[nagdu] clicker training

[Julie J.]

The click is the marker signal that the dog has done what you wanted at 
that exact spot, like taking a picture of that precise moment.  Then the 
click is followed by a reward.  Usually the reward is food because it's 
quick, convenient and most dogs like food.  I always follow click with 
treat.  If I want to reduce the reinforcement of a behavior I will 
reduce the number of clicks, not the ratio of treats to clicks.

The first thing to do is get the dog to understand that click means 
treat.  So take the dog into a very quiet place with nothing else going 
on, maybe a bedroom or home office.  Click the clicker and give a tiny 
treat.  A clicker doesn't have to be an exact clicker from the store, 
although they are inexpensive and easily available.  You could use an 
ink pen that clicks when you push the end or a mini stapler with no 
staples or even your tongue against the roof of your mouth.  The treats 
should be small, like pencil eraser sized or pea sized.  If I use a hot 
dog for treats I'll cut the single hot dog into 50 to 60 bits.  that's 
how small you want them.

Okay back to getting the dog to understand that click means treat... so 
your in your bedroom with clicker, treats and an interested dog.  Click 
the clicker and give a treat, repeat about 10 times.  Now go to a 
different room and repeat.  Keep repeating this in different places 
until the dog starts anticipating the treat after he hears the click.  
You may very well have the dog touching your hand with the treats or 
nosing your pocket.  That's okay right now.  We'll solve that in the 
next step.  Right now you want a dog who is interested, excited and 
enthusiastic to play this new fantastic game.

Step 2 is what a lot of people call dog zen or you get what you want by 
ignoring what you want.  Hold a tasty treat in one hand and wait.  
Probably the dog will be nosing your hand, maybe pawing or licking your 
hand.  Just wait.  the moment he quits give him a treat.  I give a 
different treat from my other hand, but do whatever works for you.  
Repeat this exercise until the dog immediately stops mugging your hand 
and waits for the click and treat.  Repeat in various locations with 
varying levels of distraction.

Step 3 repeat step 2 but this time have your hand open so the dog can 
see the treat.  Close your hand the moment he shows any hint of going 
for it.  Click and treat when he backs off.  Repeat in lots of different 
places with different types of food.

At this point your dog understands the very basics of clicker training 
that click means treat and that all good things come to those who wait.  
You can teach most anything from here.  You can get more advanced food 
refusal skills with food on the floor or people offering the dog food or 
something totally different like fetch.

Things to keep in mind are to click at the first step or hint of the dog 
doing what you want.  Don't click for only the perfect finished 
behavior.  This is called shaping.  It's like the kids game of hot and 
cold.  The clicker tells the dog that he's getting hotter or closer to 
what you want.

When I'm teaching a brand new skill with clicker I don't talk to the 
dog.  I let the clicker do the communicating.  A dog who is wise to the 
clicker game will be actively mentally engaged with you trying to figure 
out what to do to earn the click.  Generally a dog will try everything 
he has done in the past to earn a click.  I find that verbally 
encouraging the dog just slows down the process.  I want to be clicking 
every few seconds to keep the dog engaged and the training progressing.  
If I'm clicking only once every 30 seconds my dogs will start to show 
signs of frustration.  Generally this means I have lumped too many steps 
together.  I need to break the task down into smaller bits, more steps, 
so the dog can be successful.

Let's use a person training for a marathon as an example.  A good coach 
doesn't tell their student okay now run that 20 miles and we'll throw 
you a party at the end.  You'd quit before you ever took your first 
step.  It's too big of a task.  If the coach breaks down the marathon 
into tiny bits that you can easily do with minimal effort you will be 
successful.  So maybe your first step is to walk to the front door.  You 
can do that, no problem, click and treat.  Now maybe the next step is to 
make it to the edge of the porch. c/t  now the end of the driveway and 
so on.  If you are at the end of the driveway and I ask you to run to 
the grocery store a mile away, you will probably bawlk.  That's too big 
of a leap.  Break it down into tiny easily doable steps.  From the 
driveway the next spot to shoot for might be the corner.   The next 
training session the coach might skip the reward for reaching the front 
door and reward you when you get to the edge of the front porch.

I think the two most important things in regard to clicker training are 
your timing with the clicker and planning what you are going to teach 
before you start.   It's a lot to absorb in the beginning and it takes a 
bit of work for your dog to understand that click means treat and that 
he can get you to click by offering behaviors.  The first couple of 
times you use this method it may feel slow, awkward and tedious.  
However the time you invest now will pay you pack tenfold later.  Once 
you have a clicker savvy dog and you are comfortable with the method it 
will dramatically reduce the amount of time and effort you'll need to 
train new things.  I think your dog's attitude toward skills taught with 
the clicker will be different, more enthusiastic more willing.

I kinda got carried away there. *smile*  I hope you find it a little 
useful.  I'd definitely suggest reading more about it.  There are some 
really awesome trainers out there doing some extremely advanced things 
with their dogs using this method.

Julie