In the article “How to Teach Cues to Your Dog: From Lure to Hand Signal,” you will learn the basics of dog training and how to effectively communicate with your canine companion. The article emphasizes the importance of using cues rather than commands, as a positive teaching style yields better results. The process of teaching cues is broken down into six steps, starting with using a food lure and progressing to hand signals. The article also explains the concept of a marker, such as a clicker or the word “Yesss!”, to precisely indicate when your dog has performed the desired behavior. Additionally, the article dives into the idea of intermittent reinforcement, where treats are given sporadically to maintain your dog’s engagement in the training process. By following these techniques and taking the time to properly train your dog, you can foster a strong bond and effective communication.

Teach Cues in This Order

Teaching cues to your dog is an essential part of their training. It allows them to understand what you want them to do and gives them the opportunity to earn rewards for their good behavior. To be effective in teaching cues, it’s important to follow a specific order to ensure that your dog learns in a structured and progressive manner. Here is the recommended order for teaching cues:

Start with No Cue

When introducing a new behavior to your dog, it’s best to start without using a verbal or visual cue. By not giving a cue, you allow your dog to focus on understanding the behavior itself. This helps prevent confusion and ensures that your dog is not associating the behavior with the wrong cue.

Use a Lure

Once your dog understands the behavior, you can begin using a lure to guide them into the correct position. A lure is usually a treat that you use to entice your dog into performing the behavior. For example, if you’re teaching a “sit” cue, you can hold a treat above your dog’s head and slowly move it back towards their tail. This will naturally cause them to sit down.

It’s important to move the lure slowly and keep it close to your dog’s nose to ensure that they follow it and understand what you’re asking them to do. As soon as they are in the correct position, you can mark the behavior and reward them with the treat.

Add the Verbal Cue

Once your dog is consistently performing the behavior with the lure, you can start adding a verbal cue. This is where you introduce a word or phrase that will serve as a signal for your dog to perform the behavior. For example, you can say “sit” just before you use the lure to guide your dog into a sitting position.

By consistently pairing the verbal cue with the behavior, your dog will begin to associate the word with the action. Over time, they will start to respond to the cue without the need for the lure.

Change the Lure to a Hand Signal

After your dog has successfully learned the cue with the verbal cue and lure, you can start transitioning to a hand signal. This involves replacing the lure with a hand gesture that indicates the behavior you want your dog to perform. For example, for the “sit” cue, you can raise your hand palm-up in front of your dog’s face.

At this stage, your dog should already understand the behavior and the verbal cue. By introducing the hand signal, you are giving them an additional cue to associate with the behavior. Once they respond correctly to the hand signal, you can mark the behavior and reward them.

Make the Hand Signal Smaller

As your dog becomes more fluent in responding to the hand signal, you can start making it smaller and less exaggerated. The goal is to gradually fade out the hand signal, so your dog relies solely on the verbal cue. For example, for the “sit” cue, you can reduce the hand signal from a raised palm to a subtle finger motion.

By gradually reducing the size of the hand signal, you are teaching your dog to pay closer attention to the verbal cue and rely less on visual cues. This helps improve their responsiveness and reliability in performing the behavior.

Drop the Hand Signal

Once your dog is consistently responding to the verbal cue without relying on the hand signal, you can begin phasing out the hand signal completely. This involves giving the verbal cue without any accompanying hand gesture. If your dog responds correctly to the verbal cue, you can mark the behavior and reward them.

By removing the hand signal entirely, you are reinforcing the importance of the verbal cue and encouraging your dog to focus solely on your voice rather than relying on visual cues. This helps improve their overall obedience and responsiveness to your cues.

Choose Just a Few Cues to Teach Your Dog at First

When it comes to teaching cues to your dog, it’s important not to overwhelm them with too many behaviors at once. Instead, it’s best to start with a few key cues and gradually introduce more over time. This allows your dog to fully understand and master each behavior before moving on to new ones.

Here are some recommended cues to start with:

• Name: Teach your dog to make eye contact with you when you call their name. This is an important cue that establishes communication and attention between you and your dog.

