Clickers

[poodlefan]

The hardest thing is when they reach a moment where they suddenly stop offering anything and just stand there. The key is to wait them out but it can be frustrating at the start.

You don't have to wait. You can lure and cue. You don't have to free shape behaviour and personally I don't as I know what I want to the dog to do and can illicit it.

A clicker is a marker.. nothing more, nothing less. Its quick, has no tone and sounds the same every time you use it. That's why some folk prefer it to verbal markers. A clicker is used in training to mark desired behaviour but it is NOT a training method.

Quality of clickers varies. I like the Blackdog clicker that has a button and a wrist strap.

For those who have trouble juggling everything, put the treats and the clicker in the same hand.

Edited June 26, 2011 by poodlefan

[poodlefan]

Just brought my puppy back yesterday and was trying to clicker train it today but to no avail

I tried the click, pause, treat method and she couldn't care less if I click or not and would walk away from me.

Have I done anything wrong? Why is she not responding to the clicks? Is the treat not rewarding enough?

I'm currently using her kibble as a treat. What kind of treats would you guys recommend?

You have to 'charge' the clicker and I'd be using really good treats - not just food she gets all the time. Try devon, cheese or roast chicken!

Don't pause after the click either. Click and treat straight away.

[lolaken]

Thanks Aiden2, I'll try that and see if it works.

[Kavik]

The hardest thing is when they reach a moment where they suddenly stop offering anything and just stand there. The key is to wait them out but it can be frustrating at the start.

You don't have to wait. You can lure and cue. You don't have to free shape behaviour and personally I don't as I know what I want to the dog to do and can illicit it.

A clicker is a marker.. nothing more, nothing less. Its quick, has no tone and sounds the same every time you use it. That's why some folk prefer it to verbal markers. A clicker is used in training to mark desired behaviour but it is NOT a training method.

Quality of clickers varies. I like the Blackdog clicker that has a button and a wrist strap.

For those who have trouble juggling everything, put the treats and the clicker in the same hand.

True, you can lure and cue. I like free shaping though, even though it can be frustrating sometimes. It is good for my training skills as well as for teaching the dogs how to offer behaviours.

[B-Q]

I also find, having an extremely energetic dog that needs a lot of mental stimulation having her clicker savvy makes wearing her out a bit easier. I often have pockets full of kibble to take advantage of oppurtunities.

The other day we were in the loungeroom and she was bored, I was sitting ont he couch and could see her being restless, first she walked over and put her head ont he couch beside me, I figured I'd use it and when she moved her head slightly I marked her "yes" and treated her, within 30 seconds we had decided I wanted her to grab the blanket I was sitting on and she was madly trying to pull it out from underneath me.

Or later the same day when I picked up an emtpy glass and within 5 minutes had her putting her nose in it and holding still for 3-5 seconds, something we'd never touched on before.

I also like how it helps to build confidence, Buster was very, very shut down as a young dog, he copped a lot of abuse from my stepdad for the first couple of years of life. I started reading about clicker training and when he was about 4 I finally got one, he just blossomed. Its a great way for him to train because he gets to keep getting things right, it did take a while for him to learn to confidently offer behaviours though and not give up right away.

[brittany_137]

do yous find that its harder to do it with a pup than it is with an older dog?

[Simply Grand]

I have taught one of my chickens to jump through a hoop and taught one to put its foot on my foot. I want to teach them to do a little agility course but i need to make one first.

That's great! The picture in my head of a chicken jumping through a hoop is hilarious!! You can take them on Australia's Got Talent once you've got them doing an agility course.

I also like how it helps to build confidence, Buster was very, very shut down as a young dog, he copped a lot of abuse from my stepdad for the first couple of years of life. I started reading about clicker training and when he was about 4 I finally got one, he just blossomed. Its a great way for him to train because he gets to keep getting things right, it did take a while for him to learn to confidently offer behaviours though and not give up right away.

That's really sweet, how nice for him to feel like he's doing well and getting things right, not worrying about getting in trouble all the time

Now for a silly question... do different clickers make different sounds? I'm assuming they do, so I could use a different one for the new dog so they know who's being trained...

[megan_]

Thanks Aiden2, I'll try that and see if it works.

Also remember to click lots and lots of things. When she is sitting, standing, looking. When you are sitting, standing. Inside. Outside. In the car etc.

This is so that there is no pattern other than "click = treat". Too many people only charge the clicker when their dog is sitting and the dog thinks "sit = click = treat".

[OSoSwift]

Thanks Aiden2, I'll try that and see if it works.

Also remember to click lots and lots of things. When she is sitting, standing, looking. When you are sitting, standing. Inside. Outside. In the car etc.

This is so that there is no pattern other than "click = treat". Too many people only charge the clicker when their dog is sitting and the dog thinks "sit = click = treat".

Very good point!

[fuzzy82]

do yous find that its harder to do it with a pup than it is with an older dog?

I found it easier to get my puppy started with offering behaviours than for my other dog who I adopted at 12 months. The puppy caught on quicker and because he's never learnt anything else, he was constantly throwing behaviours out there to see what worked.

My other dog was already trained when I got her, I assume using the standard method of guiding, so it took her a while to realise that she didn't have to wait to be told what to do, she could just throw something out there and see what happens. I wouldn't get angry if she got it wrong, the worst thing that could happen was that she didn't get her treat, so she could just try again. It took several months before she caught on.

[OSoSwift]

I find puppies very easy and because they are little sponges they catch on really quickly

[SezzNJunebug]

do yous find that its harder to do it with a pup than it is with an older dog?

My other dog was already trained when I got her, I assume using the standard method of guiding, so it took her a while to realise that she didn't have to wait to be told what to do, she could just throw something out there and see what happens. I wouldn't get angry if she got it wrong, the worst thing that could happen was that she didn't get her treat, so she could just try again. It took several months before she caught on.

My girl was about 6 months old when I started reading about clicker training(I'm still very new to it! ) I had similar problems because she was already used to being lured or being told to do something. I tried the '101 things to do with a box' game and that really helped her catch on!

It's a couple of years off butI can't wait to start clicker training from day one with our next pup! :D

Edited June 27, 2011 by Sezz

[Diesel's Mate]

I started clicker training about 2 months ago....I 'charged the clicker' with yummy treats and not immediately after a meal....

I am finding great success and got started by catching him doing something I wanted, gave the command, clicked, treated......now I can give a command and he does it....then I still click and reward but only when it is done properly.....I use an excited "good one mate" when the session is over other than that I only use my voice for the command like "stand" "wait" "here" etc....(he gets too excited if I use a chirpy voice saying "good boy" all the time during training...that's why the clicker is good for voice sensitive dogs)

hope that made sense...

Edited July 10, 2011 by Diesel's Mate