Cats, dogs, or birds, animals do not naturally possess the ability to comprehend human language. You can teach your pet all kinds of fantastic things when you use signals along with positive reinforcement. Whether your pet is a 10-week-old puppy or a 10-year-old cat, they may all pick up on several crucial cues—signals that convey information or actions you want them to know or perform. There are many different types of cues, including visual cues like pointing a finger or picking up a leash as well as verbal cues like “sit” or “come.” Even unintentional cues, such as the jingle of your keys or the creak of a door opening, might be picked up by your pet. When trying to teach your pet any ability, how you apply a cue is an important factor to take into account. Cues, when used in conjunction with positive reinforcement, can help you and your pet communicate clearly both during training sessions and in daily life.
The cue-response-reward interaction pattern trains your pet to trust you and look to you for guidance in addition to helping to teach self-control and strengthen cued behaviors. These encounters all have a similar structure, regardless of whether you call them “Sit to Ask Politely,” “Learn to earn,” or “Nothing in Life is Free,” however their underlying philosophies might differ significantly. The procedure comprises the owner giving the pet a cue, the animal responding by engaging in the desired activity, and the animal being rewarded. Simply keep ignoring your pet and ask again later if it won’t perform the desired activity.
By communicating with your pet in this way, you eliminate any potential or apparent conflict. Nothing negative occurs if your pet is unable to do the activity (whether because they are anxious, stressed, or just don’t want to interact). The animal can simply leave. As soon as the interaction is over, the tension is gone, and your pet will find you easier to read. Your pet will begin to respond to cues more quickly as they learn that obeying commands results in positive encounters with people rather than unpleasant ones.
Use a reward that is naturally and genuinely good for your pet, which varies according to the species. A good choice is nearly always food. Some pets may not enjoy being stroked or petted. Use petting as a reward only if your pet likes being petted; otherwise, avoid doing so. Playing with toys is an additional choice. Making eye contact with them or even just talking to them can be a helpful reward for some particularly sociable pets.
Additionally, avoidance of casual contacts and attention-seeking activities will help your pet trust you more. Casual encounters involve talking to or touching your pet while they are lying on the couch. Your pet may do one of three things when it comes to you: 1) The relationship is neutral because the pet gets what it wants (petting, food, or other attention); 2) Nothing happens because you ignore the pet; and or 3) the pet experiences something they think is terrible, unpleasant, or frightening. The unfavorable outcome may be you telling the animal, “No, I don’t want to pet you right now,” or you could push it away. This response may come as a crushing blow to some pets, but for others, it is still attention, which serves as both the motivation for their activity and an unintended reward. Your pet will be happy if you ignore attention-seeking and make sure to start all encounters because it now knows what to expect from you and can rely on you to keep up that routine.
How Do We Use a Cue and What Is It?
A whistle, a remark, a hand gesture, or even just an action like putting on your shoes or checking your watch can serve as a cue. While we intentionally teach our dogs some cues, such as the words “sit” or “down,” other times they learn it on their own, such as when you take your dog’s leash and they realize it’s time for a stroll.
A cue is a signal we provide our animal just before we want them to carry out a recognized behavior when used to positive reinforcement training (something they have learned). A cue, according to Karen Pryor, an expert in animal training and behavior, “is the ‘green light’ that signals the dog it’s time to undertake a behavior.” If our pet answers, they are granted access. If the animal reacts, they can use a reward in return (something they love). A cue becomes swiftly linked to a behavior with frequent use.
With the help of cues, we can communicate with our pets and let them know what will happen subsequently, preventing unneeded stress. Our pets can successfully and safely interact with the human world by using cues.
What differences do cues and commands in pet training create?
Trainers who emphasize positive reinforcement, like myself, avoid using the word “command.” It is regarded as archaic and has a very different meaning from “cue.”
Commands imply that there is no other option and could suggest the use of force. Think about how the word is used in human language. How would you respond if your supervisor told you, “I command you to complete this today”? We refer to someone who has unrestricted power over others as a “commander.” If you disobey an instruction to do something, you’ll probably get in trouble.
Cues provide our dogs the ability to decide for themselves and promote learning. In instances where we know our pet can succeed, we teach cues and employ them. Because they are aware that signals might lead to opportunities for good things, our pets learn to like cues. When cued behaviors are learnt via the use of positive reinforcement, our pets begin to provide those behaviors, which means they perform those actions without needing our permission. They can then navigate situations and make wise judgments on their own.
Taking precautions to prevent confusing your pet with your cue:
It happens frequently for pet parents to unintentionally produce clues that ultimately lead to confusion. Thought to be offering one cue, pet owners may actually be giving another, numerous cues, or none at all.
