Am I smoking crack or did you change the link? The one I read wasn't the complete article.

I don't disagree that there's no such thing as a perfectly consistent sound...but I bet that's where/why (and the only reason) the clicker is "better." It's not so much the device as it is the consistency it provides (leaves no room for tonal difference/interpretation on the dog's part).

<sigh> My dogs will just have to settle for being 1/3 less efficient/slower at learning new commands, I guess. LOL!

Call me a slacker...or butterfingers. I think my dogs would laugh at me trying to incorporate a clicker.

You guys...the clicker becomes a part of your hand over time and usage<g>.

I only use the kind that have wrist bands so I don't have to hold them in my hand constantly.

There is just something about that click...with one of my cats that had only one very brief session with the clicker (charging and then doing a couple of things with it), several weeks later I got the clicker out to do some stuff with a dog, and accidently clicked it while getting my stuff together, and that cat came running!

It is just such a distinctive, singular sound for them.

Try it

leih

 Quote: Jenni Williams

Am I smoking crack or did you change the link? The one I read wasn't the complete article.

I did, yes. Almost immediately, though.

Sorry!

 Quote: leih merigian

... I only use the kind that have wrist bands so I don't have to hold them in my hand constantly.

I didn't even know about them!

I have one with a wrist band, and another with a lanyard through it. I also have one on a caribeener that I can clip on my jacket or overalls or whatever.

Most of the newer plastic ones have a plastic loop type thing on the non button end that you can thread with whatever you want.

well thanks for the input and responses!! i absolutely LOVE my i-click as opposed to the first one i bought that is loud, like a tack hammer on my ear drum. and its true what the leerburg website says, i put it on the ground and can click it with my foot. but anyway, i wanted to say was i have a hard time saying "YES" the same way consistently. so i decided for the sake of everyone to buy the clicker. it was like $2.50 but totally worth it. and we do have TONS of dog stuff, they have their own tote AND toy chest!

so i will try the kennel thing when someone is coming over. obviously not banish them to it, but kindly ask them to go to bed. should i start with putting them both in? and, if they are crazy when i let them out, put them back in, as in like "no you are not doing what i want". maybe make them earn their right to visit with our friends. i saw on an episode of "its me or the dog" where victoria stilwell actually bolted a short leash to the wall and made the dog stay there when a visitor came in a room. when the dog was bad, they would leave the room. the only thing about those shows it they are obviously edited to show a "miraculous" change in the dog.

it just sucks, everyone thinks their method is right, you know? and i do want to order the video, maybe my tax return will go to LB.com. haha

What behavior do you want at the door?

I would teach that behavior with markers and then get someone to come over to be the "guest" and help you practice it.

Meanwhile I would have them crated before I came back with guests or went downstairs to get guests.

Have you taught calm/quiet for coming out of the crate? That's a good thing to do without guests first. (I mean, always, like every time they come out of the crate.)

I think that the presence of guests will become less exciting after a few minutes. So I would wait that time for now before asking for calm/quiet to come out. That is, the guest comes in, the dogs are ignored in their crate, the dogs gradually become less excited, the dogs are asked for coming-out-of-crate behavior (whatever your command is).

Meanwhile, as mentioned, you can be working on the door behavior that you want, first with just your household and then with practice guests.

I am working on good behavior when guests come over as well. We are starting by working on having him go to his bed and stay there when told. Then the plan is to have a patient friend come in with him on his bed and if he gets up off the bed to have her go back out the door. Progress is slllooooowwww!
So for now we putting him in the bedroom with the gate up but the door open so he can see and hear, then letting him out on a leash once he has gained control of himself a bit. But we keep him on a leash and put him away if he can't calm down.

He just loves people and new people are just about the best thing ever.
We also unhooked the doorbell. our house is small enough that we can hear people knock from anywhere in the house, and the doorbell causes them all to go completely nuts and all control is lost from that point.

ok, so we will start working on calm/quiet before exiting the crate. then practice some sort of door behavior. i could go on for days about how bad the boxer is and how he is a bad influence on the lab, but what would the point be? im just going to stick to my guns and make some "house rules".
1. dogs calm/quiet before exiting crate. no exceptions. (ok well, except house on fire.)
2. dogs crate with visitors (until showing calm, etc.)
3. marker train every day.
4. no more run of the house.
and more, but thats all i can think of right now.

another question out of curiosity... where do you crate your dogs and are they near each other? and where do they sleep at night? our crates are in the hall and the dogs sleep in the bedroom on a cushy blanket on the floor or in the living room on the couch.

Our dogs sleep on our bedroom floor on beds, or in the living floor room on beds. Loki is allowed to sleep at the foot of the bed but he only does it from time to time.

We only have one crate and that is for Yote, the youngest, when we aren't home because he gets into stuff and is destructive. His crate is at the end of the hallway.

Ours have the run of the house when we are home and guests aren't over, but I use baby gates to keep them out of the kitchen, dining room and my son's room.