Around a cone and back, sent from a little farther

How to teach a dog to go around an object begins right beside a cone or a bucket. Lure your dog in a full loop around it, and pay as your dog comes back to your side. Then stand one step farther away, point to the cone, and let your dog make the loop alone.

What makes a good object for a dog to go around?

Pick something your dog can spot from the far side of the room. A cone, a bucket or a small trash can all work. Tall enough to notice, narrow enough that the loop is short, and steady enough that a brush with a shoulder will not tip it over.

Later you can move on to a tree or a post, once the idea is firm. A person is the wrong object for this one, since circling a person is a different trick.

Set the object out in open floor, with space on every side for your arm and your dog, away from furniture that would crowd the loop. This trick adds a distance skill to the usual set in tricks to teach your dog, because the dog leaves you, goes somewhere, and comes back.

How do you lure the first loop up close?

Stand next to the cone with your dog beside you. Let your dog nose a bite of cheese in your fingers, then lead that nose past the cone, around the far side, and back to you. Keep your hand low and your pace even, so the whole loop is one smooth sweep.

Pay when your dog is back beside you. The moment of payment tells the dog what the finish line is, and it should not be the cone.

Run it a few times until your dog follows the lure around without hesitating. If your dog stops at the cone to sniff it, speed the hand up a little and pay a little sooner on the return, even when the loop is only part done.

Why pay back at your side instead of at the cone?

Because the return is half the trick. Hand over treats at the cone and the cone becomes the spot where food shows up, so the loop stalls there. Pay beside you and the loop ends where you are.

It also keeps the trick tidy. A dog that comes back to your side is ready for the next send, and you are not chasing your dog across the room to hand over a treat.

Think of the cone as a turning point and your side as the finish. The cone does not pay; you do.

A small practice habit helps. Reset your dog to the same spot beside you before each send, so every loop starts and ends in the same place and you can judge the return at a glance.

If you ever catch yourself walking toward the cone with a treat in your hand, stop where you are and wait for the return. Staying put keeps the return part of the trick yours to pay.

How do you add distance between you and the cone?

Move down this ladder only when the current rung runs smoothly.

• Stand one step back from your dog and the cone, and point to it with your arm.
• Move a few steps back, and send your dog from there.
• In a fenced yard, send your dog from farther off, with the cone in a clear line.

Begin each send with the point. Once the point alone gets a full loop, slip your word in a beat ahead of the arm. An orange cone borrowed from an autocross bag makes a good first object, and its bright color makes the send easier to read.

If your dog stops partway, step closer for the next try and pay the return well.

Outdoors, stay inside a fence or on a leash, and keep the loop short. Handling for a sport ring is a class matter, and the guide to sport training treats points toward it. For a related send, the place guide covers sending a dog to a mat.

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