Food lures are incredibly useful when teaching a dog where their body should move. The problem comes when the dog learns to follow the treat rather than respond to the cue.
A lure is a temporary teaching tool
Use the treat to guide the movement, then quickly transfer the same hand motion into an empty hand.
For example, if you're teaching a down, guide the dog with a treat once or twice, then repeat the same motion with an empty hand. Reward from the other hand afterward.
Change the visible picture
The goal is for the dog to respond to the cue without needing to see food first.
Once the behavior is reliable, the treat can move into your pocket or another location. Your dog still gets reinforcement, but the reinforcement no longer has to appear before the behavior.
Keep paying good work
Fading the lure does not mean eliminating rewards. You're changing when the dog sees the reward, not declaring that rewards are no longer useful.
Eventually, the cue becomes the predictor of reinforcement and the lure can disappear from the mechanics entirely.
