It's Training Tips Tuesday and time for some top tips from Alsager Nub News sponsor, 'All to Play for'.

This week top dog trainer and behaviourist Julia Hawkins, talks about cues and how words can become 'white noise' for our dogs

What do you do if you give your dog your normal cue (eg "sit") and they don't respond, asks Julia.

"Most of us repeat the cue - several times. The impact of this is that instead of a snappy "sit" being the cue, for our dogs it becomes "sit, sit, sit...." and eventually the word becomes white noise which our dogs ignore completely," she says. 

So what can you do instead?

"Start with a luring cue and don't say the verbal cue at all. For example, for a sit you can start putting a treat on your dog's nose and lure up - nose up, bum down, mark with a "yes!" and reward.

"Then slowly phase out the treat and make the hand move smaller.

"Only once your dog can do their sit reliably on a hand cue should you introduce the verbal cue. This way you get a strong, reliable cue.

"Say your cue word, pause, do your hand cue, mark and reward. Before long you won't need the hand cue any more and your dog is really clear what your verbal cue means. 

If they still sometimes don't respond to their verbal cue, instead of repeating it follow with the hand cue and strengthen that link again.

Interested in finding more about 'All to Play For'? Julia also has a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/alltoplayfordogtraining and can be contacted on 07913 757304.

You can also read our launch article on Julia here

Enjoy the week with your pooch!