I just wanted to mention how useful clicker training can be. I've seen many questions posted on this forum with regards to obedience, "my dog wont come back when called" etc etc. This form of training is so quick in its reward that the dog learns quickly and eagerly, we clicker trained the family collie-x who learned sit and down in one session because she knew exactly what to do to get her reward - as the click is so fast and therefore the association is more easily learnt. When we experience problems such as on walks with her reluctance to go back on the lead we just took her back to basics! What are other peoples views on this form of training?
Sarah.

Hi Sarah I love my clicker! I liked it because it improved my timing in rewarding my dog and because it seemed hard to do anything wrong with it. I use it for new stuff now as I find he ignores it and the rewards other wise.

Yep, I'm a fan too. When I used it on an otherwise very difficult dog, whom I had considered bloody minded only to discover when he knew what was wanted he would respond immediately, leading me to realise that it was my lack of ability to communicate that was the problem and nothing to do with the dog. Also find that things taught with the help of the clicker are embedded and the need to refresh is very slight, were as with other methods I found the need to repeat the exercise at regular intervals or the behaviour became slow or nonexistent.

I have just started clicker training my young Cav pups, it is a god send. I am not sure how effective it can be as my youngest will sit as soon as she sees it !!!! They are doing well with it though, I give clicker training a definate thumbs up

Cath, would guess that the sit was the first thing you taught her, and when she sees the clicker she is doing what she thinks she wants, don’t reward it though unless the sit is what your have asked for. Would not worry if she sits at least you have her attention and she will be ready to comply with your next request.

Yes, our's would do a down straight from sit without being asked, she didn't even stay down, just plonked her belly on the floor got up and thought she deserved a reward :) very sneaky - So if she went down without being asked she was ignored for a bit without reward - down was then taught as a seperate command ie; not straight from sit so that Molly didn't think of it as a follow up from sit and more as a seperate command.
Sarah.

Wish Id thought of that - he has to sit first to do down or anything. At puppy class we always stopped in a sit and now were at big boy school they want halt in a stand or down, so it gets confusing. Cant take the magic clicker to class though.

Shame you cant take a clicker into class - if it aids training you should be able to take it...Although you may distract any other clicker trained dog's - possibly?? In our class everyone was trained with a clicker if you did click as reward every puppy looked up for their treat, sooo conditioned :)

Dont think anyone else uses a clicker although it is a positive approach or I wouldnt go. Maybe Ill ask first - theres not many of us in the class.

Hi Guys,
I'm glad Sarah posted re clicker training. I was having a look at a clicker in my local Pets at Home store - I think it was about a fiver, and I had a read but thought .... no just another gimmick!
How does it work exactly? Do you tell the dog what you want it to do then follow with a click? Sorry if I'm being a bit thick here, but I'd be interested in trying it with our new puppy. Anything that makes training that bit easier for me and the new puppy would be VERY welcome :)
Sharon
x

You use the clicker to tell the dog the exact moment it does the correct thing and it takes a bit of practice. There are lots of books but it is best if you can find an instructor to start with. They will sell you a clicker a good deal cheaper than £5.

The way I start is to arm myself with treats and a clicker take the dog into a room by myself and just stand and wait till the dog sits, click the moment the dogs bottom hits the floor then give it a treat. Then just stand around again till it sits again and repeat, click & treat. Just carry on like that but after 2 or 3 times most dogs get the message and will take the titbit and then sit. Only do about 5 minuets at a time to start with and about 3 times a day. Now can go through the whole thing on here but will go and see if I can find a web site for you.

just looked on Goole and entered (Clicker Training UK) and got loads of sites up, so I would try that first.

When you give the dog a treat with the clicker make sure its something they really like like some liver or sausage something really fine to them, it just helps to get them very interested in the clicker and well chuffed when they hear it.A clicker its self shouldnt cost you more than £1.50 os something for a fiver id want a silver one.

You can also use a clicker when your not 'officially' training - for instance when on a walk, especially with a pup, you can click and treat every time the pup comes back to you (without being asked) this way it is learnt that you are worth going back to! Especially if you use something special like chicken or liver! Admittedly you dont want to be doing this untill the dog is in its teens - but he/she will get the idea early on and should come back when called...eventually :)
..Oh and we also used it to stop lead pulling by stopping dead everytime she pulled but when the lead was slack she got a click and treat - eventually the association is learnt, slack lead good pulling bad, gets me nowhere!

The clickers sold at Pets at Home are pretty good, because they come with a very good little booklet (or did do, anyway) written by Sarah Whitehead. It's very informative, ideal for beginners and I would recommend it :)

There are lots of books on the subject, one of my faves is "Quick Clicks" by Smith and - oh, think it's Book or Booker. It has clicker "recipes" and even helps prepare dogs for vet examinations etc with the clicker, as well as tricks and obedience stuff. It reallyis very good indeed.

