Review Sit - Lose the Lure
Week 1
Introduction
One of our goals in Puppy Elementary School is to begin helping our puppies work without relying on a lure.
Up until now, we’ve often used food in our hands to guide puppies into position — for example, holding a treat in front of their nose to help them sit. While this is a great way to teach new behaviors, we don’t want puppies to become dependent on seeing food in order to respond.
In this stage of training, we begin transitioning away from the lure so our puppies can respond to cues more independently. The sooner we make this shift, the more reliable and responsive our puppies will become.
Trainer Demonstration
Class Experience
During class, handlers begin practicing asking for behaviors without using a lure.
Puppies are given the opportunity to respond to familiar cues, like “sit,” without seeing food first. Handlers focus on waiting for the puppy to offer the behavior and then marking and rewarding after the response.
At this stage, some puppies may hesitate or seem unsure — this is completely normal. The goal is to give them time to think and begin understanding the cue independently, rather than relying on the presence of food.
Instructors guide handlers to stay patient, keep their timing clear, and reward success as puppies begin to figure it out.
Quick Notes
A lure is when food is used in your hand to guide your puppy into position
Luring is helpful for teaching, but should not be relied on long-term
Begin asking for behaviors without showing food first
Reward after the behavior instead of using food to create it
The goal is for your puppy to respond to the cue, not the food
The sooner you fade the lure, the clearer and more reliable your puppy’s behavior will be
Trainer Demonstration
In this demonstration, Laura introduces the concept of working without a lure and explains why this transition is important for your puppy’s learning.
She shows how many of us have been teaching behaviors so far — holding a treat in front of the puppy’s nose, guiding them into a sit, and then rewarding. While this works well for teaching, Laura emphasizes that we don’t want puppies to rely on seeing food in order to respond.
Instead, the goal is to begin asking for the behavior without using the food to guide it, and then rewarding after the puppy makes the correct choice.
Laura explains that the faster we begin moving away from the lure, the more clearly our puppies will understand the cue itself — leading to more reliable and consistent behavior over time.
Practice at home!
Practice asking your puppy for simple, familiar behaviors without showing food first.
Start in a low-distraction environment and give your puppy a moment to respond to the cue. When they do, mark and reward clearly.
Keep sessions short and positive, and remember:
It’s okay if your puppy takes a moment to think
Avoid repeating the cue multiple times
Reward success generously when your puppy gets it right
The goal is to help your puppy learn to respond to your words — not just the food in your hand.
Upload a video
Be sure to send us a video demonstrating this behavior as well so we can give you personalized training advice with our virtual video service.