Mimimu, i am a willing student to be taught all about clicker training, please be my teacher!

[morethanyoubargainfor]

Today i have strted to clicker train my loopy but lovely lurcher!

All i hvae done today is click and treat, no commands nothing just click and treat. Is that right? He started trying to take treat in hand and i just waited until he stopped and then clicked and treated. He then took it upoon himself to sit and wait fro the click and then the treat! the boy has manners .

I am planning on doing this for the next copule of days and then start introducding other stuff

He is very bright (unlike my other lad who i tried to click and treat and he just walked off after 30 seconds and went to sleep!) so i really want to use his brain, he is also a willing student and wants to please all the time.

Any help gratfully recieved.

[ditavonteesed]

awww bless. cooking sausages for our breakfast so going to put a few to the side for clicker traiing in a bit, cant weait to see if she has rememberred what we did yesterday.

[CalamityKate]

LOL she's very confused by hearing me talk on the Youtube clip. She's like "Wait. What? I can hear you but you're not looking at me or moving your lips...."

[CalamityKate]

God I'm common

[CalamityKate]

OK since I'm drunk - my girl is on Youtube under "Boo being clever", being shy and shutting the door. It was very early days of her shutting the door - I can now send her from the living room but at the time of the video she was only at the stage of me being in the same room as her.

She was very keen to be shy because it was a recent thing, and they tend to "get stuck" at the latest thing they learned :)

[CalamityKate]

The beauty of clicker training is that it's so precise you can capture really difficult-to-isolate movements like a tail wag/eye blink etc. The only limit is your own imagination really :)

[chickchickchicken]

i love the sound of the 'hide eyes/be shy'. will try that tomorrow.

my youngest dog loves having his photo taken and have taught him 'pose' by clicking every time he cutely tilts his head to the side. now when he sees me with the camera he promptly sits and poses

[chickchickchicken]

herladyship - welcome. is your username a clue to your older dogs position in the household?

[CalamityKate]

Hide eyes/Be shy - I know I bang on about this trick but it's a VERY impressive and funny one and my dog picked it up incredibly quickly. It looks far cleverer than it is

Get sticky label. Attach to dog's muzzle. Click/treat paw-swipes to get it off. Add cue word as soon as you can (when paw swipe is reliable) because I found the only bit where she got a bit "stuck" is when there was no label on her nose. Having a cue word sort of bridged that gap. Then just work on duration.

Look out for variations that you like and click those - you might well end up with a two-paw "Shy" which is adorable

[minimu1]

Great ditavonteesed glad you decided to give it another go - clicker training is the way to go!

Do give it a go for heel work I only need to have a clicker in sight and all dogs miraculously become well behave and all fall into line around me.

I put a hair tie (the stretchy ones like rubber bands) in the clicker and wear it around my wrist so it is easy to use and I always have it to hand if I need it. Obviously a must have accessory of this thread

Other things to try are a roll over - once the down is solid ask the dog to roll right over on their back either to the other side or just leave their legs in the air.

Flat - which is a down on the dogs side rather than on their tummies.

Twist and Twirl - the dog spins to the left or right different name for each direction

Back - the dog walks backwards - this is great for building muscles and coordination.


Do you have a gym ball? That is also great for dogs. Get them to balance on the gym ball, go down on the ball, put front legs on the ball. Great for stretching dogs muscles and coordination and balance.

Touch - get them to touch you hand with their nose.

That should keep you going until Sunday and we can add some more then!

[ditavonteesed]

can I join you, after reading this earlier I dec8ided to give the clicker another go. have been really struggling with down as I have been virtually having to push her to the floor which I dont like. she is now following me round begging to do more training, we ahve been doing it all morning. I started with 5 mins charging clicker, she got hanf of that very quickly. then I held treat on floor till she went down, clicked and treated, after a few minutes of this I started just holding the clicker and the treats and she went down on her own. now she is doing it instantly to the command, in one morning. I cant believe how quickly this works.
definatly going to have to try heel work as she pukks constantly. she is already fairly reliable with sit and stay, wehat else could I work on?

[minimu1]

Bowing can be taught in many ways.

1. Depends on how the dogs bend but some dogs if you hold a treat in front of them and move it to the floor will bow briefly before going into a down. Click the bow and throw the treat so the dog does not get into the down position.
   