A few rules to remember about clicker stuff are:

The click ends the behaviour, so if you click for a sit andthe dog stands up for the reward, that's fine. He understands.

Always treat if you click.

The dog may well go off for a drink of water in the middle of a training session - that's normal.

BEst to do clicker training in short sessions - maybe 5 minutes or so several times a day.

Happy clicker training :)

Lindsay

Thanks Guys :)
I'm off to have a look at the sites on Google.
I thought a fiver was cheap too! Can the dogs hear them from far away, as in off the lead in a park or something? When you say chicken or liver, so you mean small bitesize pieces of meat I've cooked myself or special doggy treats? Or could it be that I'm having another blonde moment!!! :D
sharon
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HI Sharon

Just anything your dog really likes (so it must be very special hence liver, chicken etc) but in small pieces so he can eat them in one bite and not have to spend 10 minutes chewing :D

I use cheese, chicken, sausages in slices, liver in small cubes, and sometimes dried meat. In the house and garden i sometimes use slightly less exciting treats as there are less distractions, so maybe Winalot rewards or similar. YOu need to discover what floats your dog's boat ;)

Lindsay
X

Yes, dogs can hear them far away - but be careful you aren't using the clicker to get attention. Doing distance control is pretty advanced stuff - but yes, they can be used over a distance.

For a recall start with the dog in the same room or garden, call the dog (in an excited manner) if the dog comes click and treat, if it does not forget it till the next training time. When your dog is reliable, call come, and then when it comes say sit, then click and treat. Next try in a different location (still safe) and then when you are sure your dog understands try in the park.

Do not do the recall until you have a reliable sit and down. If when you are out and something goes wrong (which it will) you can shout down and with a bit of luck the dog will, you then say come and there you are you have a recall.

sorry for this (another having a blonde moment!), but how do you train the dog that what you want is it to sit etc outside a training session...do you use simultaneous vocal commands (ie. sit/click. lie/click) or an individual click pattern? do you wean them off the clicker once they are trained and keep to vocal commands or is it similar to a whistle as used in field trials? Thanks people!!! Liz x

Im an opportunistic trainer - when he does something I like say sits spontaneously, I click and treat and repeat adding the words/signal - I use a lot of these because they work faster than the words - when he gets the idea I use the sign and click and treat. Afte a while he can do it on cue and the treats vary - liver cake if you do it first time or its hard ( like leaving pals to come to mum) or new ( rolling over), praise if theres a delay or its an easy thing ( wait at roads). Im opportunistic because I try to use everyday life as a training session but keep it short - when he dived under a coffee table after a paper ball I used that to teach down.

Liz,

You do wean them off the clicker, and after a while when the behaviours are solid, and on cue, (ie command) the dog can be weaned off and the clicker just used to train other stuff :)

Does that make sense?

Lindsay

Thanks digger you have made me a happy bunny today! Distance control is advanced that explains our hit and miss obedience over distance. We have to go back to long line yet again......nuff said.:)

The clicker isn't to be used to get attention - so you should not be using the clicker to get their attention for recall - you would be using it once the dog had returned, so really it doens't matter if it can hear them at a distance (unless you are training to sit at a distance). The clicker happens after they have given the behaviour - it's not given to get the behaviour.

Hope this helps.

wendy

You're right Wendy :)

I have seen some people clicking as a sort of signal/recall command, but that's not how it is used. It's not for getting attention for recall.

Lindsay

Yes you do wean them off the clicker, once the behaviour is reliable you only click if it is near perfect, and then if it is perfect, I mean was it quick and tidy if so click, if not ask for it again. In the end you neither click or treat till the end of the session, but that takes time and there is not need to hurry and always go back to the beginning if the dog becomes confused. Personally I teach both a vocal command and a hand command for each behaviour taught.

thanks J and L...I always wondered how it worked!! :-) Liz x

Hi Liz, just thought I'd give you another example of using a clicker to get a response, in this case it was giving a paw. Molly is in a down and i have a treat in my closed hand on the floor in front of her nose, she snarffles and sniffs around for a while but I dont open my hand until her paw touches it, however slight. As soon as her paw touches my hand I immediately click then open my hand (timing is everything as soon as her paw touches you) - she gets her treat. Because the click is so fast she has already learnt that the paw on my hand is the way to go to get the reward. We try again, she snarffles for a bit eventually taps my closed hand with her paw - click, open hand treat the next time straight into the tap with her paw on my closed hand - she now knows the score (at this point there is no command for paw). Eventually bring the hand up off the floor, dog is now in sit, she see's your closed hand in front of her face, she touches it with her paw - click, reward. And so on! Eventually you add the verbal command of "paw" - you then have a give me your paw trained dog :) Admittedly this is just a small, fun response but it's still training and giving the dog something to think about and it also goes to show how a clicker can be used, I think it's important to mention that the verbal commands come later especially with a puppy.
Sarah.

