Clickers

[Mushaka]

Im about to go off to the pet store to buy a clicker..thed said $5.50..does that price sound right?

i was never going to bother with clickers but the "light bulb " :p just went on.

I had one of those moments in time,where i thought hang on..if i had a clcicker...they wld KNOW they did the right thing and not get over excited with the "good dog goooood dooooooooog" hyper talk. When they get over stimuated they lose focus...HMMMM ok ok..im blonde!!! i have decided also that i will have a jars of treats throughout the house incase some one accidently does something good and i wish to reward immediatley.

I am aslo writing a list of "house rules" for the dogs that i will have each family member to adhere to and visitors as well.

Does anyone have any ideas?..So far, im using the NILIF approach and no lounges no beds etc..i must say it is very very hard not to let the dogs up for cuddles but i feel its in their best interest.

I have Staffy X a Pure Blue staff and a Amstaff x English Staff so even more reason to make sure they are well mannered. I certainly dnt want to add fuel to the fire of the BSL.

If im doing anything wrong here please tell me. And any suggestions will be gratefully recieved THANX ALL

Lyn

[Mushaka]

In addition to that, since i have 3 dogs. Only two of which im training since the other is TOO old,..i mean one foot in the grave poor girl..so its just the Staffy who is 6 and the 9 wk old puppy that i will be training. We only recently got both of these dogs,Lewis the old guy,being a rescue.

I want to know if i should train them together or seperatley?

[Vickie]

I want to know if i should train them together or seperatley?

Definitely separately. The way the clicker works is that it marks the precise behaviour that your dog is doing at the time. So unless they are both doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time, it would be very confusing for them. I never train more than one dog at a time using any method. When I am training behaviours, I want 100% of their attention & like to be able to give them the same in return.

Due to the big gap in their ages their attention span will be quite different & I would imagine they will be learning different things as well.

Good on you for being organised & doing a training plan...I was just reading an article on that exact same thing. I'm off to do one now too.

Edited July 22, 2007 by Vickie

[Mushaka]

:p of course...IM so stooopid..ONE AT A TIME.

I guess puppy pre-school will give her good socialization skills.

How do u get them to stay focused once there are ditractions.This is where i normally lose control!

Aslo, I was wondering if anyone knows how i can get my puppy used to cats when i dont know a soul that owns one/ I called the animal shelter and they said NO to me bringing her in to meet them. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Sarah L]

I guess puppy pre-school will give her good socialization skills.

Be very careful here as the class may not give you what you want. It will depend on whether you have a nurse or a trainer as your instructor.

Aslo, I was wondering if anyone knows how i can get my puppy used to cats when i dont know a soul that owns one/ I called the animal shelter and they said NO to me bringing her in to meet them. Does anyone have any suggestions?

If you do not know anyone that owns a cat then this may be very difficult for you. Also a very steady cat who is used to dogs would be the best one to train yours on. A good way is for the cat to be in a carry crate for safety and the dog on a lead. The dog is allowed to go up to the crate and sniff. Count to 5 and recall your dog back to you and give it a high value reward. Let it go back to the crate and sniff and count ot 10 and recall the dog back to you again for a high value reward. You can also get the dog to sit next to the crate count to 5 then reward. Before letting the cat out of the crate the dog should be very good at being recalled from the crate, sitting next to the crate and lying down beside the crate and staying next to the crate while you take a few steps away from the crate. Reward the dog each time it does what you ask. The whole process gets repeated with the dog on lead and the cat out of the crate. The whole process should take about one week. Factors to be taken into consideration is the least amount of stress on both the dog and cat during training. If you www.google uk.com then go to Battersea Dogs Home they have a very good training program for getting dogs used to cats.

Good on you for trying clicker training and writing up a program. Practise all your simple training clicker techniques though before trying to clicker train your dog on cats. Vickie is right do train them separatley

If you are near Sydney then I can help you by using my cat. He is used to dogs and lives with a Bull Mastiff x Great Dane.

They both give me endless entertainment watching them play together :p they have lived together for 8 years now.

