Ever had a nagging mother or significant other? You know how you eventually tune them out? That is called habituation and our dogs can do that too. It’s a great idea to teach the behavior that you want to see and get it rock solid before adding your cue. And begin practices in a place with minimum to no distractions. If you are needing to repeat a cue over and over, your dog is giving you feedback. And if you continue, you will weaken that cue. Instead, go back and work on strengthening the behavior with high value reinforcers. Teach your dog that doing the behavior you want him to do is going to be absolutely worth it for him.
