Hello all.

I have several of Ed's videos, which prior to that I was using the old school training method (pull up on leash, push down on butt, then treat).

I have recently acquired an actual clicker. I wish to use it to train my dogs some tricks, hopefully progress to loose leash walking and possibly (maybe a long shot for me) motivational counter conditioning for bad manners like aggressive barking. (I know it *can* be done but the question is whether *I* can be trained to do this).

My first few clicker sessions with my dogs have shown me that I need a lot more work before I have a prayer of teaching the dogs to do anything other than become frustrated (two are afraid of the click sound, which is totally counterproductive, and the other two just jump up out of confusion to try and get the treats).

I am a complete beginner. My end goal is to have a happy, attentive, motivated partner (2 of my dogs need new homes, so they need manners, and the other 2 I hope to compete in agility and obedience) and above all have it be FUN for both human and dog.

Now on to my question. What books or videos would be good to show me exactly how to get started? Or should I join a class and if so, what should I look for in the class (i.e. a lot of clicker trainers insist on GentleLeaders which I am not comfortable with). Thanks!

http://leerburg.com/markers.htm

http://leerburg.com/979.htm

If your dogs are afraid of the clicker try putting it in your pocket to muffle the click at first OR use a word instead.

we use the word YES, but you can use any word you like as long as it's always the same. just substitute your word for the click.

Hi Cindy, thanks for the reply.

The reason I want to use a clicker rather than a word is because I'm not consistent enough (tone, volume, etc) and as a beginner, I want to be as clear as possible for the dog. When I get more experience at training I will probably start using a word.

I use the word "yes, goooood dog" said calmly and slowly, to mark a behaviour that I do not want the dog to stop doing and run over for a treat. Such as laying quietly on the floor while I am making dinner or chewing a bone instead of a couch.

I do use marker words in training ("good") as shown on the basic obedience DVD. However by clicker training I guess I also meant that I want to learn shaping and targetting, not just marking. If that makes sense...

That book looks great and I will be adding it to my next LB order. Any other tips or suggestions for the absolute beginner would be great.

Hey Angela,
When you are conditioning your dogs to the clicker are you making it seem like a formal obedience session? I assume you are still working on loading the click, right? I have done very little clicker training, but I have worked with one dog who was afraid of the clicker. Actually it wasn't really the noise he was afraid of, it was the entire "training situation". He had been compulsion trained previously.

The way I got around his fear was to just carry the clicker around with me and have the treats close at hand. During the course of the day I would just click at random times and then give him a treat. This avoided the formal training feel and allowed him to relax.

It also might help desensitize your other dogs and help them calm down if you either aren't carrying treats continuously or just have them so long that they realize just because you have them it doesn't mean you are handing them out.

Thanks for the tips Kristin.

So far I have only been doing actual "training" if you can call it that with the clicker with one of my dogs. 12 months old. he loves it.

The two that are afraid of the clicker I didn't train at all. I simply showed them the treat and when they came over to me I clicked and then offered them the treat. They shied away, startled. I then called them back and gave the treat. Then I let them sniff the clicker. I didn't ask them to do any obedience. It was just click , treat, click, treat. I tried to act like it was FUN! But they shied/jumped on the clicks. So I put the clicker away for those two until I can learn more on how to use it.

Hi Angela,

What kind of clicker do you have? The square kind with the metal bar that you press, or the oval kind with a button sticking out the top of it? The second kind, if you don't have that, is much quieter. I've seen them on the upper right hand screen on this site, so I know they carry them here.

I like Cindy's suggestion of putting it in your pocket to muffle it. Perhaps if you get the quiet/softer sounding one, and maybe try muffling it at first, that may help. When they're used to that, you can move it out of your pocket.

Also, for loading the clicker, you can always just toss a bunch of treats on the floor, and click each time the pup eats one. I'd use something really high value<g>.

leih

I like leih's suggestions.

Yes my situation was probably a bit different. I think I was initially taking him into another room away from the other dogs and that was putting him on edge (no he isn't overly attached to the other dogs, but that was what I had always done before when I was training him). I was also trying to act peppy (maybe I'm just scary that way, lol) and he construed it as "training" even though I wasn't asking him to do anything except eat the treat. He just shut down.

I wouldn't call attention to the clicker or treats at all, especially if they are spooking or bouncing off the walls. Try clicking while they aren't really paying close attention.