MARKER WORD

A marker is a clear signal that tells your dog:

“That was right. A reward is coming.”

You can use a short, consistent word.

Start somewhere easy.

Marker → treat

Repeat this 8–10 times.

Do a few short sessions rather than one enormous one.

At this stage, you’re simply teaching your dog that the marker predicts a reward.

TARGET ZONE AND REWARD PLACEMENT

I use something called the Target Zone.

The Target Zone is an imaginary area on the floor beside you where you want your dog to walk.

Target ZoneYou

To begin with, that area can be quite large. We are not looking for military precision here.