Did/do you use clicker training with your dog? How’d you do it? Did/dose it work?

3 Comments

1. KatieW says:

   July 16, 2010 at 5:12 pm

   Both of my dogs have been clicker trained. It works really well.

   You start by “loading the clicker.” That means, you teach your dog to associate hearing the click with getting a treat. To do this, you just click the clicker then give them a treat. Do this 10 to 20 times a day, every day, for a week or so. Then, incorporate the clicker into something your dog already knows. For example, if it can sit, ask your dog to sit and as soon as its butt hits the ground, click the clicker then give a treat. Your dog will learn that hearing the click means that not only do they get a treat…but they have done something good.

   Once you get that down, you can start training your dog to do new things with the clicker. At this point it is all about timing. You have to click the instant they do what you want. You should also understand the concept of “shaping.” That means…you shape the dog to do what you want. For example, if you want your dog to spin in a circle…you reward it and teach it in steps. When your dog turns 90 degrees…you click and treat. When it can do that on command, progress to 180 degrees. Then 270. Then the full 360. You reward your dog for any progress it makes towards the final goal.
2. Basset Puppies = land piranhas says:

   July 16, 2010 at 5:34 pm

   I use clicker training for many of the exercises I teach my dogs. I find it very effective for indicating precisely the behavior I am looking for, making it easier for the dog to understand what I want.
3. Mutt for the Truth says:

   July 16, 2010 at 5:37 pm

   I did when my girl was a puppy – it worked well enough. She caught on quick, but then she would pick/choose when to to listen (namely when i had the clicker or treat in hand) so i swapped over to Koehler Method of Dog Training (where the dog works for comfort on the leash and praise from the handler – not a piece of food.)

   For clicker training: You introduce the clicker by clicking and treating over and over. The dog will learn that the click signals a reward and food will follow. After a day or so of that, guide the dog into the first behavior you want (say a sit) and as soon as the dog does it (in the sit, butt hits ground) you click/treat. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

   Then move onto other commands.

   Only problem with treat based training is that the dog can very easily decide to not follow a command if it doesn’t see the food reward – or the clicker. Once the dog has the basic stuff down and seems to understand the command, you MUST wean off the treats/clicker and you MUST follow through and proof the dog on each command.

   Otherwise you’ll be stuck carrying a clicker and a bag of treats around all the time.