Episode #125 Losing the Lure

Today I want to go over the basics of teaching a dog a new behavior and discuss the art of luring. What is it? How is it useful? What do we mean when we say lose the lure and why is that important? 

Transcript

Losing the Lure

Hello everyone! How are you today? How are your dogs? Maybe you have a dog and you’ve built a bond with them, taught them to do some really cool things and are here to learn a new tip. I know some of you are preparing to get a dog! You have the pick up date and are trying to learn all you can beforehand. I applaud you for your efforts. 

Perhaps you have a dog you are struggling with and wondering, hmmm, why did I want a dog again? I think most people hit that question at some point or another. Some days are good and some are not so good right?  No matter your circumstance, I am glad you are here. I love talking dogs and hope you find what you’re looking for on this podcast. I’ve recorded over a hundred episodes, all available for free to help anyone who has a dog so thanks for listening. 

Today I want to go over the basics of teaching a dog a new behavior and discuss the art of luring. What is it? How is it useful? What do we mean when we say lose the lure and why is that important? 

The four steps to teaching new behavior are:

Teach it - Get the behavior

Name it - put the behavior on cue 

Lose the lure - remove your assistance

Generalize - proof the behavior

Today we are focusing on the lure.

Luring means putting a desirable reward near your dogs nose and moving it slowly such that your dog follows it into the position you desire them to be in. For example, if I want my dog to sit, I can hold a food reward right above my dogs nose and slowly move it up over their eye level until they put their rear end on the floor. As they look higher up to get their treat they are inclined to sit. The second they do, I mark yes and pay them the food reward. I lured my dog into position. 

This is a great way to teach new behavior because we can get pretty quick results. Once my dog can do the behavior and I’ve marked yes multiple times, I add in the cue. My new pattern looks like this. Say sit, lure my dog into position, once they sit mark yes and pay. Repeating that multiple times helps my dog associate the word sit with the action of sitting. My dog now knows the new word sit and how to do it successfully. 

The next step is to remove or lose the lure - or the help I’ve been giving my dog. Let’s see if they can do it with just the cue and a possible hand signal, but no more bribe. I want to say sit, my dog sits and then I reward them for making such a good choice. 

The cool part about this pattern of learning is we can use it to teach our dogs a wide variety of behaviors in a positive way! The possibilities are many. Depending on the behavior and how our dog is doing with learning it, we can break it down into smaller steps as needed so our dog continues to have fun and therefore wants to keep trying. 

Roll is an example that may need several steps. Roll means to me, I want my dog to roll such that their four paws are up in the air and they are on their back. This way I can give them a belly rub or even groom them. 

Some dogs do not naturally love going over on their backs. We can take it a step at a time by luring them into a down and encouraging them to look over their shoulder. This is step one that I would mark yes and reward. Once my dog is comfortably doing this, I take the lure a bit further over their back until they lay on their side. At this point I now mark yes and reward. Finally from there I can lure my dog onto their back. 

I always pay attention to how my dog is doing. I keep their frustration low by rewarding the simple steps to the overall behavior and I keep repetitions low too. I like to give my dog what I call a training recess by playing tug or hide and go seek a few times between reps. This keeps learning fun and my dog stays more engaged. 

Why is it important to lose the lure? Yes we start by showing our dog what to do but it is sure nice to get to the point where my dog will respond to a verbal cue without my help. Then I can pay them well so they continue choosing to do the behavior in the future knowing it will be worth it to them. If we never lose the lure, dogs may become dependent on seeing the treat before they will listen. I want them to expect payment after they do something I ask. 

Now that you know the basic pattern to teach your dog a new behavior, I challenge you to pick something new this week and teach your dog a cue to go with it. I’d love to see your success. Post your video on Instagram or Facebook and tag @baxterandbella so I will be sure to see it! 

Have a great week and happy training.