Hello again

I have just booked my 9 week old male whippet pup into a training class, due to start as soon as his vacc course is complete.  I understand that the classes use clicker training, and I may be being thick, but I can't understand how more than one dog can be trained in the same room at the same time using this method.  Surely all the clickers sound the same, so how do the dogs know which "click" to respond to?  I have a vision in my mind of 10 owners and 10 puppies, with the puppies running amok and all the owners clicking away like mad, with a Barbara Woodhouse-type person shouting at us all!

I'm going to go to the classes anyway, as even if he doesn't learn much, I feel that the socialisation will be valuable, but I'd like to know if others have tried these classes and how useful they found them.  We're already doing 5 minute sessions in the garden, using tiny treats as rewards, and he's getting pretty good at recall - considering tackling "sit" next!

Anyway, sorry for rambling.

Yours

Mary-Caroline

Hi Mary Caroline

Congratulations on picking a clicker class, both you and your dog will have so much fun.

It is a common misconception that dogs will react to everyone's clicker, and at first they do but then because they are capable of incredible discrimination they will tune out everyone else's.  Also, especially to begin with, a lot of eye contact will be used so the dog will know when it is "on" so to speak and when to chill out!

I train my own and other dogs with clickers and it is a very fast, rewarding technique.  There are lots of small cheap booklets on the subject written by Elizabeth Kershaw, Karen Pryor or Sarah Whitehead (available from Crosskeys books on the net etc) which you may find very helpful.

HTH

Hi Mary Caroline, I am just back from my pups training class,it is a clicker training class and it is brill. Mpup has learned that when I click it means a treat is on its way, Keep at it and you will get great results

Gordy

Hi Mary-Caroline

You have the wrong end of the stick about training classes :D

They are NOT to train your dog.  Training classes are to teach you to train your dog, to make sure you know how to do the exercises and to see how you are getting on with them.  Most classes for most exercises will have the dogs up one at a time so everyone will not be clicking at once

Have fun!

If the class isn't for a couple of weeks yet, perhaps you could go and sit in on a clicker class if others are running, to see how it all works. Amazingly as has been said, dogs can differentiate who is clicking whom, for some amazing reason. A lot to do with eye contact e.t.c. I couldn't have trained my dogs without clicker training, i think it is fantastic.

"I have a vision in my mind of 10 owners and 10 puppies, with the puppies running amok and all the owners clicking away like mad, with a Barbara Woodhouse-type person shouting at us all!"

I would also suggest that this vision is incorrect, mainly because if the puppies were running amok, there shouldn't be clicking! Clicking should only occur if the pups are doing something good! :-) I know i'm being pedantic!!!
Also i wouldn't go to any class where a barbara woodhouse type shouted at me!!!! ;-D

Smilies should be here, but don't know how to do them!

We've been to our 1st class, and you were all absolutely right - my nightmare image was completely false.  We started with a talk (8 puppies in total in the group) and then split into groups for basic commands.  Lots of eye contact was used and Cashie soon figured out when we were clicking!  His recall is pretty good now and we're slowly mastering sit and down!  The socialisation aspect is also excellent, and not a Barbara Woodhouse in sight!

Thanks for all the advice, hopefully soon I'll have a perfectly behaved whippet (in my dreams!)

Mary-Caroline

LOL Glad it went so well, it's so important to enjoy training classes :)

Lindsay
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