Michele Hatley’s Tuesday Dog Training Tip – Using A Lure

A Lure Can Be A Powerful Tool In Training, But Don’t Forget To Fade It Out.

There are many tools out there to assist in reaching our desired training goals. One of them is called a lure. We are able to shape a behavior by luring our dogs into positions by having them follow the lure in our hand.

The key to successfully using a lure is to fade it out as quickly as possible. The tools are there to help us train the behavior and are not necessarily meant to always be involved in order for our animals to perform. Ideally, we want our dogs to perform without the lure present.

When using food as a lure, I only use it for a couple repetitions and then eliminate it. That way, my dog doesn’t come to expect it always being there. You don’t want to get stuck with your dog fixated on a lure so much that they won’t perform without it.

In order for a lure to work the dog has to want it. In my video, you can see that my dog Gino is excited and engaged with the food in my hand. A lure won’t work if your dog doesn’t care what it is that you have. You also want to keep the lure close to their nose and move them in the direction that you want them to go.

You can see that Gino follows where my hand is going because he knows that the food is there. I’m not asking him to do anything except to follow that lure. Once the dog is following your hand well, you can eliminate the lure and progress with the training.