Your Chihuahua to Heel
