Luring
This is one of the more popular techniques used as it is an inducive training method.
It involves using a reward (e.g. food, treat or toy) to lure / entice the dog into the desired position (or exhibit the desired behaviour). The reward is presented in advance of the behaviour being performed, to entice the dog’s interest and ‘lure’ it into the desired position / action. The dog initially follows the lure in order to get it and once in the desired position, will receive the reward.
Examples of skills that can be taught by the process of Luring include but are not limited to:
- Obedience exercises i.e sit, down, stand
- Focus
- Crawling
- Leg weaving
Here’s an example of using luring to teach a Sit:
- Have the dog positioned in front of you. The dog should commence from a stand.
- Hold food in your hand and place the food in front of the dog’s nose.
- Move lure in an arc above the dog’s head; this will encourage them to lift their nose up and back and should automatically cause their hindquarters to lower into the sit
- Label as “Sit” once the dog is in the sit position, if using a marker click/yes + food treat
- Release dog. You can use a command such as “free”, “okay” or “finish”.
- To add an element of duration to the sit position, additional food treats may be given to the dog. In this circumstance, you must ensure that you have more than one treat in your hand before commencing the exercise
Summary:
Start with dog in the stand position.
- Place treat in front of dog’s nose
- Move hand up and over dog’s head, luring into the sit position
- Label “sit”
- Mark (clicker) then give reward/treat
- Release
