sheena

She's going great Spotted Devil, & she is such a pretty dog. I must get my act together & video my pair. The young guy is doing well with the skateboard, but my girl gets a bit bored with it, so I just do a little bit then go onto doing things she knows. She is getting very good at standing on her back legs & even took a few steps backwards, last night on two legs.

With all this talk of clicker training, I thought I would bump this thread up :) ATM I am clicker training my two to ride a skateboard. The goals I have set for them are completely different. With my girl, I am happy if she gets three legs on the board & stops it from tipping (4th leg is used for pushing eventually) & the young guy is getting rewarded for making the board move, then I will move on to three legs on, one off. They are doing it on the carpet so it doesn't run away on them Anyone else taught the skateboard ????

Sadly, I saw this in a pet shop once with a cattle dog pup or a fair age. He was chasing his tail the whole time I was in the shop. I couldn't stand it, I had to leave, but the image still haunts me. I have never been back to that shop.

We are trying to get across to someone who has a blank mind to what can be achieved with positive reinforcement. Hope he/she never turns up in our club Strange how we havn't heard back from the OP since first posting the question. I hope she has gone out to buy her first clicker & a good book on how to use it properly. Or if she comes back on here & asks questions, those of us who know the proper way to use it, can point her in the right direction. :)

Drive has nothing to do with it & I don't believe that drive is purely genetic anyway. You don't need a dog with drive to respond well to the clicker & you don't need to be training for agility either I first learnt how to use the clicker when I went to a dancing with dogs seminar. If you are really interested, then get hold of "Control Unleashed" & it may open up your mind a bit as to what can be achieved with rewards plus method. Last night I gave my two their first clicker session on "how to ride a skateboard".

I can't see it There is a big pop up over the top of the page & wont let me enter the site till I join up or like them on Facebook (which I am not going to do)

If using a Scalibor collar, would you wait till your dog was dry after swimming or put it back on immediately after

You don't use NRM's when using the clicker, in fact, you say nothing at all, just have a happy smiley face. When I finally see the light bulb go off in my dog's head & he reaches his goal, I will click, at the same time break my silence with a "yes" & shower him with whatever treats I have left over....then end of game. :) For example, teaching my young guy to crawl under the coffee table. I will click & treat for glancing at it, then glancing under it, then moving a paw, then bending etc etc. all the time throwing the treat slightly away, so he has to think where he was up to when he got the click :laugh: then when he finally does the whole lot its party time After a couple of successes I might put a cue on it if it's something I want. (if that makes sense)

:laugh: I knew the +R but I can't think what NRM is referring to You don't need a speedy treat delivery. It is the clicker that is marking not the delivery of the treat. When I am using the clicker, generally, I will click & then throw the treat away, so that the dog has to run & get the treat & then think back to what it did to earn it & it is amazing to see how quick they pick this up & it really gets them thinking. That way it can't be said that I am luring, which is what happening when people click, then throw the reward closer to the goal.

Times too....exactly. I use a clicker to teach something new but then when I have the behaviour I will mostly use a marker word, eg. "yes" for entering the weave poles correctly. But for teaching (shaping) a new behaviour, the clicker is a much more effective marker of a precise tiny movement, glance, whatever, than a word & unlike a word, the clicker tone never changes. The word "yes" can be said in so many different ways & tones.

I don't think Santo66 fully understands Clicker Training :) The original OP's question was "Clicker Training, A Good Idea" & I am sure the answer to that is a resounding "YES"

They look like they might be the answer ....I have forwarded the link on to him

Thanks everyone...I have forwarded the links on to him :)

A member of our club has a 3 year old BC. The dog has developed some sort of allergy which the vets have tried all the usual things with, like cortisone, antihistamines etc. It only seems to be effecting her feet & is made worse when he takes her to the beach. I suggested he get hold of some booties to put on her as it seems to be something she is walking on that irritates her. This is the first year she has had the allergy & has had it now for about 6 months, so that rules out any seasonal trigger. Nothing else has changed in her environment. Someone did suggest to him that it may be her tick collar (not sure what brand), but you would think if it were that, she would be irritated around the neck I know you can buy good booties from Clean Run, but postage is a killer...any one know of where to get them in OZ

What a lot of balony that you can only use reward based training to train a dog with high drive. Santo66, have you ever read any of Leslie McDevitt's stuff...have you ever read "Controlled Unleashed"...have you ever heard of LAT. Leslie uses ONLY positive reinforcement methods & handles all sorts of dogs...problem dogs are her speciality. I suggest you get hold of some of Controlled Unleashed & give it a good read...maybe your eyes might be opened :) And to think that someone might use, being released to chase the cat, as a reward is just stupid.

