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What Is Luring?
Guide your dog around to teach lots of different things!
Introduction - Read This First!
Luring means using a treat that a dog likes to have them follow it in your hand. This can be useful in getting a dog to move to a new place, or move their body around in some way, like for a trick! Luring is a very important technique in dog training and everyday life with a new dog.
Luring can be used to get a dog off the couch, into the car, or to come to you for a “recall”. Luring has a lot of uses, so that’s why it’s important to learn it early!
How To Lure: It's All About The Nose
Overview
Luring is actually very simple and you’ve probably already tried it before. There are just a few things to keep in mind:
Pro Trainer Principles:
If You Can Control Where Their Nose Goes, You Control Where Their Whole Body Goes!
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Use Luring To Start Before Anything Else
Luring is a very important skill in just about every command you’re going to teach your dog in basic obedience. And even most tricks start off with some basic luring. Even in regular situations every day, luring will be the best way to understand how to move your dog out of the way, off the couch, through the door, or whatever else!
Use "Treat Hand"
Place the treat at the bottom of your first two fingers, and place your thumb on top of it to hold it in place. This way you can hold a flat palm and “show” the treat to your dog.
Show The Treat To Your Dogs Face
Smash the treat to your dogs nose! Let them know 100% that you have a treat and they should follow it! They should be able to lick and smell the treat, but not be able to eat it out of your hand until you let it go.
Pro Trainer Principles:
“Show” The Treat Means Right To Their Nose!
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To Lure Your Dog, Be Clear About The Treats You Have
When training your dog, many commands will start with a food lure. You’ll even use treats to “remind” your dog you have treats when they’re training around lots of distractions outside. When you want to lure or remind them about treats by, “show” them the treat by holding it in a flat hand and shoving it right up to their nose. There will be no way they can miss it and they will definitely be able to follow it.
Move Your Hand Slowly
Move your hand slowly in the direction you want your dog to go. Don’t go too fast or get too far away or they might give up and stop following the treat.
Open To Give The Treat!
Once you’ve gotten your dog to move in the way you wanted – either to sit, spin in a circle, or whatever, move your thumb out of the way and say “YES” while you let your dog eat the treat!
Exercise: Practice Luring
Try this exercise to get better at luring: Use the steps above and move (lure) your dog into the following shapes or directions:
Bring them closer to you
Across your body
Up onto something (a book on the floor maybe)
In a circle
In a figure-8 (very tough!)
How Can I Use Luring Right Now?
Overview
So now that you’ve practiced luring in different directions and shapes, what can you actually use it for? Luring will come up in a lot of other lessons, but here are some movements you can practice right now that will be very useful in your everyday life.
Come Here! (Recall)
“Show” your dog the treat and bring them closer to you. Make sure to give them a rub on the head before the treat 🙂
Spin In A Circle
This is a review from the previous exercise, and always a fun one to try. Make sure to use wide circles to make sure your dog makes it all the way around. They may not be interested in doing the spin all at once, so that’s ok too. This one can take some time, so be patient!
Walk With Me!
Once again, “show” your dog the treat, then walk a few steps away. Very simple! If the treats are tasty enough, they’ll walk with you at least a few steps to get them! This is the beginning of loose-leash walking, which we cover in another lesson.
Exercise: Practice "Up" and "Off"
This exercise has you teaching your dog how to jump “Up” and then “Off” the furniture. It might not make a lot of sense to teach them to jump on furniture, but these commands are crucial for your dog learning later how to stay off the furniture.
Still Have Questions?