I love the articles that come on how to live well with your dog and all make really good sense to me....except clicker training. I'm sure it works but I'll be honest, I just don't get it. I'm sure it's me missing the point, but it seems you still use commands, still give treats but now click as well. So, to me, if you have a reluctant dog that doesn't respond to commands, as the 'click' is after the dog has performed and not before, how will this help a reluctant dog do their commands better? Our dog is pretty good on recall unless it's something really interesting or fast moving (like a squirrel/rabbit/deer - and no, she's not called Benson ) and I'd like to improve this so it is always an immediate return and though perhaps a clicker would help. However, I wouldn't click before she returned so if she was ignoring me the clicker wouldn't help...or would it? If so, how? As I say, I know it's me missing the point because they obviously work but if somebody could point me in the direction of directions on this or explain how to bring this into my training I'd be grateful. Thanks
Re: Clicker training...I don't understand A clicker is an event marker - I know that doesn't mean anything but this article explains what an event marker is and why it is helpful http://www.thelabradorsite.com/reward-markers-help-you-train-your-labrador/ Basically, an event marker (like a clicker) tells the dog exactly when they got something right. The event marker is something the dog wants to work to hear as we always give a treat after the marker - so the marker also tells the dog that a treat is coming, in addition to telling the dog exactly what it did to earn it. Here's another article on some of the benefits of using a clicker http://www.thelabradorsite.com/ten-great-reasons-to-start-clicker-training/
Re: Clicker training...I don't understand So, in your training so far you've been using cues ('commands') and rewards (treats). You've trained your dog to perform a behaviour in response to a cue (sit, drop, come etc) and you've used food rewards to motivate your dog and make them want to do those behaviours again when they heat the cue. You cue a behaviour, the behaviour happens, and the dog gets a reward. It is important to time your reward (treat) very well so it is linked to the behaviour you want. That can be hard if the behaviour we want is very brief, or the dog is at a distance from us. It is hard to get the food to the dog at the exact right moment. By the time we get the food to the dog's mouth the behaviour is long gone and the link between it and the food is weakened. With clicker training you still use cues and rewards in exactly the same way. But we add in a tool that lets us be really precise in telling the dog exactly what it did to earn that reward. The tool is the event marker or clicker. So, when we use a clicker we do it like this: cue....behaviour happens and you instantly click at that very moment!.....and the dog then gets their food reward. Think of the click as like taking a photo of the behaviour you want - you have to click at the right moment to catch that behaviour. Then we follow up with the food treat. An event marker or clicker is a communication tool that tells the dog what it did to get a reward. It helps us to be more precise in reinforcing behaviours that we want, and it buys us a few seconds to deliver that food. Why does the click matter to the dog? Well, first of all we create a strong association between the click and treats. This is known as 'charging the clicker'. It's as simple as making a click then immediately giving a treat, then repeating 10 times. Do this in a few blocks over the course of a day and your dog will get it - click = treat! They want to hear that click. Training can progress faster with an event marker like a clicker as it's really clear, consistent and precise and we can use it at a distance (as long as the dog can hear it). As a general rule, every time we click we have to follow it up with a treat. Does that make sense? I know it's a bit of a new language, but it's not so far from what you are already doing if you are using food rewards
Re: Clicker training...I don't understand I'm using clicker training with my 12 week old puppy (not a lab, she's a springer) Only doing very simple things just yet such as the sit. So far so good. I think I understand the principle. But one thing I'm not sure about - what happens in a situation when I don't have the clicker - that is in a non training session situation - and I ask her to sit, such as when she's leaping around when I am trying to do something else and I need her to be still for a minute. Obviously it's better to have it with you all the time but it doesn't always happen. Is it confusing for her not to get a C & T? Is it OK to treat for good behavior but not click? Thanks
Re: Clicker training...I don't understand Just wanted to say Hi Gary and hope it's a lot clearer now....Rachael can always explain perfectly so I just wanted to say welcome to the Forum and the start of your 'Clicker Career' Best wishes Angela
Re: Clicker training...I don't understand There are a couple of issues here. In the above situation you need a management tool such as a harness and house line. You would not ask a young puppy to sit when she is leaping around, as you are unlikely to get the response you require and would therefore be weakening your sit cue. Also, if you didn't have your clicker, you probably wouldn't have your treats either. So that is a situation you should avoid. Managing behaviour is not the same as training. It is best to set up training situations in advance so that you are in control of all the variables. If you were training, you would always have the right kit with you. Having said that. If you want to do some impromptu training, then you can use a verbal event marker like 'YES' or 'GOOD' provided that you have 'charged' it up first by associating it with treats.
Re: Clicker training...I don't understand Thanks for this discussion. I too wasn't sure I really had the clicker idea fully correct in my own head before I introduced it with Bailey. However, I'm much clearer after reading these posts, especially the comment about thinking of it as taking a photo of the exact behaviour. Also helpful was the strategy of 'charging' the clicker. I missed out on this until now and hadn't 'charged' my clicker before use. No wonder Bailey, and I, took a while to get the hang of it. I now plan to do a few sessions of charging the clicker, a bit late but it seems to me it would be still useful to deepen the C&T connection for both of us.
