I LOVE the clicker I used it with my Dane (who is not the brightest pixie in the forest) and had him doing an emergency down and roll within hours. I also used it to train him to go to his bed when he hears the door knock (he doesn't like vistors much).

The best thing is that it's fun for the dogs, mine get reall excited when they see me take the clicker out of the drawer.

And one more to say. You don't use a clicker all the time. Once behaviour is learned and cued you stop clicking it.

I use both, clicker and voice. I have various clients, some cannot get their timing right to save their lives, they fiddle about, dither and then some more, I find if they use the clicker, their timing improves and therefore the training improves and we get the required result so much quicker. Once the dog has learned what the handler wants, we dispense with the clicker, but always reward.

If I have people whose timing is spot on, then I don't introduce a clicker. It's like everything else, it takes time and patience, but once learned, never forgotten and a very useful tool.

Just my two-penneth.

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Remember, winners never quit and quitters never win!

Sadie and Benjie - Trained without a clicker - know about 15 tricks/basics between them.

Louie trained with clicker (although not from start) knows about 26-30 tricks/basics.

I have worked more with Louie as he is the youngest but it is so much easier to train a dog who both wants to be told what to do and also enjoys thinking for himself - I think the clicker helps them too.

I stand in my dining room or garden with a few props out - and ask him what he wants to show me he can do.. he will either go to an object and nose it or paw it.. or bow at it or fetch it. All for the tiniest bit of sausage.

Whereas the other two will sit at your feet waiting..

Clickers - IMO are best, at class most of us use them and the ones who don't soon convert... it is easier to mark a behaviour than giving the dog food.

Everyone has their own preferences, but I think the clicker, and other forms of marker training, has its advantages when training a puppy:

1) Using the 'shaping' method (i.e. rewarding tiny approximations of a behaviour, until the do is constantly doing a little bit more to reach the behaviour you want. Kind of like the 'hotter-or-colder' game). This teaches a dog that they have control over which of their behaviours earns a reward, and can make training much more fun and stimulating for both you and your dog. When a dog gets used to shaping, they can learn some fantastic things through it, e.g:
Dog Somersaults (shaping) | drsophiayin.com - YouTube

2) The 'Look At That' game for teaching to be calm around triggers. A puppy is going to be very over-excited, or nervous perhaps, so having a way to mark good behaviour, and also whenever your dog sees something that is likely to unnerve/over-excite them, will change their emotional response to that thing to something more positive, and also train them to offer polite behaviours, e.g. walking calmly, giving you eye-contact etc.

3) A nipping puppy is hard to handle, and most people wait till the problem happens, then try to correct the behaviour. However, through marker training, you can acclimatise your dog to handling much more easily, by using a 'touch and treat' system, e.g. hold your hand out, c/t (click and treat); touch their head, c/t; stroke their ear, c/t; hold their collar, c/t. Building these exercises teaches self-control, whilst also teaching her to remain calm under-handling.

U'll be using treats [or other rewards: toys, Real-Life rewards, play, etc] AND praise, even with the clicker.
IMO it's a more-efficient way to 'explain' things to the non-human; it works beautifully for humans, too.
Google "Tag teach" to see human applications.
- use individual kibbles; measure out half her daily-ration [one meal of two], put it in a baggie;
that's THREE parts of her treat-training quota for the day. ADD One-part - one-third the volume -
of dry-kibble in the form of pea-sized to HALF-pea-size bits of low-fat cheese, lean beef, chicken-breast,
tuna from a can or pouch, etc; mix it with the kibble, let the bag sit in the frig for a few hours [overnight
is especially good]. now every piece of kibble smells incredibly tasty; more bang for the buck!


Clicker training


Pet Forums Community - View Single Post - Clicker training



also, i'd Google "canis clicker academy" for a FREE one-week course via e-mail.
all it requires is a first-name & an e-mail address; a link arrives every day for the lesson.

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Love love love the clicker started using it with Flynn and haven't looked back. He is so attuned to the "click" that it's amazing and the timing is spot on with the treat following after with no rush. Took three years before I tried it but we've progressed so far that now I wouldn't be without it.

Have to say I bought Don't Shoot The Dog and I hate it. Far too much comparing training of other animals when all I wanted to know was how to train my dog. Dr Sophia Yin is good and her book How To Behave So Your Dog Behaves is wonderfull.

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Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

A clicker is a great tool for teaching the handler. It will improve the handlers timing, encourages calm use and calm praise, and keeps frustration out of the training scenario. All of these things enhance the dog's learning. Furthermore you can do no harm with it. My advice would be to give it a go. Yes, it's important to research and learn a little about the scientific background of how, why, when, etc, but IMO some people get too bogged down with the jargon and science. Once you have a good understanding of the basic concept, don't be afraid to just have a go. You will do no harm. Start by teaching something very simple and basic (like touching a target) and you will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you dog learns. And you will be learning too.
The 2 most important rules for me are
1. Only teach one new behaviour at a time.
2. Every click is followed by a reward, even if you click by mistake.
Also (very important) it is fun for you and the dog, not stressful, and therefore can only build a better bond between you.