Has anyone got any advice on clicker training, I bought one yesterday but i havn't a clue how to start and what age to start . My puppy arrives on Saturday should i start straight away he will be 8 weeks old.
Thanks Lianne

There are a lot of books and some videos available at Crosskeys and these may be able to help you. 

I did not get far with a clicker after reading a book but after having it demonstrated it made much more sense so a video may be worth investing in or going on one of their courses if you are close enough.

Have found the Clicker a excellent tool but it is best if you take a short course so you know what you are aiming for. It is important to get the timing right and I think you need to be shown this. Good luck and hope you find a course near you or at least someone who has used a clicker themselves

I am new to the world of dog training.  Is clicker training and whistle training similar?

Hello Darling :)

As I understand it - whistle training is a technique for controlling your dog using whistled signals which the dog has learnt.  Clicker training uses a sound (normally a 'click' from a small hand held box similar to the sort of thing which used to be found in Christmas crackers, although a word or even a flash from a torch for a deaf dog can be used as an alternative)) which the dog has been taught to recognise as a signal that a treat is coming - similar to Pavlov's dogs learning that a ringing bell meant food.  The dog is then given a 'click' (and the treat) when he's performed a behaviour you want to encourage - it may be an obedience move, like 'sit', or part of his agility training (like making contact with contact points), or retreiving to your hand rather than spit it on the floor........  It can even be something that's as useful as 'on your bed' or 'quiet'.  The dog soon recognises that performing that behaviour brings rewards, and repeats its - your job as the trainer is to then teach the dog the signal that encourages him to offer the behaviour.

HTH

Whistles are just replacements for vocal commands; the benefit of using whistles at a distance is that they carry further and they are always consistent and so do not change however p***** off you are feeling :D

If dogs ignore your voice, using a whistle will just give them an opportunity to ignore something else :D

I use a whistle to control my dog who may be 400 - 500m away from me; shouting is so uncool! :D

Start practising if you can, even before your puppy arrives, by playing at clicker training with a partner - it's a bit like the 'hot and cold' game you might have played as a kid at birthday parties - decide in your head a small task you want your partner to do, and they have to try and work out what it is you want by experiment - each time they make a move in the right direction - you click! (and reward if you like ;)) It really helps you to understand just how important timing is, and illustrates clicker training in almost it's purest form - shaping.  When your pup arrives it might help if you have an observer when you are training who can either a) observe you and give some contructive critisim on your timing, or b) do the clicking and rewarding while you concentrate on the dog

http://www.apdtuk.f9.co.uk/alpha/shop/index.html?target=videos.html

The Motivation Movie is a brilliant introduction to clicker training.  There are a lot of sites dedicated to clicker training and courses and days put on by experienced and successful trainers and competitors. 

You can start at any age, some breeders start whilst puppies are still in the nest for their new owners!

The clicker system is based on operant conditioning as opposed to classical conditioning (a la Pavlov) and is used extensively by those training assistance dogs as well as those in the competitive field.

Books and videos are great but to get the most out of the system it is best to see it practised by a competent exponent.

Unfortunately, just as in any other method of training, there are those who do not fully understand the concept and use a clicker but not the system.

Good Luck

I would agree with everyone, do try to get to a class or a day where you can actually see it being demonstrated as it may make all the difference.! If not, a video is a good substitute.

Lindsay

Thanks for the all the advice, Ive now enrolled on a Clicker training course that starts in April. I'm really excited my Pup Bracken will be here in the morning

Lianne :)

For those who don't understand the difference between operant conditioning and classical conditioning.  With operant conditioning the dog's behaviour is shaped by what follows eg he does right and gets rewarded and with classical conditioning the dog responds to what happens prior to the behaviour eg he smells food so he drolls.

The clicker is used as a reward marker which tells the dog he just did right therefore he is rewarded not just by a titbit which follows the click but, by association, the clicker in itself becomes to mean 'reward'.

    I will give you more information on clicker training. I have a English Cocker Spaniel and a Whippet and they are both train on it. First you have best treat ever and you click and give your treat to the dog. You do that till it under stand that the clicker means treats. I don't know what you are using the clicker for. I use the clicker for comes and when the dog sits in front of me and give me a perfect sit I click it and give her a treat. I use the clicker in Agility by when the dog is doing the contact on a walk it or eight frame I clicker it when the dog hits the yellow contact. I also train my Whippet to do a swimming turn on the Flyball Box. Their alot you can do when you are clicker training. But make sure you clicker when the dog is doing it what you are asking the dog to do. So If you want to get head of your class clicker and give treats. Please let me know how is your clicker training class is going. My email is Dianechanfan@hotmail.com

Ps I hope this help you.

                                            Kate 05501,Chandler,Phantom

Depends what you want the clicker for - I'm not sure if 'Clicker Training' is needed if you just want a clicker to aid learning basic things like sit etc - maybe if you want to use it for serious obedience training for competition etc, but I may be wrong, and am prepared to be corrected!

I bought a clicker and my puppy had it sussed in one afternoon.  I think she was about 10 weeks when I got it. The main thing is, it bridges the gap between the good behaviour and the time it takes you to get the treat out - when mine went outside for a wee, I would praise her and toodle off to find a treat, by which time she had had a sniff around, walked inside and sat waiting for her treat inside the door, and I realised that she probably associated the 'coming back in' as being the good behaviour, rather than weeing outside, (isn't it something like 2 seconds within which they needed to be treated for it to be effective?) so using the clicker gives her the indication that she has done something good and that a treat is coming and she learnt where to wee almost instantly that way.  She had also learnt sit and to give paw already, but couldn't quite understand lay down.  The day the clicker arrived, she learnt to lay down straight away, and as much as she hates doing it (muhahahahaaa!) has it mastered now.

The trick with the clicker is that they think they've taught you something.  "Ah-hah, everytime I hear that clicky noise, I get a treat, so I need to train my mum to do the clicky noise..."

Jess don't think you have grasped the basics of clicker training yet, there are books available but someone who has learned the way to use the clicker to train any and all behaviour would help you understand the full scope of clicker training better.

Hmmmm, okay, like I said I was prepared to be corrected, but I didn't 'make it up as I went along' when I used it, I did use a guide - which provided the information I quoted and I still stand by my theory that it depends what you want it for - yes there is a wider scope of clicker training, but that was the point I was making - depends on what you want it for.

I think you're rather rude, but I will let it go....;-)

Sorry if you think I am rude, but do not understand what your problem is, if you have looked into the use of the clicker I can't understand your problem with it. If you can explain what instruction in it's use you have taken and what problem you have with that, I may understand your problem.

Maybe we'll just agree to be at cross-purposes, eh? ;-), I never said I had a problem with the clicker, and I never said I had a problem with the instruction I have had either :-S so now I am confused about what you're confused about lol. 

Let's chat about something else! :-)

(NB Haven't figured out the smileys on here yet, in case you wondered why they are all manual!)

oooh! My manually typed smileys became proper smileys!  I didn't know it did that, I've learnt something new today, hurrah!