FREE Dog Training Guide: How To Train Your Dog Using The Luring Method...
I remember it vividly like it was yesterday.
A friend of mine was visiting our home, and after meeting my dog Tobbie for the very first time... Was able to train him to roll over...
In less than 15 minutes!
Back then, I knew very little about dog training, and what my friend was able to do with my dog seemed like magic to me.
You see, as a young boy, I desperately wanted to connect and become best friends with my dog Tobbie.
However, he had a bunch of behavioral issues that made this impossible.
He would:
Even with all of these issues, my friend was still able to teach my dog to roll over...
Here's how he did it:
He used a method known as luring.
It's a training method used by professional dog trainers all around the world, especially those who train dogs using positive reinforcements and force-free training methods.
The process is very simple...
You use a treat (something the dog would like to eat, such as a small piece of sausage, beef or chicken) and you use it to guide the dog into a specific position.
Once the dog gets into the position, you release the treat and let the dog eat it.
By repeating this simple exercise, a dozen of times or more, the dog eventually learns that getting into that position is favorable as a treat will be given.
So, to teach the roll over, my friend started out by putting the treat in front of my dog's nose and moving his hand close to the floor. As soon as my dog laid down on the floor, he released the treat.
He then continued the process, and this time, moved the treat towards my dog's ear to get my dog to roll onto his side, then released the treat.
And little by little, he was able to get him to roll over!
But... WOW!
Once my dog figured out what he wanted, he wouldn't stop rolling over. He would basically do it at will, and my friend even got him to do it on command after saying "Roll Over!"
This had a severe impact on me...
My family and I had no success training Tobbie, and it was all because I was doing it all wrong.
Like many dog owners out there, I was told that I had to become the "Alpha" and that I had to assert my dominance over my dog.
So we would always punish him, grab him by the collar and shake him.
Not only did this NOT work... It made matters WORSE!
He started fearing us and growling at us anytime we came near him... Which eventually led to me becoming distant from him, and sadly, abandoning my training efforts.
Sadly...
It wouldn't be until years later that I figured out how my friend was able to do this, while studying dog training.
The good news... Is that once I learned all of this stuff, I started creating video lessons with my dogs to help my fellow dog owners who would also like to learn how to train their dog...
Here's one of the video lessons showing how to train your dog to roll over (using the luring method)...
If you watch the video above, you will notice that there are four stages to luring. You can learn more about the four stages of luring by clicking here.
Here's a brief overview, the four stages are:
- 1BEHAVIOR: Teach your dog the desired behavior. This may require rewarding several steps along the way.
- 2HAND SIGNAL: Transform the lure into a hand signal by removing the food from your hand.
- 3HAND SIGNAL + VERBAL COMMAND: To begin conditioning the verbal command, you must say it one second before giving the hand signal.List Element
- 4VERBAL COMMAND: Test your dog's understanding of the verbal command and see if your dog can perform the behavior without ANY visual cues.
It's important to note that this training method will ONLY work with dogs who are food motivated.
If your dog prefers praise or playing with toys, fear not, there is another training method available to you known as shaping. (You can click here to learn more about it.)
Want to MASTER the Luring Training Method?
Great! Here's what you need to do...
A little while ago, I created an online dog training course titled "Good Dog Every Day."
Inside this course, you will learn the fundamentals to training your dog using positive reinforcements. It is ideal to begin with this course if you are a new dog owner or if you want to re-visit the basics of dog training with your dog.
You will also learn how to teach your dog the basic obedience behaviors, such as sit, down and stand. But it's more than that. This course will give you a methodology and the confidence, and give you the ability to teach your dog hundreds of behaviors.
Now, if you are new to training your dog, the luring method might feel strange at first...
This is normal.
Remember the first time you drove a car? I bet it felt weird you weren't very good at it. The same is true with training your dog... It's going to take a little bit of time and practice before you get the hang of it.
The most important thing to remember, is that timing is everything in dog training.
Your dog ONLY understands what you want him to do by the feedback you give him after he does something.
With this training method - the feedback is positive (think giving your dog a treat, something he likes.)
So, for your dog to understand which behavior earned him a treat, it's critical that you release the treat as soon as he gets into the desired position.
The quicker, the better.
In fact, you can even use a word marker (such as the word YES!) to better communicate to your dog which behavior earned him the treat.
Here's how this whole sequence plays out:
For your dog to effectively understand what you want... Each step MUST occur immediately after each other, within one second... But also, NOT at the same time.
Now, it's your turn... Give it a try with your dog!
There's a bunch of different tricks and behaviors you can teach your dog using this method...
Here's a few of them:
Have fun with this...
The sky is the limit as to what you can train your dog to do.
Let me know how it goes in the comments section below!
Yes, I do read each and every comment that is sent my way. I do hope to meet you and your dog inside one of my online dog training courses someday!
To your training success,
Jean Cote, aka – “The Dog Training Guy”