[Cassiepeia]

Clicker training is wonderful. :p I just wanted to add...don't count your old girl out. Before he passed away my 17yr old Chihuahua who had a severe heart murmur, was going blind and had dementia took to the clicker and learned three commands quite quickly (touch, sit and stand - he knew sit but wasn't reliable before). Old (even ancient) dogs can learn new tricks and the clicker makes it much easier for them to understand what you're asking.

So give it a go with her, don't expect her to be as quick as the youngin's though.

Cass.

[Mushaka]

Im not sure who will be doing the puppy training. My vet has suggested it to me for socialization before she reaches the age tha tshe can attend proper trainin group lessons at 12 wks. the classes i think are at his surgery..?

She is only NOW learning "sit", "up" and "come"..iveo nly had her a week and have only now started proper one on one training as i was letting her get used to us all. I DOOOOOO have a problem gettin her to listen ALL the time..i KNOW this means she isnt really trained,..and ive ALWAYS had this issue wen training. CAn u gove me any advise on how to get the dog to "recall" all of the time?

Im 110% dedicated to making this puppy the best she can be.

Im near Cronulla Pinnacle.. do uthink its important to get her near cats or am i over doing things?

[Mushaka]

how long should training sessions be?..shld i kneel down to the dog or always be standing? im also havein a hard time hilding leasf,treats and clicker...HELP..

PS..think i cld do with a typing course too!

[Mushaka]

leasf was supposed to be LEASH...sheesh!! havin a hard time holding them all at once

[NaturallyWild]

Sessions should be short - about 3min - you can then reasses where you are at for that session, figure out what the next session will be, play a couple of games, then start another session again.

Remember to stick to the criteria you have for one seesion - don't up the anti during the session. Change in criteria for the following session occurs when you have at least 80% success rate.

Doesn't matter whether you kneel or stand - it obviously depends on what you are trying to teach and how (ie free shaping, targeting/luring). Ideally you want to progress yourself not having to be kneeling (unless that is an actual part of what you are teaching) so you body position become a requirement to your dog.

You get her to be able to listen all the time and get a solid recall by becoming one of the best things in the world for her to interact with - this comes with repetition of great things happening from you - a good trainer should be able to show you much of this. Your on the right track though.

The socialisation classes should not be a free for all play session, but they do need them to learn how to interact without going over board - use it as a training envirionment with lots of distractions to work through (ie click and treat whenever you ask for attention but also when they choose to look at you on their own).

Edited July 22, 2007 by NaturallyWild

[Mushaka]

You get her to be able to listen all the time and get a solid recall by becoming one of the best things in the world for her to interact with

ok..i think she is pretty aware that i am pack leader,but with 3 other dogs in the house and me being the 'leader" Im not sure she sees me as the most fun to be with.

I know she rushes excitedly wen i call her but im not sure?..should i keep everyone else OUT of the discipline side of things?

I ALWAYS treat her wen she comes to me either verbally or with a treat.

i dont really discipline so much as eg..if she goes to get on the lounge i say "no" and put her back on the floor and say "good girl" and pat her wen she remains on the floor...?? we had palnned on hiring "help" but i dont want to wait till then to get her training started. Could i mess things up by trying and not knowing what im doing?

[NaturallyWild]

ok..i think she is pretty aware that i am pack leader,but with 3 other dogs in the house and me being the 'leader" Im not sure she sees me as the most fun to be with.

I know she rushes excitedly wen i call her but im not sure?..should i keep everyone else OUT of the discipline side of things?

I ALWAYS treat her wen she comes to me either verbally or with a treat.

i dont really discipline so much as eg..if she goes to get on the lounge i say "no" and put her back on the floor and say "good girl" and pat her wen she remains on the floor...?? we had palnned on hiring "help" but i dont want to wait till then to get her training started. Could i mess things up by trying and not knowing what im doing?

Sounds like what your doing is good - remember she is just a puppy and doesn't know what is expected of her - being consistant with what you expect, rewarding as much as you can when she does the things/behaviours you want her to do (even when its something you may not have asked for) and guiding her away from the behaviours you don't want.

You become the pack leader when you are able to provide all of the things that she wants/needs (on your terms though) - its not so much about the discipline.