I would some opinions on using say YES for obedience and drive type behaviors and using clicker for cal behaviors like rest, leave it and so on.

Is this a good idea?
Or can I use YES and just change tone rather than click calm and YES working behaviors?

calm vs drive building markers

Thanks

For "leave it" I actually like to make it fun and exciting for a pup so it's like "hey, wherever that is, I have something better!"

For calm, relaxed behaviors I use a low, calm, drawn out "gooood" and I tend to use massaging petting more than food rewards.

Why bother? Besides, odds are pretty good that you won't always have a clicker on you.

I just use "good" for that type of thing. It's use as a duration marker means that the dog doesn't typically get the big rush that they do from hearing "yes".

What Mara and Cathy are using is actually a bridge. Bridging a markable behavior allows the dog to stay focused and/or calm. I didn't get the impression that the trainer in the clip is well versed in bridging with markers.

Not a great video . . . The segment with the terrier was telling the dog the same thing : just stand there with either " yes " or " good " and you will get a reward .

Make it simple for you and the dog : " yes " means I like what you just did there , releases from the behaviour to get your reward now . . . " good " means I like what you are doing , keep doing it and I will bring your reward to you . . . When I'm happy with what you've done and for how long you did it , I'll mark with a " yes " which releases you from the behaviour to get your reward .

won't be subscribing . . .

I always use a crisp "yes" for reward coming and a calm "good" (with treats) to let the dog know I want the behavior to continue.

I've never worked "leave it" with markers. A gutteral AHHHHHH! has always done the trick when started on a pup.

Just one of my long time, hard to extinguish habits but markers will work well of course.

My issue with correction based "leave it" is that I seem to create avoidance or "grab and go" behaviors with it. Probably trainer error.

So this time around I started with a neutral object and taught it from the ground up like other behaviors. Pretty cool to see my dog happily coming right off an old deer leg he found in the woods. I'll see if I can find a video clip on training "leave it" and post it

Now that I've watched the video (darn data limits on my phone!)

I see a difference in the terrier. Not pronounced but I see a definite one. Mainly the calm vs. excited tail.

I use a variety of verbal cues based on the behavior I want to elicit from my dog. Not a specific formula, but I keep in mind the mood that I'm trying to set. I do not use "yes" when he's hyper around kids and it's all he can do to keep all four feet on the floor. Then it's "goooood boy" followed by calmly fed treats. My "gooood" is not necessarily a bridge ( though it often is used that way) in that my dog doesn't have to continue the behavior and I do often deliver a reward after it. It's just verbal reinforcement that I like what he's doing and my method of projecting calm in the situation.

What I would take away is that calm voices soothe and settle dogs, excited ones hype them up. And words/emotions become powerful cues.

So project the emotion you wish to get in return.

I, too, rely heavily on tone of voice and my own body language to try to reinforce the level of calm or excitement I want to see in my dog, depending on what we are working on. There's "YES!!!" Or there's a softer, slower, "yeeesss." Both of those are used as terminal markers and releases.

I also use "good" as a bridge, or sometimes something longer than a bridge that is not necessarily going to result in a terminal "yes" marker. For example, let's say I'm at the park and working on nice, long, loose-leash walks. I may reinforce with "gooood" or "niiicce" or "exxxxcccceeelllent" said in a calm voice, but I learned the hard way that giving a "yes" marker in that situation resulted in my dog thinking he was released to shoot to the end of the leash.

As relates specifically to a clicker, I have used one in the past and found that it really kind of amps my dogs up much more so than a verbal marker. In fact, I may still use one occasionally when I feel they need a little extra spark put into their obedience training, but I don't personally like it for teaching behaviors where you want the dog to be calm and still. I'm sure it depends on the individual dog, though, and how they react to it.

awesome replies. I really like the voice method. The small issue I have is that I have kids and wife who I want to handle the dog and they can't get the "yes" in the right time. The clicker offers me the remote access to mark the behavior.

This question doesn't pertain to video but to marking which is what were talking about in general. Can I use YESS and GOOD as a person on standby to the handler. The click is more hidden and the verbal cues they could see are from me. In that case should I use click or just continue using verbal cues for them?

for example: wife or child is walking the dog and were working on LETS GO. Can I mark YES or GOOD to the dog giving right behavior or should I use clicker for being a person helping them.