Have you ever noticed that your dog knows what you want them to do before you give them the cue?
It’s a testament to our pups’ intelligence, and it’s down to something known as cue transfer. It can happen after plenty of training practice with tasty treats or the best dog puzzle toys, and can certainly make your life a lot easier!
For everything you need to know about cue transfer, let’s take a look at this recent Instagram post from expert trainer Juliana DeWillems, who’s the founder of JW Dog Training & Behavior.
In DeWillems’ video, she’s working with a dog who goes into his crate. She doesn’t tell him to do so, but as soon as he sees her holding his enrichment he automatically runs in.
DeWillems explains, “Someone picked up his enrichment toy and then cued him to go to his crate enough times that at the sight of the enrichment toy the dog started to anticipate what was coming next and preemptively would head for the crate.
“Getting the enrichment toy in the crate rewarded the behavior. Soon the toy itself cued the crate behavior and the verbal ‘go to your crate’ cue wasn’t even needed.”
There are plenty of examples of cue transfer in our pups’ everyday lives, and some we might not even think about. For example, if you pick up their harness and cue them to sit, they might start sitting as soon as they see you pick it up. Or, if you always cue your dog to look at you when they see another dog, they may automatically look at you whenever they see another pup.
As DeWillems sums up, “Cue transfers are some of the most powerful and useful tools in our dog’s learning world.”
While cue transfer can be incredibly useful, keep in mind that every dog is different. Some dogs will pick up things quite quickly, whereas others could take more time, No matter what, it’s important to stay patient and use plenty of positive reinforcement, and you’re more likely to see the results you’re hoping for.
If you’re looking for more dog training advice, here are five of the most important dog commands and how to teach them. And, here are 32 benefits of training your dog.
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