Several club members recently had the opportunity to attend the Barb Davis agility seminar. One of the most important training lessons she gave us was applied to agility, but can also be applied to many dog training areas including rally and obedience, and to just getting your dog to come when called.
Barb uses a closed fist with a treat inside to encourage the dog to come to her fist. She uses this to get the dog to come to heel position (left side) or side position (right side), and even to get the dog to do the “chase around” her body or around a cone or whatever. She also uses this hand configuration to get dogs to move with her when she doesn’t want the dog to go out from her and take an obstacle (think bypassing a jump in agility or in rally). In all cases, she couples the closed fist with the “here, here” verbal command.
Most of us have used this command in one way or another, even if it is to teach the dog not to bite or paw at our hand when it has a cookie in it. The thing Barb does that is a little different, is that she does NOT give the treat from this closed fist. The idea is for the dog to TOUCH the fist, she gives the reward marker (“yes”, “good”), and then brings the fist up to the front of her body and gives a treat either from her pocket or a treat bag.
So, instead of the cookie in the closed hand being a lure, it just becomes a point of interest for the dog, and the dog is rewarded for touching the hand. If we move that closed fist really quickly, staying ahead of the dog, we can get really, really fast chase arounds or quick recalls to heel or side. And, hopefully, unlike in luring, we don’t end up with a dog that will only work when they know there is a cookie in the hand.
This becomes a fun game for the dog as soon as they figure it out!