Luring

What it means

Luring is often the fastest way to get a new behavior happening for the first time, moving a treat up and back over a dog's head typically prompts a sit, for example. The lure has to be faded out fairly quickly once the behavior is reliable, replacing the treat-in-hand motion with an empty-hand hand signal and eventually just the verbal cue, or the dog can become dependent on seeing food to respond.

A real example

A trainer lures a "down" by moving a treat from a dog's nose down to the floor and slightly forward, then, once the dog understands, uses the same hand motion without a treat visible.

A worked example

Ivan holds a treat above his puppy's nose and slowly moves it back over the head. The puppy sits to follow it. After a few tries, Ivan holds an empty hand in the same shape and rewards from his pocket. Within a day the puppy sits to the hand signal alone.

Signs it is working

• The dog follows the lure smoothly.
• It does the same movement with an empty hand.
• It responds to a smaller gesture than before.

What it is not

It is not bribing. A lure is used briefly to show the dog what you want, then it is faded, so the dog does not depend on it.

Why it matters

Luring is one of the fastest ways to get a position or movement the first time. The key is to fade the lure early so the dog does not depend on seeing food.

How to use it

1. Hold a treat at the dog's nose and move it slowly along the path you want.
2. Mark and reward as soon as the dog reaches the position.
3. After a few repetitions, use the same hand motion with no treat in it, then reward from the other hand.
4. Add the verbal cue, then shrink the hand movement into a small signal.

Why does my dog only respond when it sees the treat?

The lure was not faded. Start using the empty hand early, and reward from a pocket or the other hand so the motion alone becomes the cue.

Related terms

Keep learning

• Errorless Learning →
• Distance, Duration, Distraction (the 3 Ds) →