Can people please remember that it's not just your dog that is clicker trained, why oh why is it allowed in the ring?  I was trying to stand my sheltie pup in the ring and some idiot in the ring nextdorr was click clicking away all the time, for dogs that ar e clicker trained like mine she stopped what she was doing and looked at me 'where's the food?' and for other dogs are nervous of the sound.  People need to be considerate and think about other dogs around them not just their own!

Off my soapbox now!  :-D

Gina

Hmmmm. How do you get on training in a hall full of people using clickers then?  The dog should be able to differentiate.

However I do agree with you that it is not good ring etiquette and I should imagine that a steward or judge would ask the person to stop.  Also it is poor training as a voice cue can easily be substituted for the clicker and should therefore not cause a problem to others or those dogs who are sound sensitive.

I don't go to a club or anything I train at home, so she has never really come across anyone else clickering and the person in the next ring was right up against the rope and next to me.  And it was none stop clickering.
Gina

It might me worth considering then going to a venue where there are other dogs being clicked so that your dog will learn to ignore it.

I went to a training day with Mary Ray and all of us were simultaneously using our clickers with our dogs and they did not react to "other" clicks :)

I can't as I work evenings, but when I have a clicker she responds to mine and not others or if I am training her she will respond to me, it was just her standing there doing nothing she thought she'd rather be over there doing some clicker training :-D

If he was 'clicking' all the time, surely he was doing it wrong?  Shouldn't the click end the behaviour.  Surely clicking all the time will just dull the dog to the click, and make it less reponsive?

Can you tell i'm only just learning about the 'click'? ;o)  Also, I didn't think it was allowed in the show ring?

Caroline

Yes I think the person doing it was probably just getting the dogs attention with the clicker, you are right this isn't how it works.

Gina

Have known a judge use a clicker in the ring but not an exhibitor, it is not good manners but then nor is throwing food and toys around or dropping food and not picking it up, so I quess there will be those who will. The show ring is not for training a dog and it would not help you with your training, I guess in this case it was being used to get the dogs attention and not for training at all.

I suspect you're right, Jackie :)

Lindsay

In my opinion, it is totally selfish to use clicker, squeaky toys or similar in the show ring. My dogs were never clicker trained, don't have squeaky toys (they eat them) so why should they be used to them?
No one in our breed uses them, but there is always the breed in the next ring.
Dogs should be banned for life
Owners should be lined up & shot.
Not that I feel strongly about this or anything :D

Hardly dare ask, but what would you do with people who take inseason bitches into the ring? Or do you not have dogs?

I have both dogs and bitches. In-season bitches stay at home. Simple as that. (Though one bitch started her first season actually at a Champ Show - deeply embarrassing!)
:)

The first couple of days are not a problem, dogs aren't daft, but when you take a dog into a ring that has spots of straw coloured blood on the floor, that is not a joke. It is allowed so it is done, but you may as well put your dog back on the bench because the winner will be the one with the lowest sex drive and the frustration for the judge must be huge.

Benching a dog next to an inseason bitch is a nightmare too.

Just to say I have shown bitches too so I know the problem, the only thing that happened to me was took one to Scotland 28 days after the start of her season having bathed her,  when I took her out of her cage to take her into the ring there on her white bed bright red spots, have to say the dog next door was moved away but had not till then shown any more than the normal interest, and the next day she was clean again. Yes embarasing.

I know from experience that any thing that is taught to a dog they should ignore other sounds etc around them. I was in an obedience ring a long time ago with one of my dogs and someone shouted down just before mine entered the sendaway box and went down. So, I changed my word from down to something else and never had any more trouble.But, surely clickers should not be allowed in a ring when training or competing at a show ground. Especially if all clickers are made by the same manufacturer?

Jumbuck, do you really think a dog can be made to ignore an inseason bitch, never thought of trying it but don't think my skills would be up to that. Perhaps that is not what you meant, I hope so as I am beginning to feel very inadaquate in the dog training stakes.

Me too Jackie H :(  If anyone has got any methods of training a dog to ignore an inseason bitch, I would be very grateful to hear them :)

Lesley

I thought this problem was about clickers in rings not in season bitches. And yes I have had an entire dog in the house with in season bitches and he was a perfect gentleman and left them alone. Sadly I don't have him now and he lived to the ripe old age of 15 years.

Jumbuck there are certainly some dogs who ignore their 'own' bitches when in season (indeed we have people come on this forum asking how they can get their own dog to mate their bitch). However an 'outside' bitch is a different kettle of fish!
:)

It started about clickers but like most threads the topic had widened to include ring manners, I was just clarifying if you could train your dog to ignore an in season bitch as I would have welcomed your advice on how to do it although doubt my ability to do so.

I believe I'm right in saying that if any exhibitor does something to distract your dog you are at liberty to complain. Certainly squeaky toys, throwing of bait (and not picking it up) etc are all frowned upon. As you say, a click is a click is a click, and if your dog is trained to recognised the noise as a reward for doing the right thing your ringtraining can go out of the window when someone else clicks at the wrong time!

It's just bad sportsmanship.
:)

Exactly! But, has your dog ever smelt a nice hotdog cooking or a bacon sandwich? ummmm. Good Luck everyone in whatever you do. Remember a dog is a dog is a dog!! And only as good as its trainer.

I'm sorry for being thick, Jumbuck, but your point has completely escaped me. Yes, I have been in the ring and seen the steward ask a spectator with a succulent meat pie and chips to move away from the ring because it was distracting to the people as well as the dogs (there was a large entry so the judge skipped lunch, and judge and stewards were peckish too!). So yes, anything that is likely to distract other people's dogs is bad manners.
:)

Glad you were too JG, thought I was being thick as usual.