just a quick question but what is clicker training? what does it do and what are the benefits?

It may be a quick question but the answers are not. It is a non-aggressive method of training that allows you to communicate with the dog in a way it can understand, by giving the dog a signal when it makes any move toward what is being requested of it. The 'clicker' itself is not necessary you could use any signal but it is easy to use and more important it is a short sound that tells the dog that what ever it is doing NOW is correct, the timing is important. I have been totally won over by it's use as it is quick, painless and you can teach anything you can think up, to almost anything that has ears.

Anyone else want a go at answering the question, sure most will make a better job than I, is there a web site we can direct GBG to.

If you do a google search for clicker training you'll be spoilt for choice.

Sally, is there one you can suggest that explains the method, there are a lot that are offering books and merchandise but it can be difficult to sort the information that is wanted from the search list.

If you click on Sally's name and check out her website you will find quite a lot of information as well :)

Basically the "click" is a bargain between your dog and you - your dog does an action or port of an action you approve of of, or are aiming for, you click as it happens to mark the exact movement for your dog, and then she gets a treat - always.

Mmmmm that's the one I'd recommend but I'm not allowed to. ;)

Sorry to be rude and butt in on this thread...but can this form of training be adopted at any point/age ?
Many Thanks
Jo
:)

Yes JO, and the hound will suprise you with their enthuisasam to learn anything you choose to teach them. ;)

Yes Jo any age.  One of my rescues, Hovis, age unknown and a complete basket case because of his background has this week been learning to rest his chin on his front paws whilst lying down.  In his enthusiasm he looks like a nodding dog. :)

I think Sally will also agree with me that it's particularly suitable for rescue dogs whose background is unknown/tainted by poor human contact as it allows them to think for themselves and does wonders for confidence levels :)

Absolutely. :) Couldn't agree more digger. :D  Only problem I have with Hovis is that I cannot toss his reward, I have to hand it to him as one of his many phobias is a fear of flying food.  :D

Oh dear :(  Have you tried dropping it on the floor beside you to start with?

Yes I can drop it carefully.  I can throw toys or a ball for him it's just food that he is phobic about.  It was a very long time before he would take food from me and he will now take it from my husband but nobody else.  He also will not eat his meals until no one is watching.

Interesting one Sally, have known the not eating when being watched and I can understand that as you are venerable with your head in a bowl, but why the thrown food thing, any idea? Does the same dog have trouble defecating in public too as I found in the past those who are worried about eating are also worried about defecating and like to sleep with their bodies pushed into a corner, always thought it was so it reduced the area they need to protect. Would welcome your comments.

Well as you may know Jackie, Hovis was a stud dog on a puppy farm which as since been closed down.  He was in a very bad way when we took him on and if he had been human I believe he would have been suicidal. :(  He is a million zillion times better now but as you say he feels vulnerable which is why he won't eat unless we leave him alone.  Initially he would go to the toilet in front of me because he wouldn't/couldn't walk so he would go where I put him down outside (alongside the hedge) but when he was able to go out under his own steam, for a while I never saw him go.  He will now pee more or less on command but always goes to the other side of our field for poos or in the garden when no one is watching.  During the day he is always to be found in a corner either in his crate, in a corner of the kitchen or if I'm in the office he is under my desk.  He relaxes in the evening on the sofa next to me.  As for the food I can only guess that perhaps his food bowl was thrown at him, maybe hitting him or making a loud noise (he is, like many collies, noise sensitive) and the food scattering and hitting him.  Perhaps the nasty, evil puppy farmer resented having to feed him and his companions.  I would love to be able to get inside his mind and know what he is really thinking at what he has been through.
Sally

Think you are probable right Sally, had met the fear which leads a dog to not doing anything that stops them being able to concentrate on anyone around and always assumed this came for being hit or otherwise distressed but the thrown food puzzled me. Have to remind myself when I curse my hounds who are always laying around, always in the way, flat out in the middle of the room or upside-down in the doorway, that I have seen and known dogs that found it impossible to be so relaxed, that's when I bend and stroke the sleeping form and am rewarded by a flick of the tail

GreatBritGirl: The clickersolutions.com website has some fantastic articles (lots of great ways to start teaching your little one), as well as a high-traffic Yahoo mailing list. You can also just do a 'clicker training' search on any search engine, and you'll come up with lots of information.