Minimuu please please please can we have a clicker thread please?!!

[Inthepotty]

Did I ask nicely enough?!

Basically, I've been clicker training my lab x pup and I am an addict!

An ADDICT! We've got sit, down, wait, roll, drop it, and loose lead walking down. Not too bad with heel, but TBH as long as it's loose lead I'm happy for him to have a sniff.

So.... What else can I teach him? preferably things that will impress FIL at Xmas who is still convinced if I don't 'dominate' my dog he will one day eat several toddlers in one go.

I am a big fan of the clicker as well.

Another really useful behaviour is to teach them to target with their nose and with their paw. It sounds useless, but it is actually one of the most useful things for shaping a variety of behaviours.

To start put your open palm fairly close to the dog's nose, most dogs will at least turn around to look at the palm and might even touch it, click/reward and repeat until the dog learns that touching the palm is rewarded. Then progressively start making this exercise more demanding (but always return to easier behaviours and never ask for progression on two aspects at the same time), e.g. by asking the dog to keep touching the palm for longer periods of time, or by keep touching the palm as it moves. You can then use this for recall, heelwork, moving the dog to a specific spot, etc.

Variations include targeting with the paw, or targeting the nose to a stick or a piece of card. Then you can do pretty much anything, e.g. you stick the card on the door of a cabinet and you ask the dog to paw target and that way he learns to close the door.

For recall it's also helpful to play the recall game (apologies if someone has already mentioned this, I skimmed the thread but did not notice it). Start in the garden, you need two people and loads of treats. The two people stand relatively close to each other (2 metres to start) and take it in turns to call, click and treat the dog. Then you increase the distance, but also make sure you decrease it again so that the exercise does not become increasingly more difficult.

Thunderboltkid I think you can train almost everything with a clicker. The only thing that might backfire slightly is if you click for toilet, some dogs will stop weeing and come to get the reward!

I wouldn't clicker train recall or toileting. Especially not toileting. Reason: you have to click what they're DOING, not what they've done. So you have to click AS they're toileting. The click ends the behaviour - so you risk them stopping whatever they're doing when they hear the click, in expectation of the reward - and therefore possibly not emptying properly.

Of course there are many ways to train but with recall I click the moment the dog's nose touches my hand so I turn it partly into a targeting exercise and that way it works well. Clicker doesn't help much with a dog that just runs off, unfortunately there you just have to get the long line out and take a deep breath!

Have ordered my clicker and the book. Thanks for the inspiration. How long do you spend 'charging' the clicker before you start training with it?

Depends on the dog, Belindarose.

Some take minutes. Some take days. You know you've charged it, ie the dog understands that a click = a treat, when you click the clicker and the dog's ears prick up and he looks to you expectantly for his treat.

I think he's a minutes kind of dog! Exciting. Can't wait to see what he can learn. He can do some things reliably anyway from lure training - now with just a verbal or hand signal - sit, down, shake hands, roll over, wait, on your bed. Should I reteach these somehow?

For those wanting an easy to teach.. Bark on command took me hardy any time time to teach our doodle pup who never never barks! It's very handy for when we are walking in the woods at dusk and I lose sight of him in the bushes. I shout "Puppy... WOOF!" he barks then comes barreling over to see if suitably impressed with his big boy barking!

I also love hide eyes/be shy, that CKate mentioned above, going to work on that after dinner!

Mine doesn't bark either. Looking forward to teaching that.

ITP - Be Shy has to be up there near the top of the "Easy To Teach But Very Impressive" list of party pieces

Oh - I missed off "Say Your Prayers" from my list!

Dog sits in front of sofa/bed/chair, puts paws up, bows head and drops nose between paws as if praying.

Again, fairly easy to teach but guaranteed to elicit plenty of "Aaaaaaaaaaawwwwww!"s from onlookers

Don't be too ambitious to start with. You and the dog has to get used to the new method of training.

I would always whatever the dog charge the clicker for at least a week before I started training a trick. You have the whole of the dogs life to teach tricks so do not rush it.

Also have a very clear plan before you start as to what behaviour you want. If you are inconsistent in your requirements you will have one confused and turned off dog.

Before you start clicker training with a dog - try with your dc. Work out what you want them to do eg walk to a window and touch it. Obviously don't tell them just use the clicker as a getting warmer signal to encourage them to give you the correct behaviour. Then as they approach the window click, if they move away from the window don't click etc. This will allow you to get your timing right.

Also teach tricks to start with that your dog does naturally. Some dogs will lift a paw easily for example so this would be a great trick to start with.
Some dogs turn around so you can teach a twist.
Some dogs nose you so teach a nose target.
Some bark easily! so teach a speak.
Some dogs will walk backwards etc.

Also only teach one trick at a time, so for several days/weeks just do the one trick. When they can do it in different locations with you standing, sitting down and not facing you then it is the time to move onto a new trick. As their repitore grows and they get used to the clicker this becomes much quicker so BE patient to start with.

Also dogs are stimulated more by thinking so allow them time, allow them also to get it wrong (nothing bad happens when they get it wrong it just reinforces when they get it right) Try not to lure the behaviour too much as they will then only learn if you lure, you want to build up to the dog offering you behaviours you can click and treat.

Really, really good points ^^

Clicker training makes them THINK in a way they've never had to before, which takes some getting used to.

Be prepared for a knackered dog after a session

How do you teach them to bark on command? I would really like to get our dog to do this, as her barking is getting to be really annoying and I would like some control over it.

feesh I don't really know how to stop barking but here's I how I taught bark on command.

Did a few sits and treats to warm up, then I just sat and waited! At first puppy tried to go down, paw the floor, roll over and then got up and started nudging me, I just stood around looking disinterested! He looked like he was really thinking about it, so I said "woof" really quietly to bridge the gay so to speak. He then barked once and I went back to being quiet, after a few paws he barked again, I clicked and treated, waited for another bark then did the same, kept on going waiting for a bark during training, then added the 'woof' command. We are now at a point where if I say 'woof woof' he'll bark twice, I use the realease word 'off you go' to get him to stop. When I'm just sat on the sofa or whatever he never ever barks uless I say his name then woof, it may just be that he's not a vocal breed though? HTH

Fascinating, it's sounds perfectly logical. I'm going to buy a book and read up on it.

Thanks Inthepotty will give it a go. I have been told to try and catch her in the act of barking, but she's too 'high' to notice me if she's barking for a reason.

I am still a bit worried about teaching her the bark command, as when we are doing clicker training she sometimes offers me EVERY bloody trick she's ever been taught to try and extract tricks from me! I taught her 'paw' a few weeks ago and ever since then she keeps swiping me with it when she sees I have food!!!

Sorry, 'extract treats' not 'extract tricks'