Cue? Command? Trigger? Prompt?

ALL behavior is initiated by something. There is a "trigger", "cue", "prompt", "eliciter", "command" that starts every behavior. The dog receives some stimuli, which results in some mental processing. This starter -- the thing which tells you (the dog) what to do, how to respond -- can take a variety of forms.

I find that most dogs rely on a combination of clues to figure out what is going on, and what kind of behavior is called for. Now, sometimes this behavior is called for DELIBERATELY, by humans who are asking for something, and sometimes it's just dictated by being yourself (the dog).

• Physical location
• Scent
• Sequence of events
• Actions taken by owner
  
• Behavior of other dogs
• Behavior of humans
  
• Sounds
• Deliberate sounds, leash/collar movement, touches, body language from handler (traditional commands)
• Others

For example, my dog learned when she was a puppy that doors were places to sit. A door is a physical location "cue" for my dog. I didn't have to say anything to her, but I would elicit a sit response when we approached doors. Now, 6 years later, I don't insist on a sit every time, but she always gives me a questioning look when we approach doors: "Do I wait this time?"

The importance of physical location in helping the dog understand the question is evident when I meet dogs who sit with rapt attention to their owner in the living room, where their owner has carefully trained them to sit, and who don't even so much as glance at the owner outside the front door. Same command, same expectation, "SIT", but competely different results. The dog has accepted the texture of the carpet, the smell of the home, the location in the living room as PART of the question. It's how you (the dog) know what you (the dog) are supposed to do.


Scent is grossly underrated as a component of a command. The smell of treats or food can not ONLY serve as a motivator, but I suspect that it activates relevant neurons in the brain, ones that have to do with training. How do I generally act that is most likely to make this scent result in something in my mouth? (Unlike humans, analysis is not based on what happened LAST time but what is most likely overall. More on that in another post.)

If you train your dogs to follow scent, you must deliberately expose them to multiple fields, multiple conditions, so that the only variable that stays the same is the scent of the person you are following or of the crushed foliage, if you are tracking.


Sequence of events is also an often overlooked context. The squeal of hinges. The jingle of tags. A pause. The neighbor just let their dog out. How do I (the dog) respond?

Actions of owner can also be sequences of events. Did you get up late? Did no one go to work today? It must be weekend and therefore hiking/training/agility/etc day. There is a certain probable sequence of events that occur on "sleep late/don't leave" days. Going to the kitchen. Opening the treat container. Picking up the leash. Someone walking up the front steps and across the porch.

The importance of understanding the ENTIRE sequence of events is particularly important for beginning trainers who cannot yet steer through an exercise, and who must instead repeat the ENTIRE exercise. Failing to do so can be perceived by the dog as the human actually giving a DIFFERENT command. This is confusing to the dog. (Confusion generally yields a lack of successful results.)


The behavior of other dogs is not unknown as a "trigger" to owners of multiple dogs. This subject should also be a completely separate -- well, probably an encyclopedia. Suffice it to say that other dogs recognizably demand a behavioral response from your dog.

My position is that any dog will have to learn to deal with probably 100s of dogs who aren't happy about them, so I enforce the "cue" of dog body language that says, "Go away". Yup, I'm that owner. I don't listen to a word you say. I listen to what your dog is saying. So if your dog says, "Hey, who are you?" to my dog... I let my dog say hi. And when your dog says, "Uh, you are making me nervous"... my dog has to leave. In so doing, I actively teach my dogs to respond to cues (commands) given by other dogs.

(In my defense, I'm a poorly socialized human who prefers dogs to people. I'm not trying to not hear you. I see your dog, I have tunnel vision on your dog. It just happens.)


Behavior of humans is challenging, as anyone knows who has owned a dog with dominant bully, aggressive-fearful, or timid-fearful responses. Teaching the dog to read every human behavior as either "none of your doggy business" or non-threatening -- well, THAT is a project! Another post for details, but remember that by teaching, you can assign a specific right answer to the "question" of interaction with humans.


Sounds are often easily recognized by humans, because humans use & respond to sound cues themselves. The doorbell is an obvious one. Phone ringing. Your significant other saying, "Honey..." in that tone you know means you are going to have to do something you don't want to. Interestingly, in the list here, doorbell and phone are often relevant to dogs, while "Honeeey..." is not. Another post later on keeping your SO from learning how to "Honey..." you.


Althought sound is easily recognized, because of the similarities of sound importance to both species, sight is often over-rated by humans. Dogs actually do not see that well. Movement may either be easier to see, or just more likely to be interesting. They can be taught to use visual discrimination, but using visual cues does not come as naturally to dogs as it does to people. A dog doesn't care if you hold up one finger or a flat palm -- that's pretty much the same gesture unless you teach the dog that one finger means one thing, and flat palm means another.

Now, these cues are often cited as "causes" or "motivators" of behavior. This is incorrect. Your dog is not lunging at mine because mine approached. Your dog is lunging for the reward of either sniffing my dog or getting my dog to move away from it. But my dog's behavior is not responsible for your issue. In fact, my dog's behavior is not actually affecting your issue. The demand for reaction, the "cue" is no different than me walking past your dog and saying "SIT". The presentation (or avoidance of presentation) of the "question" is not responsible for your dog's failure to give a correct answer. Lack of deliberate teaching IS responsible.

If your dog gets it wrong, well, he gets it wrong. Not the end of the world. When your dog "gets it wrong", I see that behavior as a cue for my dog to go away, which I enforce when I need to. When your dog approaches mine, this is a cue. This is a teaching opportunity.

Traditional command training -- SIT, DOWN, HEEL, COME, LOOK, LEAVE IT, OFF, GO TO YOUR ROOM, FETCH, SHAKE, ROLL OVER, etc -- is taught using a variety of cues. Some trainers insist on a specific cue-- only voice, only hand signals, only leash signals, no touching, etc. This is plain silly. There is no magic in using any kind of cue.

There are reasons for choosing one type of cue over another -- for example, leash signals are not good for teaching off-leash response. Visual hand signals are not effective when your dog is in the next room. Scent cues, while probably the most natural way for a dog to discriminate, are immensely complicated to keep from being tainted and changing. Touching your dog may not be possible if it is fearful or a mouthy pup!

Say you choose something inconvenient. Can you change it? YES!! By consistently showing your dog that the unknown word cue "SIT" is always followed by whatever is the known visual hand signal, you can eventually eliminate the hand signal. Any cue can be changed from to another, just like humans learn that "Hola" = "Hello".