This is the second video in our Pup U series, Teaching Your Dog to Sit. In this lesson, you will learn how to reduce your dog’s dependence on a food treat to sit.
Techniques for Fading the Lure
Once your dog is easily and effortlessly following the treat, we want to begin fading the lure. For some dogs, this will be in the first session, and for other dogs, it may take a few weeks. If your dog is not following the food quickly, continue with the previous step until the task is effortless. Check out Sit 101: Positions Everyone for more tips.
If we use a food lure for too long, we risk it becoming part of the signal and harder to fade out in the future.
Reward with the Other Hand
One technique is to use the treat as a lure and then not to give that treat as the reward. Instead, pull a treat out of your pocket or reward with the other hand. This teaches the dog that while food is part of the signal, it’s not the reward. The food in your hand becomes less important; therefore, your dog is not relying on that food as strongly.
In some situations, we want to use the same type of food as the guide and reward. For other dogs, we want the reward treat to be more delicious. For example, we might use dog food as the guide and then give a tiny piece of chicken as the reward.
Pretend Treat Followed by a Real Treat
Do your best acting! Reach in your pocket and pull out an invisible treat. Guide your dog into his sit position, then get out a real treat and reward him. Repeat this until it’s easy.
Next, you can skip reaching in your pocket. Instead, hold out the pretend treat as a guide and follow it with a real reward when your dog completes the task.
Once this is easy for your dog, you can use a hand signal that looks less like you are grasping a treat. But, still reward with a real treat for now.
For some dogs, we can do a few repetitions with an actual treat in your hand, followed by one without a treat in your hand. Reward the last repetition with extra special rewards. Repeat this pattern, and over time we can switch to two repetitions with a treat as a guide and then two repetitions without the treat in your hand. Again, reward generously for correct responses.
Need a refresher? Check out Sit 101: Positions Everyone or get personalized one-on-one help today!
Ready for the next step? Check out Sit 301: Adding a Cue.