1. Another way is to kneel down yourself but have one knee up and the same foot flat on the floor so you are making an arch for the dog to go under. Put dog on one side of your leg and treat on the other and the dog will have to bow to get under your leg click and treat. Do not put the treat too far from your leg or else it will go into a down.
   

To teach a good fetch a long hallway is good as there is no where else for the dog to go. Stand halfway up the hallway throw the ball move backwards as the dog comes towards you with the ball. I often have another ball in my hand to encourage the dog right back to me.

[morethanyoubargainfor]

Chickchick, thanks i will tryu that, getting DH to listen will be the hardest to train .

Slient recall is just that, i will put a word to it at somepoint maybe. I just started off by letting him run and then i stood still ad said nothing, when he came runnning back and waited at my side he was clicked and treated. We did this about 5-6 times per walk, the time in between me stopping and him returning got smaller and smaller and now he comes back instantly when i stop, even if i am just tying my shoelaces or giving someone ddirections! He even does it with my friend who ccassionally walks my two for me. It really isn't anyything special.

With the bow i noticed that he does a bow like strectch when exited so i just started to click and treat whenever he did it. Now i have added and indication thats what i want, so i just fully flex my right foot and he bows! it is just like a 'play bow' they do with other dogs. He has his legs and head fully stretched so maybe not a real bow, but hey its good enough for us .

He picks things up really quickly, after he has tried the normal, i will sit, oh no that doesn't gett the click, i will bark, on no that doesn't get the click, i will bark louder, that really doesn't work, i best do what she wants then! then he gets the click and the treat and it is all good .

[herladyship]

please can i join the clicker club..

honey (8 year old cross breed terrier) went to her first class last week. no truth in the old saying 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' as she has easily mastered this weeks homework :)

got an 8 week old pup yesterday as well, he has settled really well so far and has spontaneously started sitting nicely at your feet when he wants a fuss (hoping this is a good omen )

[chickchickchicken]

morethan - will you explain how you taught 'bow' and silent recall? i would like to see my 3 bowing!

re fetching ball. i am not expert but can share how i taught mine who are ball obssessed...firstly train in the house or garden not on walk, start with throwing a slightly less exciting object such as a toy, only throw it a foot or two from you, when they bring it back click and treat (i wanted mine to put object in my hand so taught that, you may want them to drop by your feet, up to you), then progress to throwing toy bit further away and adding the command 'fetch' and slowing building up to you doing the most exciting thing of all which is to throw a ball on a walk.

also tell dh not to pick up ball! if dog not all interested in bringing it back put ball in your pocket without dog seeing. either take a spare ball to try fetch again or go back to basic teaching fetch command in a less exciting environment.

only recommending above for dogs who are very excited by the ball and unable to concentrate on the command due to over excitement

[minimu1]

Please don't squirt your collie with water the clicker is great for car chasing.

I usually go to a bus stop with a seat! and sit with dog, every time you can hear a car approaching and it goes past click and treat.
Do this for a few minutes every day and very soon when the car passes you will notice that the dog turns to you for a treat.

When this is pretty solid when the dog is still, start to walk by the traffic, ideally this is good if you can walk on a path with maybe a hedge between you and the road.
When the car approaches again click and treat.

You need to watch your dogs reaction if he is getting stressed go back to the bus stop and build up slowly.

Couple of thins to consider -

some dogs are more worried by cars coming up behind them and then whoosing past - so maybe be on the side of road that is face on.

Some dogs actually prefer busier roads and are less bothered as when there are loads of cars it is less easy to fixate and chase.

Some cars are worried by the sound of the car and some by the wind as the car passes - work out which is your dogs trigger and click that.



Loads of fab click and treating going here - I am impressed

You will turn this around very very quickly if you are consistent and do short sessions regularly.

[WoodRose]

I have been following this thread with interest as I am currently clicker training my 14 week old border collie puppy.

I have been using the "touch" method to teach her to heel. She is consistently good with this in the house and in training class. She is less reliable - but not too bad - in a quiet park.

My problem is she has noticed that cars do exciting things like MOVE and, being a collie, she wants to chase! Back in the dark ages when I last trained a collie not to chase, I was advised to squirt water at my dog whenever she showed interest in moving cars, joggers,etc. Can anyone tell me how I can clicker train my puppy not to chase? I would rather not resort to squirting!

