Vanessa Vleck Webboard User Reg: 07-20-2009
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Hi Everyone,
I am expecting a new puppy (GSD from good working lines - to be a family pet) in a few months and am trying to read and prepare as best I can. This forum has been so helpful. I am starting to get overwhelmed by the amount of information out there about the "best" way to train a puppy. I keep reading about clicker training - I wanted some opinions from people out there who have incredibly well-trained, happy dogs.
From what I have read clicker training uses a lot of positive reinforcement and many of it's followers shun the use of any type of force/correction to train dogs...that's where I'm confused I guess. I know that there is going to be a time when a dog needs correction! Is there a happy medium? Is clicker training all hype?
Lori Hall Webboard User Reg: 06-12-2007
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Vanessa, the best thing you could do to get all those questions and more answered, is to buy Ed's DVD - The Power of Marker Training. It's awesome! I was new to marker training this year, and it shows you, in detail, how to do it, why to do it, how it works, everything! He also has a new one with Michael Ellis that is suppose to be really good too, but for an overall to get started DVD the first one would do.
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005
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"From what I have read clicker training uses a lot of positive reinforcement and many of it's followers shun the use of any type of force/correction to train dogs...that's where I'm confused I guess. I know that there is going to be a time when a dog needs correction! Is there a happy medium? "
Yes, there is. Using marker training does not mean that corrections later cannot be done, if necessary.
Didn't Bob Scott's dog (I think) just complete the SchH.III with marker training?
He started it from the beginning BH all the way through with absolutely no physical corrections if I remember correctly.
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005
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Quote: randy allen
Didn't Bob Scott's dog (I think) just complete the SchH.III with marker training? ... He started it from the beginning BH all the way through with absolutely no physical corrections if I remember correctly.
And that neatly answers the query about whether marker training is all hype.
Vanessa, no matter what you train for, marker training is the way to go. You will love the way your dog reacts to training -- it will be one of his favorite things to do. (You too!)
This is the story I like to tell about Marker/Clicker training.
Back in '03 I got a Texas Lacy puppy. Chula was about 3.5 months old when I started here with "101 Things to do with a box". Basically you put a box down & either invent things for the dog to do, or let the dog invent things & you C/T (click-treat) for the activity.
I got a flat box (like the ones coke cans come in) and I decided I wanted Chula to sit in the box on cue. It literally took me 20 minutes before she would go to the box, get in, and sit down & wait for her treat when I said 'box'.
Now this is extraordinary in itself: a 3.5 month old puppy doing a complicated act like this on cue. Within 20 minutes! 100% of the time. Imagine!!
Now add to this the fact that I was drinking a beer at the time, never left my lawn chair, the box was 10 feet from me, and I never touched the puppy at all -- and it is MIND-BOGGLING!!
It wasn't until I started using it with my 4 year old Hound Loki that I really understood the power of clicker/marker training.
He is not a smart dog, but he is a lover and wants desperately to please so he tries.
He is also prone to shutting down if he gets overwhelmed or stressed so training him to do new or complicated things can be a challenge.
He had a really bad habit of smacking me with his paw when I was sitting or laying on the couch. I had tried everything and every sort of correction I could think of and nothing worked.
But ten minutes with the clicker and some treats and he understood I expected his foot on the ground and then good things happened.
Lynne Barrows Webboard User Reg: 09-22-2007
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Quote: Deb Collier
Now add to this the fact that I was drinking a beer at the time, never left my lawn chair, the box was 10 feet from me, and I never touched the puppy at all -- and it is MIND-BOGGLING!!
And THAT is the beauty of C/T.
You are an inspiration! My kind of training, summed up nicely!
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Clicker training - thoughts?
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