Petmate BRANDON MCMILLAN Lure Stick Training Tool by Petmate

This really helped me train my min. Schnauzer to walk on a leash. I had to find the right treat so it could hold it, but once I did, it worked beautifully. I used Zuks crunchy peanut butter and oat treats. They are oblong with a crease in the middle that helps hold it in the clip. You could use pieces of cheese too. My dog grabs the treat easily when it's time. If anyone knows min. Schnauzers, they know that they can be stubborn. He's walking with ease now. He'll follow the lure stick anywhere! And I don't have to walk bent over to get the treat in front of his nose. It is adjustable. It slides close to fit in your pocket and opens up like a telescope rod to extend it to the needed length.

This is an excellent tool for training your dog. I'm working with my Aussie on some complex tricks and this really makes it easy to communicate. He took to it right away (of course, because food). My younger dog is very shy and fearful, and was initially terrified of the loud click this makes when he grabs the treat. After desensitizing him to it, it's working great as we struggle through the basics. He basically refuses to go, come, move - he'll freeze in place when I even try to get him to, say, walk forward a few feet. This is really helpful for him!! I have the same complaint as a few other reviewers - I wish this had a way to release the treat from the handle. I've been loading it with a large treat, then just giving the treats myself. But still, excellent excellent tool for food motivated dogs. Much preferred over our targeting stick.

I adopted a dog that is almost 9 and is both deaf and blind. I was searching for something to help me with some training. I was at a loss and then someone suggested this. I have used it with my little guy and it is perfect. Extends out for a gentle reach, sturdy and with the clip at the bottom it is a great enticement for him to follow. A really great product! They really work very well - cost is great, quality is great and it works!

If you have a bad back and a small dog or puppy, this is a genius idea. However, it’s annoying to use. It does not easily hold training treats (I think it’s designed for large, flat treats but those are difficult to find and not ideal for training) and my dog struggled to get the treats out. Often when he would try to get the treat out, it would wiggle backwards and get trapped inside which meant I had to retrieve it and deliver it by hand - complete defeating the point of the device.

I saw this being used when Brandon was training a dog to loose leash walk on his show Lucky Dog. I’ve tried many different training methods to teach my dog to loose leash walk, but he still holds onto control 75% of the time. I thought this lure stick would be a very different approach. While the stick is functioning, my dog is a little scared of it. I think it will takes some getting used to and then we will be golden. The lure stick can change to many different lengths, so it would be good for humans and dogs of all sizes. The clamp for the stick is interesting. You kind of need to put a large treat at the end to get it to work best. I would rather do smaller treats because I am in training mode while using this, but it’s more difficult for my dog to pull them out. He then gets more scared or not interested in it.

1) There is absolutely nothing "automatic" about this : You can only give one treat at a time, then you must manually reload it-- it does not work like a Pez dispenser. Also, once you load it and extend it out to treat the dog, you have to either a) manually push it back or b) keep it extended to load more treats. That means, if your dog is on your left side, you'll need to hold and direct the lure stick in your left hand, while holding the treats in your right hand and holding the leash in both hands! Coordination can be a challenge... especially when loading new treats and attempting to walk at the same time!2) It is not possible to release the treat automatically. This means the dog must be able to pull it out from the lure holder. This means you must use fairly large treats so your dog can get a grip.3) It is very cheaply made. If you pull it using the lure holder, the holder comes off. If you push it back too hard, the lure holder comes off and the telescoping stick sinks into the handle so you need tweezers to pull it out.Really really disappointed. I guess the only good things are 1) it is cheap and 2) you are sending royalties to Brandon.

I use it for leash training my corgi puppy. With a short legged dog it eliminates having to bend down when following Brandon Macmillan's technique for leash and "heel" training. You have to use training treats large enough (1/2" or so) and attach them to the edge of the clip so your dog can easily remove them. Reviewer's negative complaints about this training tool reflects their poor understanding of how to use it. I think it is a clever solution.