Archives : Clicker Training

Working for a Living in Dog Training

So I’ve done it, I have gone and crossed over into the dark side; I entered a competition with my dog Fury the other day!

Now, you first need to understand ME to understand my thinking and why this is extraordinary and a problem for me.

I am clearly not normal.  I hate competition.  Hate may not be a strong enough word; I loathe competition!

I vividly remember being in kindergarten and running my first “real” race.  Apparently I was “super fast” for my age because I was going to cross the line first (this is not a trait that lasted for me) but I hesitated, slowed down and looked back for my friends.  There was a part of me that didn’t want to cross first.

That trait stuck.  Whenever I talk about competing I always share how much I loathe it.  Some of you must wonder; if I despise it so much WHY do I do it?  Because competition bonds me to my dog!

Even though I hated it and I still hate it some of the best times I had were spent training for competitions with my former dog “Mr. Snitch”.  Not necessarily competing, although I have some great memories of our competitions together as well, the training was spectacular time spent together.   We enjoyed every moment of it together because, of course, I worked him with positive reinforcement training and in drive. Read the rest of this entry »

The Irritation Known as Barking

One of the most frequent and biggest complaints that I hear from most of my readers is that incessant barking has become a problem in their home.

First I want to say this is a reiteration of past articles and information.  I know it is time consuming and slightly tedious to scroll back through all of the articles and information we have posted here and that is why I have decided to rewrite about one of the most common problems.  However, I would encourage you to do a search in the left hand corner of this page if you still have questions about barking cessation.

Why?

First it is always important, in my opinion to figure out what is going on in our dog’s minds when they are showing a naughty behavior or a behavior we want to correct.  Dogs bark for many reasons, but mostly it is inherent.  Dogs bark to warn each other about impending trouble and to communicate with each other, sometimes over several miles of distance.

Our pets come with the same basic hard wiring that wolves and wild dogs have.  Their instincts tell them if in doubt; bark.  They may not be living outside worried about getting eaten by another animal, but they still see perceived danger.  The problem is their “perceived” danger may be something as silly as a leaf falling outside, or a rearrangement of items in their environment.  Some dogs are more sensitive to noticing change and vocalizing about it, and some dogs have even been bred to alert bark. Read the rest of this entry »

More Targeting

Hopefully you have been able to get your dog to target your palm.  If he is able to follow your palm wherever it goes and touch it with his nose, he is ready to move on to target other objects.

What You Will Need

• Treats
• Clicker
• A long object; dowel, stick, pen, or the end of a kitchen utensil
• The lid of a plastic container

Getting Started

Your dog already knows the basics of touching, now we must teach him to show this behavior with other objects.

• First I like to start with a pen, or a long stick-like object.
  

  Targeting Helps You to Attain More Polished Agility

• Hold the pen out in front of his face
• When he moves toward or touches it, click and treat
• If he doesn’t touch it, move it closer or into a different position until he does
• Because he has done this with your hand this should move pretty quickly
• As he begins to understand move the pen around up, down, and to the left and right to ensure he comprehends.
• If he puts his mouth on it, you may click and treat or click and jackpot, this will lay the foundation for retrieving!   If this is the direction you want to go in keep clicking and treating when he puts his mouth on it. (More on this type of retrieving later)
• You may now take the stick or pen to other objects and place it on them and have him touch.
• Next, I like to teach my dogs to transfer the touch to a Tupperware lid (you can even draw a target on it).
• Begin just like you did with your hand and with the pen by holding the lid up in front of him.
• When your dog’s nose touches the target click and treat
• Continue moving the target all around, your dog should readily follow it.
• Then put the target on the ground and give him the “touch” or target command.
• This may be a little more difficult, because he has always targeted things in your hand, but be patient.
• If he moves toward the target, click and treat
• If he touches the target click and JACKPOT!
• Continue until the behavior is reliable, then move the target farther away
• Click and treat for an appropriate response
• You may then move the target farther and farther away with successful training
• You can also try sticking it up on the wall and having him touch it with his nose
  

  Mr. Snitch Opening the Door as a Service Dog

The sky is the limit with this command.  As a Service Dog trainer, this was one of the first and favorite behaviors in my dog’s repertoire.  From this behavior, I could teach my dogs to retrieve, to turn on lights, to push handicapped buttons with their noses, polish agility and many other useful behaviors!

Remember that trick training has two cardinal rules: Always be patient (if you need to, back up a step or two until your dog catches on) and HAVE FUN!  Learning new behaviors and spending time with you is a dream come true for your dog, he enjoys feeling like he has a job and he is needed!

Fun with a Box

As a long time dog trainer, this has to be one of my favorite games and homework to give to my new clicker training clients.  I learned this game from Karen Pryor at a dog training seminar many years ago.  People have misconceptions about dog training and often it is easier for them (or so they think) to physically manipulate their dogs into complying.  It is hard to get an impatient person to wait for their dog to sit or lay down without giving a command, putting their hands on their dog, or even luring their dog into the position.

However, most people will not grab their dogs and throw them into the box (thankfully).  And, this task is especially good for nervous or shy dogs that would not regularly explore unknown things in their environment.

Take a large cardboard box (this is a great time of year where most people have boxes laying around) and cut the sides down if you have a smaller dog. Put the box on the floor and get your treats and clicker ready.

