[nagdu] Fwd: Starting with clicker training?

Wed Jul 9 00:34:32 UTC 2014

Part of the training that needs to happen when food is used as the reinforcer, is that you need to teach your dog that food comes from you, after the click, or upon your cue, period.  We call this Zen, meaning that the dog should ignore what it wants, e.g. food, in order to get what it wants, which would be a treat and a click for good work.  
Playing devil's advocate here, I hear all kinds of talk about phasing out treats, but people see nothing wrong with keeping their dog in a chain training collar or head collar.  All these things are tools, and must be used in  the correct way, with the handler having been educated— whether by guide program, a private trainer, or themselves, othe the uses of these tools.  
I am a clicker trainer and have been for 10 years.  My previous dogs have never scrounged for food in harness, my current one does this more so, but it's in her nature, and with that said, I have worked very hard on redirecting and curbing this behavior.  Just like there were other behaviors in previous dogs which required work, although the behaviors were not food related, a dog is not a robot and there will always be that one thing that your dog just does which we wish they would not do, and which needs mindfulness and training on the part of the handler.  

 Rox and the kitchen Bitches: 
Mill'E, Laveau, Soleil
Pawpower4me at gmail.com
Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 8, 2014, at 7:11 PM, Vivianna via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:

>> i personally do not use clicker training.
>> during convention one woman told me that she was using the click and treat if her dog did a traffic check. ok, i just don’t get this.  why would i ever want my dog to turn it’s head towards me seeking a treat just after a traffic check?  my dog should continue to look out for traffic?
>> another thing she told me was that dog was always seeking treats not only from her but from strangers, putting it’s nose in their hands.
>> i’ll stick with the traditional good old, good girl and lots of praise.  
>> 
>> Vivianna
>> 
>>> On Jul 8, 2014, at 5:30 PM, Buddy Brannan via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> This might help:
>>> http://www.sue-eh.ca/page24/page23/
>>> 
>>> The original levels are available for free, but you can buy the new edition for $25 in accessible formats. I have it.
>>> 
>>> I’m not convinced that any one training method is *the* answer to everything, nor is one training philosophy correct to every situation or even every dog. There’s value to be had with a variety of tools. 
>>> 
>>>> On Jul 8, 2014, at 5:39 PM, Julie J. via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Daryl,
>>>> 
>>>> I'm not sure exactly what you mean by starting clicker training alone.  I started using clicker training with Belle.  I did read lots and lots of books.  I had a couple of email lists specific to clicker training where I asked lots of questions.  For a while I had a trainer I worked with by phone, but that didn't turn out so well.  she was sighted and could only give sighted people instructions.  I was too new to the concepts to be able to problem solve non visual ways myself.  I was frustrated and gave it up for a short bit.  that's when I found the email lists, which turned out to be much more helpful.
>>>> 
>>>> I live in a really small town, so there are no group classes or local trainers that use clicker training.  I've always wanted to go to a weekend workshop on clicker, but those don't come anywhere close.  All my connections to clicker knowledge have been through the computer.  If that's what you mean by starting alone, then I think there are several folks on this list that fit that description.
>>>> 
>>>> You can totally do it yourself.  Just read and get comfortable with the ideas.  when you are ready start with the very basics of getting Jenny introduced to the concept of click means reward is coming.  then move on to a hand touch.  From there you can teach most anything.  Just remember not to go too fast or lump too much in together.  that's my biggest challenge.
>>>> 
>>>> Think of it like building a block tower.  One block in the right place gets a click and a treat.  Sure one block looks nothing like you want the finished tower, but it is the first step.  Next time it's two blocks, and the next it's three...until she gets the to the finished behavior.  At first it will seem really slow.  That's because you are still fine tuning your technique and Jenny is learning to think differently.  The time it takes to teach a completed task will become dramatically faster the more you use clicker.
>>>> 
>>>> HTH
>>>> Julie
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Daryl Marie via nagdu
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2014 2:09 PM
>>>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>>> Subject: [nagdu] Starting with clicker training?
>>>> 
>>>> hi!
>>>> 
>>>> As I am moving away from the correction/choke collar, I am considering using clicker training in my partnership with Jenny.  Has anyone started clicker training on their own? Any pointers? Dos and Don'ts?  I know Raven posted www.clickertraining.com as a great resource, but it feel really really overwhelming!
>>>> 
>>>> Daryl and Jenny
>>>> 
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