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QUOTE
Clicker training
The click is a positive rein forcer: a signal that says whatever you are doing right now is good and you will get a reward for it.
Why do you use the clicker? It's sometimes hard to give a reward to the dog at the moment the dog is doing a certain exercise correctly. Especially when you have to tell your dog in the middle of the exercise that this is just what you wanted, you will probably get the dog out of the position you wanted to reward and are actually rewarding the dog for something else than the desired position or move. Sometimes it's impossible to give the reward during the exercise. For instance when you are doing agility, you would like to reward the dog during the jump, but it's not easy for the dog to catch his reward (ball/food) and to jump at the same time. If you click during the jump, you can tell your dog easily it's perfect at the correct moment and give the reward afterwards.
The click bridges the time between the right behaviour and the reward. This way, you do not disturb the behaviour but only reinforce the right behaviour.
How to get started:
Teach the dog that click means food
There are three basic ways to use the clicker: capturing, luring and shaping
Capturing: if your dog does a certain exercise naturally and you capture it with a click. At the moment the dog shows this behaviour you click and reward.
Luring: you lure the dog in a certain position and click for it.
Shaping: you will try to create a certain exercise by clicking the first intention of this exercise. Like teaching your dog to turn: first you click for turning the head and then you want it to turn his shoulders as well and later you can form it into walking in a small circle)
Add the command
Replace click by clicker word
Give the command and wait for the response. If the dogs responds to the command in the correct way you can click and reward.
Chaining of small exercises into a big one
Interval reward and delayed reward
Train at different places: living room, garden, parking place, park, shopping centre
No reward markers
The word "wrong"
With this word you will tell the dog that whatever he is doing won't give him a reward.
Keep going markers
"nice try"
With this word you tell the dog that he is doing it alright but not good enough and has to try harder.
In perfectioning the exercises it's very important to use the no reward marker and keep going marker in a proper way in order to keep the dog motivated and not to praise it for something that is not really good. In general you will use a keep going marker more frequently in a beginner dog or a insecure dog. And the no reward marker will be used more with an advanced dog and a secure dog. A no reward marker will encourage your dog to think about the goal of the exercise. But remember: EVERY dog is an individual and will respond differently to the training, so it's very important to understand your dog and to be able to adjust your training to the individual dog.
Motivation:
Use different types of reward (food, ball, tuggy toy)
Lots of food circuits bonus
Built on slowly in difficulty and maybe it's sometimes better to do a step back than go forwards too fast
Time out
How to use the clicker:
First you use the click for everything, then start shaping and chaining. Then start using the clicker word in stead of the clicker, then start to use a delayed reward
How dogs may respond to clicker training:
Passive (motivation problem, try use more valuable rewards)
Bark-bite (frustration, not being able to understand what you want, steps too big, training too long)
Will only respond by doing one exercise, no matter what you ask of them (the exercise is self rewarding, try to make sure they can't finish the exercise)
Offer all kinds of behaviour except the right one (be patient and only reward the things you've asked for)
Become slow in executing the exercises (try giving more valuable rewards)
Dog responds but only with the help of a hand signal (try to make the hand signals smaller and smaller, until you are able to leave the out)
Problems owner/handler:
Not being able to time (practice without dog)
Inconsequent
Keeps helping the dog too much and won't let it think for itself
Too big steps (try to make a training plan)
Too less motivation towards the dog (the dog will only like it if it's nice, so keep the training interesting)
The click is a positive rein forcer: a signal that says whatever you are doing right now is good and you will get a reward for it.
Why do you use the clicker? It's sometimes hard to give a reward to the dog at the moment the dog is doing a certain exercise correctly. Especially when you have to tell your dog in the middle of the exercise that this is just what you wanted, you will probably get the dog out of the position you wanted to reward and are actually rewarding the dog for something else than the desired position or move. Sometimes it's impossible to give the reward during the exercise. For instance when you are doing agility, you would like to reward the dog during the jump, but it's not easy for the dog to catch his reward (ball/food) and to jump at the same time. If you click during the jump, you can tell your dog easily it's perfect at the correct moment and give the reward afterwards.
The click bridges the time between the right behaviour and the reward. This way, you do not disturb the behaviour but only reinforce the right behaviour.
How to get started:
Teach the dog that click means food
There are three basic ways to use the clicker: capturing, luring and shaping
Capturing: if your dog does a certain exercise naturally and you capture it with a click. At the moment the dog shows this behaviour you click and reward.
Luring: you lure the dog in a certain position and click for it.
Shaping: you will try to create a certain exercise by clicking the first intention of this exercise. Like teaching your dog to turn: first you click for turning the head and then you want it to turn his shoulders as well and later you can form it into walking in a small circle)
Add the command
Replace click by clicker word
Give the command and wait for the response. If the dogs responds to the command in the correct way you can click and reward.
Chaining of small exercises into a big one
Interval reward and delayed reward
Train at different places: living room, garden, parking place, park, shopping centre
No reward markers
The word "wrong"
With this word you will tell the dog that whatever he is doing won't give him a reward.
Keep going markers
"nice try"
With this word you tell the dog that he is doing it alright but not good enough and has to try harder.
In perfectioning the exercises it's very important to use the no reward marker and keep going marker in a proper way in order to keep the dog motivated and not to praise it for something that is not really good. In general you will use a keep going marker more frequently in a beginner dog or a insecure dog. And the no reward marker will be used more with an advanced dog and a secure dog. A no reward marker will encourage your dog to think about the goal of the exercise. But remember: EVERY dog is an individual and will respond differently to the training, so it's very important to understand your dog and to be able to adjust your training to the individual dog.
Motivation:
Use different types of reward (food, ball, tuggy toy)
Lots of food circuits bonus
Built on slowly in difficulty and maybe it's sometimes better to do a step back than go forwards too fast
Time out
How to use the clicker:
First you use the click for everything, then start shaping and chaining. Then start using the clicker word in stead of the clicker, then start to use a delayed reward
How dogs may respond to clicker training:
Passive (motivation problem, try use more valuable rewards)
Bark-bite (frustration, not being able to understand what you want, steps too big, training too long)
Will only respond by doing one exercise, no matter what you ask of them (the exercise is self rewarding, try to make sure they can't finish the exercise)
Offer all kinds of behaviour except the right one (be patient and only reward the things you've asked for)
Become slow in executing the exercises (try giving more valuable rewards)
Dog responds but only with the help of a hand signal (try to make the hand signals smaller and smaller, until you are able to leave the out)
Problems owner/handler:
Not being able to time (practice without dog)
Inconsequent
Keeps helping the dog too much and won't let it think for itself
Too big steps (try to make a training plan)
Too less motivation towards the dog (the dog will only like it if it's nice, so keep the training interesting)