• Sit: Teach your dog to sit on command. This is a fundamental behavior that is useful in various situations and can help keep your dog calm and well-behaved.

• Touch: Teach your dog to touch their nose to your hand on command. This is a useful cue for guiding your dog and getting their attention.

• Find It: Teach your dog to search for small treats or objects on the floor. This is a fun and mentally stimulating activity that taps into their natural instincts.

• Come!: Teach your dog to come to you when called. This is a crucial cue that ensures your dog’s safety and allows them to enjoy off-leash freedom in safe environments.

By focusing on these cues initially, you can build a strong foundation for further training. It’s important to spend sufficient time and practice on each cue to ensure that your dog fully understands and responds reliably to them.

Remember, training is a gradual process, and it’s important to be patient and consistent. Celebrate your dog’s successes and always reward them for their good behavior. With time and practice, your dog will become a well-trained companion who responds to your cues with enthusiasm and reliability.

The Marker: Click or “Yesss!”

In order to effectively train your dog, it’s important to have a way to communicate to them that they have performed the desired behavior correctly. This is where the marker technique comes in.

The marker is a clear and concise sound or word that serves as an immediate feedback signal for your dog. It tells them that they have done something right and that a reward is coming. This helps your dog understand exactly what behavior they are being rewarded for and reinforces their learning.

Traditionally, clickers have been used as markers in dog training. The sound of a clicker is distinct and consistent, making it easy for your dog to associate it with the desired behavior. However, if you find it challenging to use a clicker while juggling other training tools, you can use a verbal marker instead.

A simple and effective verbal marker is the word “Yesss!” delivered in a clear and clipped manner. This word should be said immediately after your dog performs the desired behavior correctly. It should be short and distinct to ensure that your dog understands that they have done something right.

The marker should always be followed by a reward, such as a treat. This helps create a positive association with the marker and motivates your dog to continue performing the behavior. Over time, the marker becomes a conditioned reinforcer, meaning that it carries its own value and reinforces the behavior on its own.

It’s important to practice the timing of your marker to ensure that it is delivered at the exact moment your dog performs the behavior correctly. This precision helps your dog understand the cause-and-effect relationship between the behavior and the marker.

Once your dog is consistently responding to the marker and understanding the behavior, you can gradually phase out the marker and rely solely on verbal praise and occasional rewards. The marker serves as a temporary tool to bridge the communication gap between you and your dog and help them understand what you expect from them.

Moving to Intermittent Reinforcement

Once your dog has learned a cue and is reliably performing the behavior, it’s important to transition from continuous reinforcement to intermittent reinforcement. This means that you won’t reward your dog for every single correct response but will instead reward them randomly or occasionally.

Intermittent reinforcement is important for maintaining your dog’s motivation and engagement in training. It mimics the unpredictability of real-life situations where rewards are not always guaranteed. By introducing intermittent reinforcement, you encourage your dog to keep trying and working for rewards, even when they are not immediately provided.

To implement intermittent reinforcement, you can gradually decrease the frequency of rewards while still occasionally providing them. For example, instead of rewarding your dog for every “sit” cue, you can reward them every few repetitions. This keeps them motivated and eager to respond to the cue, as they never know when the next reward will come.

It’s important to vary the schedule of reinforcement to keep your dog engaged. This can involve using different ratios or patterns, such as rewarding every third correct response, or randomly rewarding some correct responses while ignoring others. This unpredictability helps maintain your dog’s interest and prevents them from becoming reliant on continuous reinforcement.

While intermittent reinforcement is a powerful tool in training, it’s essential to ensure that the frequency of rewards is still sufficient to keep your dog motivated. If rewards become too infrequent, your dog may lose interest or become frustrated. Finding the right balance between intermittent reinforcement and regular rewards is key to maintaining your dog’s enthusiasm and progress.

In conclusion, by following the recommended order of teaching cues, using a marker, and transitioning to intermittent reinforcement, you can effectively train your dog and help them become a well-behaved and obedient companion. Remember to be patient, consistent, and always reward your dog for their good behavior. Happy training!