Working Border Collies.......high drive dogs with genetic focus, of course clicker training and reward based methods work awesome with dogs like that which is half the problem when performance dogs are shown as result of a training method where the old mutt with no drive or drive in the wrong place that doesn't assist in training is a completely different story as to what method will work best. I am a firm believer that no single method works best on every dog and a good trainer is someone who knows the difference in a dog's character to apply the method best suited to the particular dog and owner. Any method pushers who either use only reward based methods or punishment based for every dog compromises the full spectrum of training potential attainable with a balanced training approach. In other words, any trainers or clubs that only support one method are half arsed IMHO. IMO any club or trainer who advocates the use of punishment as it's method of training is half arsed. With the exception of maybe aggressive or dangerous dogs. But we are not talking about training "problem" dogs here, I don't think. I thought the OP was talking about a fairly normal dog. I don't agree that clicker training only works with high drive dogs...you can use it on ANY breed of dog if done correctly. I would not support ANY club that used punishment as ANY part of it's training.

Have you checked inside her ears, anus & mouth. Advantix doesn't work in those areas because of the lack of hair.

If it fits across the shoulders, restriction is inevitable. Walking in these will impact gait. My two border collies have been raised in these, & they certainly don't have an impacted gait. I only walk them in them, I take them off when they are running around...that is just common sense. I have found them great, & now both my dogs walk beautifully either in a flat collar or an ordinary harness. No problems here :)

That is true too aliwake , people are more likely to complain than praise! Thanks sheena, I didn't think of the Cresty thread After reading all the info on ticks and preventatives I'm leaning towards just the daily checks at this stage as he is an easy dog to check (as are our others). Knowing we have a time to find them (and someone is home most days) I feel that we should hopefully be able to stay on top of it all. I was just a bit concerned when Nemo got 6 ticks in three days (which is the most we've ever had) but since clearing the yard on the weekend, he's not had any (neither have the others), so I'm hoping we've reduced the numbers at least. I do like the look of that electronic device so may look at trying a couple of those (possibly one for my OH too as he's seems to get a few tick too when working in the yard). We don't have a dam thankfully - mind you our dogs seem to have an aversion to water, they jump over puddles or go around and hate going outside in the rain, sad really :laugh: I got my electronic thingos from Amazon. They were not called Skudos but were exactly the same & made by the same people. There are some cheap & nasty ones on Ebay, but I wouldn't touch them with a six foot pole They are water resistant, so rain will not effect them.

As others have said, your pup needs to learn to walk on a flat collar, but that doesn't happen overnight & I quite understand that in the meantime you will just want to go for pleasant walks. I can't speak highly enough of front attached harnesses like the SENS-ible one or Freedom No Pull, which up until today, Clean Run have had on their Free Shipping page for years They are magic No pulling on the dogs nose or throat, they simply turn the dog back towards you as soon as he starts to pull.

I use Filtabac (sp?) It's pretty thick like a zinc & contains an antibacterial. I think it is mainly used for horses.

Yes...I agree. Stormy why don't you pop over to the Chinese Crested thread, if there is one :) Personally, if I had a little hairless dog like you, I would be just doing a daily search & picking off any ticks. They do have to be on for a while before they do any damage & he may even build up a slight immunity to them, which I believe only lasts for one season. There are also these little ultrasonic things which I have used quite successfully in the past as a back-up to spot-ons, but I got sick & tired of taking it off before they went swimming & of course, sometimes they sneak off to the dam without me knowing :laugh: Skudos

Here's a link to customer reviews on it Customer reviews

Sounds all good. I just mix mine in a bowl, then pour it into my thermal pot. You might find after a few batches, you will need to get some fresh culture. Yep & your right about the UHT Milk, only needs to be heated to 40d to add the culture. :)

Thanks for that Nowstarin :) I thought that might be the case, even though they say the product is suitable for dogs that swim, but recommend taking it off because of it's toxicity to marine animals.