The technical name for a cue is a discriminative stimulus.
Here is how you can tell if you have built a truly powerful cue which will always work for you and your dog.
Training Theory
Come Back, But Don't Come Down: Advanced Exercise in Cueing
By Karen Pryor on 04/01/1997"Tell me this," said the Old Falconer, rocking back on his heels a little. "I want my bird to come back to me when she's too far away; but I want her to come back AND to stay up in the air. If I give her your click signal for coming back, she's got to come down to me to get her reward, right? So how can I do that and still get her to stay overhead?" And he glared at me with "Gotcha!" in his eyes.
