There are three easy steps to teaching a Verbal Cue:
Step 1: Give the hand signal 5-10 times to help the dog predict what you will ask next.
Step 2: Say the Verbal Cue BEFORE you move a muscle to do the Visual Cue
Step 3: Put time between your new Verbal Cue and your Visual Cue. Wait the dog out and see if they will offer the cue without the hand signal.
As you could see Kiko did not know what I wanted at one point, and offered another behavior besides the ‘Spin’. Instead of telling her she was wrong, I made a kissy noise and asked her to touch my hand to reset her. If she had continued to guess incorrectly, I would go back a step and give her the ‘Spin’ hand signal again after saying the verbal cue. The more you play this game the faster your dog will be at picking up new cues. Kiko now knows after a few minutes, that ‘Obama’ is the new word for ‘Spin’. DOGS ARE SO SMART!
How to train your dog to listen to you how to train your dog to obey voice commands, how to train your dog to verbal cues how to switch from hand signals to verbal cues how to cue your dog with just your voice dog training obedience training canine freestyle clicker training puppy training what you need to know to train your dog how to teach spin and twirl with just a verbal cue How to teach your Chihuahua to spin how to teach your dog tricks dog training, clicker training, how to train a dog, verbal command, visual cue, verbal cue, how to add a cue, how to add a command, clicker training, dog training tutorial, dog training tips, how to add a cue dog training, clicker training tips, dog training help, professional dog training,