When an animal exhibits a behavior in response to the presentation of a cue, it is said to be “on cue” and is referred to as one of the things we teach our pets. Owners may believe their pet understands a cue when, in reality, the animal is still learning the cue or the context in which it was given is unclear. Have you ever witnessed someone continually order their dog to sit yet the dog refuses? “He understands it at home,” or “He’s being obstinate,” the owners say. It never happens that the dog is obstinate. The likelihood that the pet doesn’t genuinely understand the cue in that situation or that the owner is delivering the cue differently than usual is higher.
Cues that Don’t Work:
A pet can pick up that not all stimuli have positive connotations. This is particularly true when our pets are trained through fear or discomfort. Dogs who locate the scary things on walks quickly link their collar or leash to the terrifying things that can happen when out for a walk. If a cat only uses their kennel when visiting the vet, they could find it upsetting. I can assure you that yelling at your dog constantly will just make the issue worse when they start barking at other dogs.
A major cause of a pet not responding to an owner is poisoned or damaged cues (again, your dog is not acting difficult!). The cue should come when called and the name of a pet, particularly a dog, are the two most frequently poisoned cues. The cue starts to carry a negative connotation. When we call our dog’s name, things that they dislike commonly occur, such as a bath, a visit to the vet, or a reprimand.
Over time, reacting to their name may become unsettling or frightful. You yell out “Buddy, come!” during recalls (come), and then you depart the dog park. Or else, your dog is forced to quit a game of chase with the neighbor’s puppy when you call out “come.” Coming when called signifies something negative if you don’t follow it up with a reward or another positive action. Positive reinforcement must be used consistently to prevent poisoned cues. Over time, reacting to their name may become unsettling or frightful. You yell out “Buddy, come!” during recalls (come), and then you depart the dog park. Or else, your dog is forced to quit a game of chase with the neighbor’s puppy when you call out “come.” Coming when called signifies something negative if you don’t follow it up with a reward or another positive action. Positive reinforcement must be used consistently to prevent poisoned cues.
Repeating cues doesn’t make them more effective either. The cue for sitting is not saying the word once, but rather saying it three times, five times, or whatever many times you typically say it in order to get your dog to sit. This also holds true for the name of your pet. Having dealt with dog owners whose dogs’ names are repeated so frequently during training sessions that the names just become white noise and lose their meaning an untold number of times. Additionally, cues must be practiced in all scenarios in which they may be applied. If you never spend time training at the park, you can’t expect that your pet will grasp what you mean when you say “shake” or “turn over” because our pets aren’t always great at generalizing.
How Can a Cue Be Taught?
When selecting a cue to teach your pet, consider ones that are simple to provide, stand out from the other cues they previously know, and are practical in a variety of settings. The majority of animals respond well to verbal and visual stimuli. A word like “sit,” “stay,” or “come” is typically used as a verbal cue. A hand gesture, such as raising your palm or pointing your finger at the ground, might serve as a visual cue.
Cues aren’t added during training until your pet starts acting out the behavior. Prior to naming a behavior, we build it (a cue). Conducting a marker and excellent feedback and reinforcement (such as rewards or delicious food pieces) will assist your animal pick up the cue fast when using positive reinforcement training. But be careful not to mix up a marker with a cue! Using a marker, you may show your pet the action or time that earned them a reward in return. A cue is a signal that informs your animal that the behavior you requested will be encouraged.
We can add the cue just before the behavior takes place, once we can predict with reasonable accuracy when our animal will exhibit the behavior. The previous action that our animals took that resulted in a reinforce, is the one they are most likely to repeat, and after doing that action repeatedly, our animals quickly learn to repeat it. Think about training your puppy to sit on command, for instance. Using a tasty treat as a lure, the dog sits after following the tasty treat with their nose. They are drawn in by the treat, sit, and get it. When the treat lure moves, your dog will begin to anticipate it and will begin to sit before it stops. Right before you start moving the treat lure, you can now add the verbal cue “sit.” When the dog sits, you mark it and reward it. Once the treat lure has been used successfully multiple times, you can just say “sit” because it is no longer necessary.
When you have taught your pet a wide variety of cues, communicating with them will be simple. It’s crucial to keep in mind that you should spend enough time teaching each cue before moving on to another. Take extreme care to avoid accidental poisoning of a cue or assuming that your dog would immediately understand one. Positive reinforcement, perseverance, and patience will help you and your pet have fantastic talks.
By: Dr. Ayesha Farrukh