Im new to the clicker thing,is the dog eventually supost to respond to just the sound of the clicker with no treat?

Yes they become conditioned, the clicker has become associated with pleasure and the little darlings forget why :)

Yes Isabel is right - to them the clicker is the treat! :) as already mentioned they are conditioned..With time you should be able to lose the treat and eventually the clicker - unless of course you require it for a new command or to reinforce what has already been learnt.

Thanks Guys,
That's been really helpful - so you click when you get the desired action, i.e sit, paw or whatever, and then treat. Right well I'll be giving that a go.
What age do you think you should start training a puppy? I mean we would be bringing him home at eight weeks - is he too young at this point or should I start then .... it seems like an age since I had a puppy.... Baillie's only 6 but I never had CD then!! :)
Sharon
X

8 weeks is fine, not over do the intense bit, short sessions a few times a day.

Hi Sharon, sounds like you got it :) dont worry to much if the treat is slightly delayed as long as the click is there and on time then the association is learnt, invest in a good book also. I currently dont have my own dog - I moved out from the family home recently leaving our BC x springer (yes a right handfull, but very intelligent!) and a yorkie (what a combination!) My partner has also left the family home leaving behind a wheaten, a puli, a saluki and a spanish water dog!!! So we miss our doggies and pine for our own dog...So after much research and debate ;) we have an appointment with an Irish Setter breeder tomorrow and I'm very excited. I am very much in favour of clicker training and intend to use it to teach my new puppy - I have spoken to a vet and my last clicker trainer who say the dog is never to young to learn - obviously within reason and we need to use our own common sense, keeping sessions short etc etc but a little head start cant hurt. You could try researching your area for a trainer who specialises in this field?
Another thing, Rather than just waiting for your puppy to make a desired move do not underestimate the power of your own hand signals! If a treat is in your hand the pup should show interest..for instance if your pup is stood in front of you put a treat in your hand wave it in front of the nose and then raise it so the pup is looking up in interest, continue to raise your hand up and back so pup has to sit or walk backwards to keep his eye on it! When he does sit - CLICK - give treat then try again he will eventually realise the sit is required to get the treat, at this stage no command is needed that can come later. Now for the down! Once he is sat another treat in the hand is put on the floor dont let him have it yet until he has gone right down for it, once he does - CLICK - treat, and there is your down, easy peasy!!!!! Hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs :) just sharing my own experience, and I hope it helps.
Sarah...(sorry it's long)

Think i need a book or ask my training dude more about it,can you get more than just sit and down out if it,like do they hear it from a distance,and do you have to teach say one click for sit two clicks for down......think ill get a book.

Hi rogue, you can get much much more than just a sit or down - just thought I would use them as an example. The thing to remember is that the click is the reward, we fool the dog into that by offering a treat after clicking! You could forget the treat one day and the click would pass as the reward because by now the dog is loving the click because he associates it with nice things ie: the treat - so that is how it can be used in training - simply by telling the dog that he/she has done well.
Dog's can hear it from a distance but as earlier mentioned distance training of any sort would be the next 'phase' if you like? Only one click is ever required - it's just like any reward only with good timing!!
Hope that helps? :)
Sarah.

You can teach your dog to do almost anything with the use of a clicker, from the useless to the amusing. To ring a bell if it wants to go out, to having its nails clipped or fetching your slippers. My trainer had taught her cats and rabbits to perform and I have taught a sheep. Next step the husband. :)

Thanks for that Sarah, I'm going to look for a book today, as I have a day off :) and it's pouring with rain :(
LOL at Jackie's husband - just imagine the possibilities!!!!
Good luck with your breeder, I remember leaving home and my rough collie, you'd have thought I was never going to see him again - So have you and your partner moved in together now? Anyway I hope you eventually get your puppy and thanks so much for all your help :)
Sharon
X

Yes Sharon we are now living together and missing all our family dog's!! I think I will keep in touch with Jackie see if the clicker does work on the husband :D

Hiya ... That could really take off :)
Sharon
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Well - I've got the clicker and the book, oh and the crate came today as well, that's absolutely humungus :)
But no puppy yet - not for another 6 weeks.... Mmmm what else can I buy??
Sharon
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It is possible to practise clicker on a person, decide what you want them to "do" then click any progress, it will help your timing
Anne