A few questions about clicker training a dog?
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at
5:20 pm
We’re adopting a two year old Retriever/Greyhound from our local humane society. I am not certain as to the level of training she has and want to try out clicker training with her.
I can’t seem to find definitive answers to the following:
1. When you click and treat, do you also praise? Should I be saying, “Good girl!” while I am giving her the treat?
2. Do you correct at all with clicker training? I realize it is positive reinforcement, but does that mean that one does not correct? No saying “NO!” or anything like that?
Thanks to all.
Tagged with: About • Clicker • questions • Training
Filed under: Dog Clicker Training
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I’d like to know these answers as well. I’m not sure about question 1, but I do know that there is to be no correcting behaviors at all. So, no saying NO.
I clicker trained my dog when she was young but got lazy after about a year.
What I do remember is the click is only for positive reinforcement. You don’t want to confuse the dog.
Praise and/or treats…depends on the dog. Some dogs are motivated by food, some by praise, some by chest scratches (my dogs favorite reward). But instead of saying a generic “good girl” say “good sit” or “good down” whatever you’re trying to reinforce.
There’s lots of info on the Web and I’m sure forums, etc. with more info.
Have fun!
Praise should accompany the treat.
I do tell my dogs No or Ah Ah when needed.
You don’t need treats and clicker forever, once the behavior is learned, you don’t need it anymore.
Ok, clicker training is (in my opinion) a bit weird. The clicker simply replaces the need for you to praise. When you do positive reinforcement training without a clicker, you praise the dog, then give it a treat. It learns that hearing “Good girl” or “Good boy” means it will get a treat. Once they’ve learnt past the stage of needing the treats then you just simply praise them.. or with the clickers you click.
There’s no difference between a clicker and saying, “Good dog”, other than you save a couple of dollars.
As for correcting behavior.. in a way you do. But it’s never telling them they’re bad. You just have to move them away from whatever is causing them to be bad.
If you’re lead training and the dog suddenly wants to go forward (maybe to another dog) you simple turn around (don’t yank the lead but simple push the dog around with your body).. Letting the dog know you’re the boss and it has to do what you want.
It’s good to see you’re a responsible owner who’s actually looking into training. Good luck, hope all goes well.
1. Yes, you always give a verbal praise with the clicker. The click is just a mark for the behavior, and the dogs associate the click with a treat/praise.
2. Yes, correction with any type of training is essential. Bad behaviors need to be redirected or corrected as with any sort of training.
Clicker training has it’s pluses and negatives. The clicker allows you to mark the behavior, such as “sit”, the instant the dog’s butt touches the ground. This helps reinforce the behavior, and lets them know that they have done the right thing. The negative with clicker training is the same negative with any food-based training. You will need to wean the dog off the treats if it is to become useful in the real world. I’m sure you don’t want to walk around with pockets full of treats for the rest of the dog’s life! You will also need to make sure you have the clicker handy at ALL TIMES. Clipping it onto your leash or key chain will help.
1.) That depends on why you’re saying, “Good girl!” in the first place. If you’re using the phrase as a marker to show the dog that she did something right, then no, you don’t need to say anything. That’s the entire purpose of the clicker. If you’re praising her as a form of reward, then you can praise her while you give her the treat. It isn’t necessary, though, and most dogs don’t care at all about verbal praise when they’re being given a treat.
2.) Technically, clicker training only applies to when you’re reinforcing a behavior. If the dog makes a mistake, then you absolutely do not correct her. She should not be afraid of making a mistake. But, I mean, if she’s about to snatch a cupcake from the counter, by all means, say, “NO!” But I suppose this method of positive reinforcement focuses more on, of course, reinforcing the positive. This often means that you ignore the negative and instead teach a good alternative behavior. If she jumps on visitors, teach her to grab a toy to show the visitor to keep her busy instead of scolding her every time. There are no laws, though. Do what works for you. I very loosely use clicker training, or at least, I did until I lost the dang clicker.. Anyway, I use reward him for good behavior, and if he’s misbehaving, I redirect him into a more appropriate behavior. That is, unless he’s misbehaving in a way that needs immediate intervention. If he’s about to make a move for the cat, I sharply say “AH-AHT!” and then give him something more productive to do.