[Tortoise]

Olihan Not sure that would work, he is never in the right position, always dragging me along in front. If i stop he whines and pulls. It is a right pain when i need to stop to pick up his or Greyhounds massive poo!

[Olihan]

Tortoise, my lab was the same on the lead and with the clicker in the kitchen/garden scenario .

My clicker book recommends just going for a walk with the lead on and clicking/treating every time he is walking in the right position. If he pulls then stop walking, wait until he's back in the right position, click and treat then carry on.

I started following that last week and she is already walking on a loose lead for the majority of the time. She does need reminding every so often but the improvement has been huge.

[Tortoise]

I hope he does get the hang of it. Walks just leave me feeling cross with him because he is a pain! But I know it isn't his fault he wasn't taught as a pup. Poor thing went to one home then passed to another at about 10 mths old. Then we took him on in April last year. I will keep trying.

[morethanyoubargainfor]

Bless him, he obviously like to do it in the kitchen. He will get there in the end, unless he is like my curly coated retriever who believes he is far too superior for all that clicker stuff .

[Tortoise]

Thats great morethan.
Still trying to get my dog to walk to heel! He was fine up and down the kitchen without lead but i tried in the garden and he was rubbish at it lol!

[morethanyoubargainfor]

So i thought i would come and give an update, the loopy one LOVES the clicker, it is now his best friend! we do something everyday, so far we learnt to 'bow' really useful stuff . he loves to bow! He has also leanrt a silent recall, his recall has always been good but we have taught him now if we stop then he has to come back and wait with us. He is doing really weel.

Now i want to teach him that if he wants us to throw the ball for him again he needs to bring it back first! He is ball obsessed but once he has it he wants to just carry it until he is ready to chase it again, He just won't caome with 5ft of us if he has the ball, so he will drop it then we have to go get it. How do i teach him to bring the ball back? Ball play is my DH game of choice, but he is a softie and will go and pick up the ball where as i just walk away. DH then moans at me that "your bloody dog never brings the ball back, can you teach him to" so i told him we will teach The dog together so i know he is doing it right (dh that is not the dog) . Any help would be great, thanks.

[Tortoise]

Thanks, thats great. Will give it a try. I like the idea of touch command.
I get so frustrated with him on walks because of the constant pulling combined with barking madly at other dogs. Otherwise he is a lovely little dog just had a bad start in life.

[aspergillus]

I'm a complete novice, only been doing it for 4 days but am amazed at progress so can tell you what worked for us.
I hold lead in L hand and make sure its loose, also hold clicker with same hand. treat bag clipped to my middle, use right hand to give treat.
As soon as Bailey sees the clicker he sits in heel position but I had to wait when we first started, then click and treat.Day One I clicked and treated for just a few steps walking to heel, after 4 days have extended it to 15-20 steps. He still sometimes pulls sideways to stop and sniff something but soon comes back if I just stand still. He doesn't pull ahead at all now. I found it useful to time the clicking and treating to coincide with other dogs passing, groups of children etc to keep him focused. I try not to speak to him at all, not easy as I'm used to praising him all the time.

[minimu1]

I teach walking to heel with a clicker like this:-

I don't have the dog on lead.
Make sure you are in a secure place or garden.

Lure the dog into the heel position with yummy food. Have the food in your hand on the side you want the dog to walk, click and treat.

If you have a clicker trained dog you will find they stay pretty close to you. Every time they turn to look at you and are next to you click and treat. Only take one or two steps at the moment. Keep luring the dog with the food into the correct position and click and treat every second or so as you start to walk. The more rewards the better at this stage. DO not give a word command. When they are happy with this take your training out and about. When out on your walk lure the dog into the correct position and click and treat a few steps. Do this 7 or 8 different times a day and you will have a dog walking to heel in no time.
As they get better at it lengthen the time between the clicks and treats but randomly put in a few really quick click and treats as well.

Another way is to get the dog to touch your hand as a separate exercise click and treat when they know the touch command well you can lure them into the heel position with the touch command as the dog should follow your hand keep clicking and treating at regular intervals.

The touch command is great and looks impressive (I actually get the dogs to touch my little finger). If they are running around I can just lift my finger and they will come charging over to touch it without me saying a word.


I get quite scientific about my training so I will count up the number of successes to fails that I get. I want 97% success before I move on to a new skill.