Just wondering has anyone used this method of training and if so tid they find it useful?

Also what age is it best to start this form of training?

I've started using clicker training with my 4 months old puppy Ludo and it's brilliant! I'm all for the positive reinforcement method of training so this is ideal. Before it would be really hard to teach him anything because I would reward him for something at the wrong time. With the clicker, you click when he does something good and he knows the click means he's done something good so he learns a lot faster. Now with the clicker, I can teach him a trick in an evening and have him doing it with a hand signal by the next day. Plus he really enjoys it

Double thumbs up from me

Peace
Akai-Chan

It's not the be-all and end-all of dog training, but it's definitely worth looking into. Taught Shadow to take a bow (lay down with bum in the air) in 15 minutes using this method. However struggling still to train him to fetch his leash... He's very good at not biting things he's not supposed to so breaking that for specific scenarios is tricky.

hey, slick! :--)

have U tried laying the leash on the floor, and clicking 1st look-At, then approach, then nose or paw (preferably nose, but TOUCH in any case), the leash?

or holding it folded into a 2-ft long coil, and holding it acoss Ur body like an exercise band, offering it to the dog to be looked-at, sniffed, nosed, mouthed?
good luck,
--- terry

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

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hey, dai! :--)

check out Puppy Prodigies website - Video Clips
they have a clip of 3-Wo pups learning to sit with pos-R.
these are future-SD candidates, who are bred to the purpose; not all will become assistance-k9s, tho. some washouts
are placed in new careers; others become pets with a hobby - therapy-visits, literacy dogs, etc.

ANYtime is fine to begin click-training or marker-training -
my Akita was a crossover dog at 6-MO, when i was trying to teach her hand=signals, and she was assiduously evading
SEEING my signals, LOL... after all, if the poor dear is distracted by a passing flock of sparrows, it is not *her* fault
that she missed the cue?!...
i have used a clicker with excellent results with many species (cats, dogs, chickens, parrots, horses, other livestock,
wildlife, etc), and at any age from in the nest, to geriatric.

in non-humans, i have taught infants and old-folks, and anything in-between;
also children and adult human-HANDLERS on the other end of the leash (click for good body-mechanix, keeping leash loose,
cueing dog ahead of a turn by slowing steps, and so on).

see the prior-post on starting clicker-training for links - Canis Clicker Academy offers FREE one-page daily lessons, delivered as a link via e-mail for a week.
cheers, and happy training!
--- terry

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

We're working on it, first job was to disassociate the leash with running at the door in mad excitement. That part's mastered. He'll nose it at the moment if it's in my hand, just trying to get him to nose out of hand or bite for a big excited *click*. Nearly there

I use it but not all the time, usually when I don't have enough hands for treats, clicker and other props the clicker goes

I've found it's very good for getting the timing right and the click confirms they have done what you asked. I've tended to use the clicker to teach a command but once he's got it I don't use it much, just treat and/or praise.

I started using the clicker 2 days after we got our pup, so he was 8 weeks old but I think it's something you can use at any age. He could sit within a few hours and lie down within a couple of days. I'm new to dog ownership so I'm not sure if that's rapid or not.

It's a postive training method so there's no harm in trying it.

I use clicker for all the dogs that come through my doors, from 6 weeks to 16 years!! It's fab, quick and easy for the dogs to understand (humans on the other hand take abit longer to get themselves organised to click on time!!).

I'd recommend joining a class, it can be a very easy training tool, but if you want to take it further get the basic's from a class and then tailor it to your own needs. For example my evil Witch dog is taught high level clicker because she needs something to concentrate on if her evil side comes out to play, but my boys have very basic level training (sit, down, stay etc) because they don't really need to know how to touch a stick etc!!

As Polimba say's it's positive training at it's best so it's worth a try. Classes are usually no more than £4 a session so try one and see...you'll be amazed what can be achieved within a short time.

Clicker training is excellent.

Below is a link to an article that I recently wrote about clicker training which, hopefully should explain the basics

Understanding the Basics- Clicker Training (Lucy's Dog Blog)

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Dogs leave paw prints on your heart