[NAGDU] Tapering off clicker

[Tami Jarvis]

Tracy,

It really depends on the dog and how many repetitions he needs for the 
behavior to become automatic without needing the reward. If you start 
skipping the reward and he reverts, then you need to go back to more 
frequent rewards for awhile and try phasing them out later.

I like to randomize the treats associated with the click, so then I can 
use the click alone to reinforce working behaviors. Others always give a 
treat with the click, but it's awkward for me when we're moving, so I 
like being able to use the click alone, then offer a treat when we're 
standing still. I use the treats with the click almost always in our 
at-home obedience session to keep the treats associated with the click. 
This way works well for me since my poodles aren't all that food 
motivated but need a lot of cheerleading. It might not work as well with 
a really food-motivated dog who is more interested in the treat than the 
accomplishment.

Anyway, there's no set time limit or number of repetitions or magical 
frequency, I'm afraid. When you start reducing the frequency of the 
reward, go gradually and see if the dog is still consistently offering 
up the desired behavior. After he's done that for awhile, try reducing 
the frequency a bit more -- say, from every other time to every third 
time -- and see what happens. It might help to throw a party when he's 
done two crossings without the reinforcement, since that's the most 
exciting thing he's ever done. If he's not impressed by that sort of 
thing, never mind, you'll just look silly. /lol/ The poodles love to 
impress and like it when I acknowledge that everything they do is super 
awesome and amazing. Yay! When I go ga-ga over something Zay does, she 
just gives me the "so where's my treat?" look. Food is all the 
validation she needs. So it really just depends on the dog, what 
motivates it and how it learns.

Glad you're making progress!

Tami





On 08/04/2016 04:51 AM, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU wrote:
> Krokus likes to creep up to curbs, doors, steps, ..  Occasionally, I've
> tried clicking and treating at downcurbs, which fixes the problem pretty
> quickly.  But then I stop, and pretty soon we're back to creeping up.  So I
> guess I'm stopping too soon, or not randomizing my clicking so he never
> knows when he might get a treat.
>
> I'm trying to do better this round.  Sometimes I just plain forget to bring
> the stuff with me, but I'm trying to randomize more deliberately than that.
>
> So, how do I know when I don't need to c&t every downcurb?  Stopping at
> curbs is, after all, a behavior he already knows well; I'm just trying to
> tighten it up a bit.  When he's getting it well, then do I just click every
> other one, or skip every third, or something like that?  How do I know when
> I can stop clicking altogether?
>
> Tracy
>
>
>
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