Treat from your hand, when I was looking through other videos on the internet people were throwing the treats at their dogs.  Stay close to your dog and hand him a treat for a correct response.

• Click and treat every time your dog looks at the box, steps towards it or even in it.
• Click and treat even if he didn’t “mean” to touch the box.
• If he is cautious be patient and get excited about the box, don’t worry about over treating.
• If he is not looking at or moving toward the box simply shift your position or walk around the box yourself.
• Once your dog is familiar with the game and realizes it has something to do with the new box, click and treat every time he even touches the box.
• Reward him for stepping in or on, chewing on, or pushing the box with paws or nose.
• Next only reward a new behavior associated with the box.

Begin shaping a behavior depending on what your dog has been doing with the box i.e. if your dog is chewing on the box, will he pick it up?  If he is pushing it with his nose, will he push with his feet?

Now that he understands the game you can come up with some criteria; do you want him to sit, or lay down in it?  Would you like him to tip it over on top of himself?  Do you want him to carry it over to you? Or do you want him to do the hokey pokey with it; put his right paw in, take his right paw out…  The sky is the limit, but depends on the behaviors he is willing to show you.

When he gets close to the behavior you are aiming for give him a Jackpot (several treats or a better treat).

End on a good note and have a good time!

Take the box out tomorrow and see what your dog has retained and if you can shape a new behavior!

The Power of Positive Reinforcement

When I first starting training dogs, over 16 years ago, dog training consisted mostly of compulsion: a strong, usually irresistible impulse to perform an act, especially one that is irrational or contrary to one’s will i.e. force. Back “in the day” we taught our dogs to vehemently wait for a command so that they could comply.

The tools of the trade were choke chains, prong collars, throw chains and shake cans. I understudied at a dog training establishment in Wisconsin for over a year while I learned how to train; most puppies and adult dogs were fitted with prong collars. Then I moved to Colorado and began training with an organization that trained Service Dogs for adults and children with physical disabilities, and I was introduced to positive reinforcement and clicker training.

What a novel idea, to motivate an animal to work? Our physically disabled clients, after all, couldn’t force their four legged companions to comply to their every command; the dog had to “WANT” to comply to fulfill the job requirement and continually work throughout the day.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Benefits of Clicker Training

 

How Clicker Training Will Help You and Your Dog!

Clicker training helps your dog learn behaviors. Rather than simply guessing what you want him to do and running through his gamut of tricks, your dog will actually learn the behavior.

Clicker’s are simple and easy to use. It’s a small handheld tool that makes a clicking noise when you press it. It’s this noise that marks the behavior so while anyone can learn to use it you must practice clicking.

Clicking embraces positive reinforcement training techniques. Positive reinforcement has been shown to activate chemicals in a dog’s brain. These chemicals create associations in the brain – positive associations, strong associations.

Clicker training helps build a bond of trust. When you click and reward, click and reward your dog learns that you are a person who holds true to your word. You are a person to be trusted and relied upon.

Clicker training creates structure. Dogs, and most people, prefer a structured environment. Now that doesn’t mean they’re not adaptable but by and large they want to know what to expect. Clicker training tells them what to expect.

Clicker training can be used on just about any animal, not just dogs. Animals and people too, respond well to operant conditioning – particularly when the consequence is a pleasant thing.

The benefits of clicker training have a broad reach. It’s a fairly simple method to use and when you have the right training guidelines and information clicker training is one of the most effective and efficient training methods available.

Depending on the training resources you utilize, clicker training is also very cost effective. With the minimal cost of a clicker and the information found here you’ll be well on your way to a happy and healthy pooch!

 

What is Clicker Training?

Clicker training is based on the behavioral psychology concept of operant conditioning.  Without getting too technical, because this is not Psych 101, operant conditioning states that when you use consequences you can modify behavior and training. 

However clicker training doesn’t use punishment as consequences like older more traditional forms of dog training, but rather uses rewards to modify behavior and training.  There are of course, many benefits to using clicker training and positive reinforcement.

A Clicker is a Conditioned Reinforcer

A clicker, a small handheld device which makes a clicking noise when pressed, is a conditioned reinforcer.  Meaning that the specific sound a clicker makes marks a desired behavior.  You can pick them up at most pet stores for just a couple bucks. 

For example, you ask your dog to sit and he sits, you click and that signal marks the behavior.  Your reward so that he begins to make associations.  Your dog begins to relate the treat to the click and the click to performing the behavior you request.  

Why Clicker Training is Important

Why this is so important to learning.  While sit isn’t such a difficult behavior for dogs to learn many behaviors are.  Many behaviors take several steps to perform correctly and therefore it’s very important your dog knows when he’s performed all or part of the behavior correctly.  Now you might be asking, “Why can’t I just say ‘good dog?’”  

Our voices change inflection, we use different words, and we’re unable to speak as accurately as a simple click.  That being said, you will absolutely need to practice clicking to achieve the accuracy necessary for it to be useful. 

You certainly don’t want to click a split second later when your dog has decided to stand up again after the sit command because now you’ve just marked the standing up behavior – not what you were intending on teaching! 

Tomorrow I’ll post the benefits of Clicker Training. You can also read some more on Clicker Training For Dogs here.