The Truth About Luring in Dog Training

When used correctly, luring can unlock advanced dog training skills. Training your dog, the skill we teach at MJ’s as “follow,” is our secret to successful luring. This is about more than following a treat. Dogs can learn new skills quickly with the help of luring, but misusing a lure can also appear messy and cause frustration.

Small Dog Tip:

Smaller dogs can learn to follow a lure from a distance rather than keeping their nose to the handler’s hand.

Photo: MJ and Riley

Like all the skills we teach, training “follow” requires an emphasis on the handler’s techniques, not just the dog’s responses. When luring, the handler typically holds a treat in their hand, and the dog follows the handler’s hand movements. Luring can be used to train new skills, but the lure is then phased out for a clean finished behavior.

To train a dog, you need a way to get the dog to offer the behavior. An experienced dog will work with you, offering behaviors to figure out what works. You can train a dog through shaping, breaking down skills into small pieces, and rewarding the dog for each micro step. Shaping requires excellent timing and a bit of experience, so you know what to reward the dog for. Many owners prefer to use luring instead of free shaping. The dog follows the handler’s hand motions, so if the handler’s hand goes up, the dog sits, and as the handler draws a circle, the dog follows, performing a spin. 

While getting a dog to follow a treat might seem easy enough, a lot can go wrong if handlers don’t practice lure training as a skill. Some dogs will be too excited about the food in the handler’s hand and develop habits such as pawing or bumping the handler to get the food. Some dogs don’t easily follow a lure at all. Then there is the common problem of getting stuck on the lure, where the dog never learns the skill on a clean cue. Handlers can prevent such issues with the proper techniques. 

If you use luring, you need to have a plan for taking the behavior from start to finish. The goal is to phase out the lure so your dog will listen to cues even when you don’t have treats on you at all. For advanced behaviors, it’s always a good idea to map out your plan before you train. Even for simple behaviors, mapping is a good practice until you become accustomed to transitioning a skill from lure to on cue. Write out the steps you will use to train your dog and reduce the lure, such as decreasing luring movements, switching the lure to a hand signal, and then the hand signal to a verbal cue. 

The first step to train follow is to know how to lure without your dog. That means practicing your movements without your dog present at first. Many people skip this step, but don’t worry, it’s not too late to try it now. Start here, and you will be well on your way to pro-level luring. Even professional trainers go back and practice their movements without the dog present. How can you communicate clearly with your dog if you have not worked out the technique yourself? 

Start with the treat holding positions.  You might lure your dog without a treat in your hand, but for most dogs, following a treat (a small training reward) is the starting point. If your dog is highly food motivated, start with a lower-value treat, such as kibble, so your dog is not overly pushy for the food. For most other dogs, a high-value treat is most effective. Right now, you are testing the treats without your dog. We will invite your dog soon.  Too crumbly or difficult to hold? Ensure your chosen treat is suitable. You can enclose the food in your hand completely while luring, or hold it between your thumb and finger while keeping your hand open, with only a slight scoop. Practice both. Don’t pinch the treat in your fingers and point them at your dog, because then your dog might try to take the treat and grab your fingertips instead. 

Think about what part of your hand your dog’s nose will follow. If your hand is closed, your dog can follow the part where your fingers meet your palm. This skill is essential to teach your dog because it allows the dog to learn to turn with your hand, offering a better variety of movements. 

Without your dog, practice moving your hand for the different positions you might want to train. Slow movements work well when starting. You can pick up the speed once you and your dog have a framework. If you have a smaller dog, you can train your dog to track the lure visually so you don’t have to bend towards your dog throughout each movement.  Your dog is moving with your hand. Do not push your hand towards your dog’s nose and then quickly pull it away. Instead, think of a magnet; the dog’s nose is close to the person’s hand or tracking the hand movements. 

Luring is a dance, and you want to be confident so you don’t confuse your dog. The next step is training your dog to follow your hand. Let your dog know you are playing the lure game using a cue such as follow. You only need to say it once to start the game, rather than repeating it throughout your dog’s movements. Give your dog room to process by training quietly. 

Place a treat in your hand and show your dog what you’re doing. When your dog sniffs your hand, move it away slowly. If your dog stays close to your hand, go ahead and release the treat to your dog for that first step. We want a close follow. 

There is another crucial exercise we train dogs, which is to ignore food in people’s hands. You are right if you are thinking that’s the opposite of luring. Yes, your dog can and should learn both. Your dog will know when it is time to lure based on your cue and movements. It's essential to train your dog to be polite around food, which means never bumping your hands for food outside of luring. 

If your dog can easily follow the treat for a step or two, try turning your dog in a circle, bringing them down, and then sit and stand. Have your dog follow your hand around a cone or object. You don’t have to put a separate verbal cue to each movement your dog does. If you want to train any of the movements on cue, such as down, you would then work on it by itself, adding the cue. Currently, we are focusing on training the following skill. 

Ensure your dog is politely following, and then feed after a few movements to maintain high motivation. 

For experienced dogs, test the duration of the lure follow. Many owners are surprised to learn that their dog will not follow a treat for an entire walking pattern, for example. A longer duration lure is helpful, but you have to work up to it. 

If you want to take lure training seriously and be able to use it with your dog to develop advanced skills, then learning the concept of lure training is essential. Strong techniques are vital for both the dog and handler, making the transition to eliminating the lure much easier.