You may be asking yourself what is a poisoned cue? Have you unknowingly poisoned a cue?
A cue can be verbal, visual, scent, sound , environmental and even a touch. A cue can be trained such as a "down" or a "sit" it is a trained behavior you train your dog. A cue can also be learned by association. A good example is opening the refrigerator and opening a cheese wrapper. You know that potato chip bag and your dog gives you the sad look and you give the dog one chip.
You are still wondering what is a poisoned cue? A poisoned cue occurs when a dog associates a bad unpleasant association to a cue. Because of the unpleasant association the dog will learn to either ignore or be hesitant. Your dog is not stubborn either!
Recently when working with a dog and I took over the history. I learned the dog had been scolded and punished for not coming when called to come in. I changed the cue and set up a training plan that did change the association of coming back into the home. The owner took the steps and progress began to happen. The dog was associating the new cue as good. The behavior changed and the dog was listening.
You could be making the mistake of a poisoning a cue to come just by poisoning it.
Are you feeling like your dog is stubborn or not listening? Contact MeccaCurtice@gmail.com set up a consultation and get your dog training sessions set up.
You are just steps away from progress with your dog.
Mecca Curtice, CCDT, CTDI
Behavior Specialist
Sheboygan, WI.
© 2020 Mecca Curtice Mecca's All Breed Dog Training, LLC.
