Why I Don't Lure Dogs With Food (And What I Do Instead)

Walk into almost any puppy class and you'll see the same thing: a treat pinched between someone's fingers, held over a puppy's nose, trying to get them to follow the food into positions like sits or down and even attention. I mean, It does work, it's fast, and it's force-free. So why don't I do it?

Because after 11 years of training dogs, I've watched what happens when the food disappears.

The problem with luring

When you lure, your dog isn't learning the word sit. They're learning to follow food in your hand. And thats bad because food luring creates a dog that will rely on you grabbing food first and if you don't grab that food first, your dog ignores you. They look to see if you have food in your hand and when you don't, they don't do the behavior. That is the main reason I stay away from food luring at all costs. Dog owners rely on the food's power as well and they tend to always grab food to get their dogs to do something and it just creates this cycle that you do not want.

• The hand becomes the cue. Say sit with empty hands and you get a blank stare.

• Fading the lure is the hardest part, and most people never finish it. That's how you end up with a dog who only listens when you have food.

• The dog stays passive. They follow instead of think, and thinking is what builds a confident dog.

I'm not saying luring is ineffective. It isn't. Plenty of good trainers use it. It just builds a different kind of learner than the one I want.

What I do instead: markers, capturing and shaping

I use marker training. A marker is a sound (a clicker or a word like good) that tells your dog the exact moment they got it right. The reward comes after the dog performs the behavior, not before it.

• Capturing: wait for your dog to sit on their own, mark the instant their rear hits the floor, then reward. Repeat. Dogs figure out fast that sitting makes good things happen.

• Shaping: mark small steps toward the finished behavior, like a glance at the mat, then a paw on it, then all four feet on it.

• Adding the word: once your dog is offering the behavior reliably, say the cue right before they do it. Now the word means something.

The food is still there. Treats are a huge part of how I train. But it lives in my vest pocket, not in front of the dog's nose. It's a paycheck, not a crutch.

Why this matters long term

Dogs trained this way learn words the way we learn a second language. They hear the cue, they know what it means, and they don't need to see food first to answer. That's the dog that comes when called at the park and sits at the door when you've got your hands full of groceries.

It takes a little more patience in the first week. It saves you months on the back end.

Want to start?

My 5 Foundation Behaviors Bundle walks you through charging your marker and capturing your first 5 behaviors step by step.

Want me to walk you through it? Book a virtual or in-home session and we'll build a plan around your dog.