I may not explain this real well so bare with me. When I took My dog to a seminar on clicker training a couple of years ago the trainer took him and with a hand full of hot dog bits he just clicked and fed, clicked and fed. Then he worked him at a fast pace and over and over again. Without a command it was lure, sit,click,reward. It the beginning with a high energy dog it all seems out of control but that precision and control come later on.

My main question was in teaching the sit, was would it be okay to lure him (isn't that how your describing to do it?).

I do. Sit for companion dog: You can use a food lure. With your dog in the standing position, hold it just above his nose. Move your hand back between his ears. His nose will go up; his butt will go down. When his butt touches the floor, mark and reward.

When introducing new commands, is it okay to always lure? Or as I progress will I find that its easier to do it other ways?

Sit and Down are the two that I can think of off-hand that I lure the dog (only at first, of course).

This new video should be ready to be shipped next week.

I'd recommend it highly http://leerburg.com/219.htm

I would not feed the dog immediately following marker training.

If the dog knows he'll be fed soon, there's no impetus to work for food.

Wait an hour or more after training to feed, until you are getting consistent effort from the dog.

Edited by (11/01/2008 09:44 AM)
Edit reason: To the OP, not Cindy.

Over the weekend, I've took everyone's advice and applied.

And I think I've got some great results! I'm really new to the marker training, and am pretty excited about actually seeing some progress.

Boss, is consistently looking to me for treats when I say "yes". He wasn't that food motivated, so I took Connie's idea of using a mixed treat bag and that worked fantastically. I think he was excited about not knowing what he was going to get next!

I have also retrained the sit, down, and look. I had plently of time this weekend, the weather was great, and we were able to several quick sessions.

As Steve suggested I did some work while Boss was in real high drive, and it actually worked pretty well. He calmed down after a bit, and everything went real smoothly.

The only trouble we had was he seemed like he wanted to swallow my hand a few times when getting the treat. He'd be real nice and easy, and then every now and then I'd have to check and see if all my fingers were there! So I tried mixing it up and throwing the treats into his mouth sometimes, and that worked pretty well. Any other suggestions on how to curb this before it becomes a problem?

 Quote: MeganMcCallister

Yes I did start with a hungry dog, I fasted him for two days because he isn't food motivated at all.

Perhaps it is why the dog was so tired. I am all for fasting days and I rarely ever give free food for my dog (lately we do marker training sessions for all her ration, when we were preparing for an exam she got her food only in obedience and on the track). But I know when I haven´t eaten, I don´t have the energy to do much (a small snack before the morning jog gave me an extra 5km) and perhaps this could be the case for dogs as well. I personally conserve energy before training but I have a pretty mild dog.

I never thought of that Jaana, that's a great point!

 Quote: meganmccallister

... The only trouble we had was he seemed like he wanted to swallow my hand a few times when getting the treat. He'd be real nice and easy, and then every now and then I'd have to check and see if all my fingers were there! So I tried mixing it up and throwing the treats into his mouth sometimes, and that worked pretty well. Any other suggestions on how to curb this before it becomes a problem?

Well, I have one who did that, and I'm not sure if what I did (separate "easy" command) was perfect.

I'd like others' input too.

I have one that tries to remove my fingers too.

I use a flat palm, like feeding a horse an apple.

I hold the food between my thumb and middle finger without bending my fingers (kind of like a youngster showing you what 4 is) and then when I mark "YES" I turn my hand over so my palm is facing the dog and he comes in and takes the treat without snapping at my curled up fingers...when he comes in to take it I say "easy" and he gets an extra piece for taking it nicely.

It is tough to type out that explanation...geesh so I hope that makes sense.

Have to say that over the weekend I did some marker training for his "platz" command and by the end of the last session I am getting this big, exuberant rear up and then instant platz. It is great to see the enthusiasm and the willingness. Not to mention the happy goofy look on his face when he gets his reward.

I'm not real for sure on how to teach the "easy" command without my fingers getting maimed.

The only way I can figure to teach it is to offer the treat, mark when he takes it easy, and then give it to him. Then put in the easy command a little bit later. And to not give him the treat until he is being easy. But then I think he is going to try harder to get the treat which equals him being frustrated and biting harder!

That leaves my fingers suspectible to getting knawed on until he figures it out!