4/17/2024 0 Comments Hand signal dog training![]() Because dogs are not native speakers of our language, you can use a piece of hot dog or some other tasty tidbit as a “translator” to explain the behavior you want. A lure is something the dog wants – a treat or toy – that you can use to demonstrate to her what you want her to do, by moving it and having her follow. We use them all the time when we train a new behavior. Prompts are vitally important dog training tools. For each behavior, you’re relying on back-up information to help your dog understand the cue and perform the behavior. She knows how to perform a long list of behaviors, and will oblige you by doing them when you ask her to. But is she, really?įrom one perspective, she certainly is. You hold a piece of hot dog over her head and say “Up!” and she lifts her front paws off the ground in a lovely performance of “Sit pretty.” Your friends and family are in awe of your training prowess, and comment on how well-trained your dog is. You ask her to sit as you touch her on her back, and she happily responds by settling onto her haunches. You point to the floor and say “Down!” Your dog instantly drops to the floor. If you would like to move on to the next level of training and communication with your dog, by working to “fade” your lures and prompts and teach your dog to respond to verbal cues or hand signals, read on! Taking Off Your Dog’s Training Wheels With enough practice, your dog will even be able to respond appropriately to your cue while “tuning out” potentially dangerous distractions – say, a squirrel chattering at the foot of a tree across a busy street. Having your dog respond to cues without prompts gives you more security and versatility in your training your dog will respond even if she can’t see you, or your arms are full of groceries. However, there is a huge advantage to working with your dog, gradually fading your lures and prompts and teaching your dog to respond to verbal cues or hand signals, until she can reliably perform certain behaviors on cue. It’s their relationship, and their choice as to how well and clearly they want to be able to communicate with their dogs. As long as they’re satisfied with that level of training, it’s perfectly okay that they will always have to point, clap, or use a treat to get their dogs to perform. Many novice dog owners never make it past luring and prompting. ![]() ![]() When a dog performs a behavior on cue quickly, anywhere, and under a wide variety of conditions, the behavior is said to be under stimulus control. A cue is the primary signal (or stimulus) you use to ask your dog to perform a behavior. More importantly, this accomplishment demonstrates that your dog really does understand your cue he’s not dependent on a certain context or combination of conditions and body language to “guess at” your intent.īut in a good training program, as soon as the dog performs a behavior easily for a prompt or lure, the trainer proceeds to put the behavior on cue. It’s impressive when you can get your dog to sit, lie down, or walk calmly at your heel with just a word or hand signal. Some positive trainers also use visual signals and gentle physical assistance as “prompts” to communicate with the dog. It’s true that in the beginning stages of positive training we do use treats, also known as lures, to show the dog what we want him to do. This is a shallow, shortsighted view of a powerful, effective tool. Old-fashioned trainers – those who use physical corrections as a moderate or significant part of their training programs – often criticize positive training, saying that “foodies” (positive trainers) have to bribe their dogs to get them to do things. Celebrate each time the two of you succeed in fading your prompts from another behavior! Keep a daily journal to monitor your progress.
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