I am very much looking forward to your updates on this, Katie!

I love the Premier Clik Stik. (Google it, I feel funny posting a link to it here when it's not a Leerburg product.)

Ripley learned heel position with this device, and then teaching him the rally pivots using this was easy. One of those things worth every penny spent.

Edited by Meredith Hamilton (12/28/2009 09:52 AM)
Edit reason: grammar!

If I'm thinking of the right product, I think Leerburg does sell the click stik: http://leerburg.com/1148.htm

 Quote: Jasmine Dillon

If I'm thinking of the right product, I think Leerburg does sell the click stik: http://leerburg.com/1148.htm

Wow, Jasmine, that telescoping stick is great! I can't believe I had never noticed it.

That's it!

Thanks, Jasmine.

I have a click stick. It is a great idea, I was not so happy with the click stick compared to the regular dowel for a couple reasons and as such it was retired to the expanding box of misc dog related junk which will one day get me committed to a home of some kind.

The main couple problem i had with it was I was unimpressed with the ability of the clicker to click reliably with the weird plastic button. Maybe I got a defective one but I noticed it making different inconsistent noises and me having to search with my thumb for a pressure spot to get a click. A clicker shouldn't be a complicated device that requires more than .5 of a second to get a good click out of. I actually ended up taping a normal clicker to mine until I decided the thing just wasn't working out.

Second is that the ball is green. Not a problem for people but when I want my dog looking at a target I want them looking at a target that will stand out to them as opposed to a grey blob. I guess you could get some white paint and change that but it just leaves me with the idea of this is a device designed for people to look at as opposed to dogs.

Finally, my puppies have those moments when they decide something on an end of a stick is in fact possessed by the devil. The reason I like ball on a stick is that I can get them interested in the beginning with a ball in my hand and then take the same 10 cent ball and just shove it onto the end of a 50 cent dowel. If this step is too big for my pup I can just grab another foam ball out of my bag of foam balls (they come in 20 packs) and work on step 1 some more.

I am starting scent work too with two of my older dogs. One nice thing about the foam is that you can get them to hold a scent really well and it's no big loss if you destroy one in the process of working.

I use an old broken off TV antenna with a yellow foam ball on the end. (Broken-off car antennas work well too). They are durable, telescoping, and if you are me and tend to break things a lot, free! The soft foam ball is actually an old cat toy, and I don't have to worry about accidentally poking my dog in the face with something hard. (did I mention I'm a klutz?)

Melissa had a good point about using something in a colour the dog can see. Dogs can see yellow, blue, and purple, but not green or red. Never thought of that. Great advice!

Thanks everyone! I had no idea of what colors dogs could see, so that's good to know. We haven't started yet (my fault, I've been overwhelmed with many things) but we will soon. I will definitely keep his progress posted. We went on a hike Sunday (first one in a while) and he walked on the leash remarkably well, but there are certain spots I would really appreciate having a heel command (other dogs being crazy, mountain bikers flying by, I think he'd enjoy a heel more than a sit) so it's first on my To Do list! Probably will start tomorrow. I'm so excited! Thanks again everyone.

Hi Angela;
I thought the University of CO, determined that dogs can see color, including all colors but the have less rods in their eyes (as in rods and cones)but they do have a hard time distinguishing
hues, so pastel pink and green or primary red and green look very similiar..........
Getting old and the memory is fading, lololo and also the lack of sleep.....
Roni

Roni, I think you meant to say that dogs have more rods than we have. Rods are useful for seeing in low light and for detecting movement, which is why most predatory animals have more of them. They are not the best for seeing colours.

Most dogs cannot find a bright orange or red ball in the grass using their eyesight, even if the grass is very short. My dogs cannot see their ultra balls (orange) but CAN see their fantastic balls (blue, purple or yellow).

Sorry for the hijack!!!!

I don't believe that the colour of the target would matter that much for heeling, as it will be held near the dog's head.

I use a target stick for some things (but not for heeling) and I would be interested to hear how others have been able to phase it out. My dogs seem to get confused when I try to remove the target.