Clicker Training

[KMK]

I have begun clicker training with Loki our 5 1/2 month old rescue BC/Husky. He is a smart little fellow. He knows sit, down, stay (well kind of), and is learning heel on the lead. Much nicer than a choke chain or any of the other methods I have seen people use on other dogs. The clicker works well for teaching almsost everything really. We also taught him to potty outside on command using the clicker. He is VERY food motivated and we just use regular kibble as his treat. Any other clicker people out there?

[muggs]

I've been seriously considering it, especially for my newly adopted 5 year old. It sounds like your having good luck with it. BTW my 7 month old is Loki too, and lives up to his mythological namesake!

[KMK]

I'll tell you, I am glad I worked with Loki on the "Come" command immediately when we got him. He got out of the yard just the other day. I found him next door exploring the neighbor's yard. He came without hesitation when I called him.

[Kitch]

I do clicker training as well, but not for everything as I have yet to figure out how to give a hand signal, hold the reward, hold the leash and hold the clicker with only 2 hands!!! I usually start off with the clicker the first few times and then use praise; but I agree, the clicker is a woooonderful tool.

[TheStacks]

I love the clicker. One click and she knows that she did what I wanted and she can pretty much do it after 2 or 3 clicks on command from that point. Zoey has been able to learn a command or two a week and has gotten better on previous commands with clicker help!

[ness_bc]

Yes I clicker train as well. My BC Ness has been clicker trained now since she was about 14 months and is coming up for 5 in September. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak to one of the top clicker trainers in Australia (in terms of current obedience trialling) about 6 weeks ago and since then we have come along in leaps and bounds. I am on a number of mailing lists and there is only so much you can learn from them but now it all fits into place. Clicker training makes new games like freestyle so much fun and even transforms the mundane heelwork obedience training into a bucket load of fun. Ness loves when I get the clicker out to train. It is hilarious to watch her so desparately trying to get me to do heelwork at the park when there are other dogs bouncing around trying to get her to play.

 

Happy training,

 

Sally and Ness

[nancy in AZ]

I don't know why I haven't use it on my dogs...I've used it to train my horses. I used to ride my 16HH gelding bareback and when we'd gallop I was always losing my hat in the wind. I'd have to decide whether to lose the hat or walk back home cause it was really hard to find something tall enough to step on to mount up again. So using clicker training I taught him to pick up my hat when it blew off--problem solved

[BigD]

I love the clicker. Used it on my puppy when she was about 5 months old. Also started at the same time with my older rescue dog (he was 4 at the time.)

 

It's amazing the difference between the two. The puppy (now almost 2) is much more opperant. She will offer everything she can in order to get that click. It's amazing to watch her figure it out. Buddy, our older boy, will freeze when exposed to something new. He will not offer, he will wait for me to either lure him or tell him what to do. He has been trained with other methods since we got him at 2 years of age. He has not had to think for himself...I've always helped.

 

And now, I'm completely stuck at the weave poles on Buddy because of it! The puppy is doing very well, but Buddy just won't figure it out for himself. Sigh...

 

Anyway, I'm actually teaching a clicker class during our next training session in the fall. It shoudl be fun!

 

Denise

[GeorgiaBC]

I'm sure clickers work really well, because so many people swear by them--even instructors (see above) And I say go ahead and use them. I bought one--but I'm a guy. Somebody tell me I'm not the only person here who thinks they just seem kind of silly? Also, wouldn't your dog just go running up to anybody who clicks?

[Annette Carter & the Borderbratz]

The clicker is a secondary re-enforcer- with the treat being the primary re-enforcer. If you create an association between the food and the click then say teaching weavepole entries, when you click it's like you popped a treat in your dogs mouth right at the second you needed to to tell you dog that he delivered the performance you wanted. You can do this from feet or yards away. Of course the dog needs to get the primary re-enforcer too. You can use your voice as a secondary re-enforcer as long as you choose a short word that you can easily duplicate the sound of like "yes". You can use a whistle too. And as long as your dog is never given a primary re-enforcer on someone elses click any initial confusion should easily clear up. Dogs are great at knowing exactly where a sound came from.

 

Annette

[emma and bailey's mom]

I see all this excitement about clicker use and I want to try it with my BC Bailey. I tried it briefly with my lab Emma, but she was terrified of the tiny little click, and even got scared of cheese (the tasty treat I was pairing with the click)...but being a lab, the fear of cheese was short-lived!

 

Any references (preferable online) to remind me how to begin clicker training? Thanks!!

[Alaska]

Lots of good stuff at Karen Pryor's site.

 

Lots more good stuff at Clicker Solutions

[ness_bc]

My favourite link for clicker training stuff would have to be K9 events .

 

Also Clickersolutions is good and I think the link for that is up at k9events. If you can't find it I'll have a look and add it tomorrow.

 

Sally and Ness

[border_collie_crazy]

I am a clicker trainer its great that you can really make the dog think with the clicker, like last night I tought Misty to go to her bed on the other side of my room(back in a corner) and lay down without saying a word, I just click when she goes toward the bed and keep shaping it till she is in the bed and laying down, I love seeing her think about what she is doing, you can just see the wheels turning in her mind, and its great for mental stimulation because you can just pick random things that you want your dog to do and just watch them figer out what you want without saying a word lol

[HarleysDad]

I have started click training my 11 week old BC puppy Harley. Unfortunately (maybe I did it wrong) he learned almost immediately that click means treat so now when I pull out the clicker (he knows it by sight and usually seems to remember where I put it) he just thoroughly searches me for treats and then goes about his business when he can't find them or digs in my pocket when he does. He is smart but hard headed so I have taken a break and just re-inforced the commands he has already learned (sit, down, shake). When he it takes a lot of coaxing to get him to do anything, which I allow him and usually use to my advantage to go into my office and get some things done. When he is awake all he wants to do is play and goes 90 MPH and its hard to keep him concentrated on any one thing. He is young though.