Lure Training

Luring training can be described as the use of enticement and rewards in order to create a behavior. It enables training a dog to be an enjoyable activity for the dog and the trainer. By creating a game of carrot and donkey we can manipulate the dog into positions.

It is very effective for teaching dogs actions they can easily perform such as sitting, down, place and walking behind or besides someone. Once simple gestures are mastered, more complicated ones can be taught to teach roll over, shake, and other tricks.

Highly effective:

As noted earlier, dog psychology is similar to human psychology in that positive learning methods are more efficient and effective when it comes to learning. Dog luring, being a positive learning method, is thus highly efficient when applied to dog behavior conditioning and training.

It is fast:

Due to its effectiveness, training a dog using luring is faster compared to most of the other methods of dog training.

It is suitable for trainers of all levels of expertise:

Whether one is a beginner or an experienced trainer, they can use dog luring effectively during dog training sessions.

Enjoyable for both the canine and the person:

The use of punishment and physical manipulation is unpleasant not only for the dog but also for the person training it. It can also lead to resent of the trainer or owner by the dog, raising more problems down the line. Luring is enjoyable for both the trainer and the trainee since it is fun, involves guided experimentation and learning takes place in a positive environment.

Suited to all kinds of dogs:

Dog luring is an effective dog training method for all types of dogs. Some training techniques are geared towards certain breeds, sizes, ages or roles the dog is meant to fulfill e.g. guard or shepherd dog. Others are meant for use by highly skilled trainers, making them ineffective or even counterproductive for most pet dog owners. Luring training is however well-suited to training all types of dogs from puppies to fully grown German Shepherds.

Dog and owner/ trainer friendly:

Dog luring is a positive learning method for both the trainer and the canine. The canine learns in a conducive rather than abusive environment. The trainer does not have to constantly punish and correct the dog but rather encourages it towards the desired dog behavior modification.

Fosters a better bond between the dog owner/ trainer and the dog:

This is due to being enjoyable as well as canine and human friendly.

The lure used for training should not be used as the reward:

This is especially true when just starting out training. When beginning training, dog luring is most effective when the lure and the reward are plainly distinct to the dog.

Use different hands for luring and rewarding:

If the dog shows trouble with learning using luring training, using different hands to hold the lure and the reward.

Use different hand shapes for luring and for rewarding:

Ultimately, the idea is to have the dog understand various hand shapes, markers or clicks in order to carry out some desired behavior.

Lose the lure as fast as possible:

The lure should only be used until the dog has learned what it is meant to do. One of the ways to accomplish this is to slowly fade the use of the lure and the consistency of rewarding the more the dog masters the desired behavior.

Dogs that are non-responsive to food:

Food is one of the best lures and rewards one can use when training a dog using luring. However, dogs are not equally responsive to food. Try other rewards such as social praise to squeaky toys.

The dog is non-responsive to the lure:

There are several reasons why the dog may not be following the lure when you move it around. If the lure is not interesting enough, the dog loses interest, the foundation was not laid properly. The solution is to find a more interesting lure for the dog, or moving the lure slowly.