Phase 3-4: Fade Lure & Add Verbal Cue
Timeline: Days 9-20 (12 days total)
Goal: Transition from lure-dependent to responding to your hand signal and verbal cue. She starts anticipating the down before you complete the motion.
Why Phase 3 Is the Hardest
This is where most people get stuck. You’re transitioning from a visible treat (the lure) to just your hand motion. We’ll break it into 3 sub-phases to make it systematic and achievable.
Key principle: Many people don’t fade systematically. We’ll break it down step by step.
Phase 3A: Smaller Lure Motion (Days 9-11)
What You’re Doing
- Still have treat in hand, but make the motion smaller and faster
- Instead of slowly lowering treat all the way to ground, you drop your hand halfway and she should anticipate the rest
Training Protocol
| Step | You Do | She Does | You Mark/Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Treat in fist, start at her nose level | Watching your hand | - |
| 2 | Drop hand HALFWAY to ground (not all the way) | She starts to lower | - |
| 3 | Stop your hand motion | She completes the down on her own | ”YES” the instant elbows hit |
| 4 | Bring treat down to her and give it | She’s in full down | Feed 2-3 treats |
| 5 | Release | She gets up | - |
Success Metric
She anticipates the down and completes it even though your hand didn’t go all the way to the ground.
Reps & Frequency
- 15-20 reps per session
- 2 sessions per day
- 2-3 days at this level before moving to Phase 3B
Phase 3B: Empty Hand Motion (Days 12-14)
What You’re Doing
- Treat is in your OTHER hand (behind your back or in your pocket)
- Your lure hand is EMPTY but makes the same motion
- She downs, THEN you produce the treat from the other hand
This Is the Critical Step
She’s now responding to the MOTION, not the treat. The treat appears AFTER the behavior.
Training Protocol
| Step | You Do | She Does | You Mark/Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Empty fist in front of her nose (treat in other hand) | Sniffs empty hand | - |
| 2 | Drop empty hand halfway to ground | She follows the motion and downs | ”YES” when elbows hit |
| 3 | Immediately grab treat from other hand | She holds down | Give treat between her paws |
| 4 | Release | She gets up | - |
If She Doesn’t Down with Empty Hand
- Go back to Phase 3A for another day
- Make sure your hand motion is EXACTLY the same as when you had the treat
- Be patient - this is a big leap for her brain
Reps & Frequency
- 15-20 reps per session
- 2-3 sessions per day
- 2-3 days at this level before moving to Phase 3C
Phase 3C: Subtle Hand Signal (Day 15)
What You’re Doing
- Your hand motion gets even smaller
- Eventually it’s just a small downward point or finger motion
- Treat still comes from other hand after the behavior
Training Protocol
| Step | You Do | She Does | You Mark/Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Small downward motion (just a few inches) | She downs immediately | ”YES” |
| 2 | Treat from other hand | She holds down | Give treat |
| 3 | Release | She gets up | - |
Goal
Your hand signal is now a subtle cue, not a big lure motion.
Reps & Frequency
- 10-15 reps per session
- 2 sessions per day
Success Metric for Phase 3
By end of Phase 3, she downs reliably (9/10 times) when you make a small hand motion, with no treat visible in that hand.
Phase 4: Add Verbal Cue (Days 16-20)
Goal
Pair the word “down” with the hand signal so she starts to learn the verbal cue.
Critical Rule: Verbal First, Then Hand Signal
VERBAL CUE COMES FIRST, THEN HAND SIGNAL.
If you do hand signal first, she’ll always rely on the visual and ignore the word.
Training Protocol
| Step | You Do | She Does | You Mark/Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Say “DOWN” | She might look at you, might not move | - |
| 2 | Immediately (within 0.5 seconds) give hand signal | She downs | ”YES” when elbows hit |
| 3 | Treat from other hand | She holds down | Give treat |
| 4 | Release | She gets up | - |
Timing Is Everything
- Say “down”
- Count “one-thousand-one”
- Give hand signal
- She downs
What to Watch For
After 20-30 reps: She’ll start to anticipate. When you say “down,” she’ll begin moving BEFORE you give the hand signal. That’s exactly what you want.
Reps & Frequency
- 15-20 reps per session
- 2-3 sessions per day
- 4-5 days at this level
Success Metric for Phase 4
By end of Phase 4, she starts moving into a down when she hears “down,” before you give the hand signal (at least 5 out of 10 times).
Progress Checklist
- Phase 3A complete: Downs with halfway hand motion 8/10 times
- Phase 3B complete: Downs with empty hand motion 8/10 times
- Phase 3C complete: Downs with subtle hand signal 9/10 times
- Phase 4 complete: Anticipates verbal cue 5+/10 times before you give hand signal
- Ready to move to Phase 5: Verbal Cue Only
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not fading systematically - Don’t jump from full lure to empty hand. Use Phase 3A as the bridge.
- Moving too fast - Stay at each sub-phase for 2-3 days. Speed comes from repetition.
- Inconsistent hand motion - Make sure your empty-hand motion looks identical to your lure motion.
- Verbal cue timing - Say “down” BEFORE the hand signal, not simultaneously.
Next Steps
Once she’s responding to “down” before you give the hand signal (Phase 4 complete), move on to Phase 5: Verbal Cue Only. She’s almost there!