Clicker Training

Sophiedoodle

Sophiedoodle

Location
Fife, Scotland
Hi everyone!
So I am thinking of trying out clicker training for the puppies I have to train at work (I have always never really been keen on using a clicker so mum almost had a heart attack when I told her I wanted to try it 🤣 @Jacqui-S ).
I wanted to ask how to actually go about doing this - where, when and how to do it.
Any advice will be appreciated! It would just be for simple things such as getting the puppy’s attention, and doing sit, down, stays 😊 x
 
Joy

Joy

Location
East Sussex
Good for you!
The clicker is a way of 'marking' the behaviour you want - a way of saying 'yes, that's it' which is a bit more accurate tham most of us can be when speaking. The click is always followed by a treat (small and easy to swallow). Make sure you click and then treat, so the puppy learns the click means a treat is coming.

The clicker isn't like a whistle - it's not a signal to your dog to do something or a way of getting their attention - so the order is behaviour, click, treat. If you want to use a clicker to train 'watch me' get the puppy's attention by making a chirping or kissing noise and when they look at you click and treat. You can either feed the treat from your hand or toss it on the floor. Repeat about 10 times and then give the pup a short break.

I see your mum has given you a book from the Clicker Queen, but I'll post this now I've written it.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Ah, well done! I have no time to write any advice right now, but just to say, it’s a huge subject, can be quite daunting but it’s an amazing thing! I’ve “always” used the clicker but am only just realising more and more what an amazing tool it is. Start small, work towards genius :D
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Your first task is to work on your timing. You need to do this without a dog in the room. You have a lovely mum, and I'm sure she won't mind helping out ( :D ) so you can work with her. Ask her to do something simple, like touch the desk with one finger. Your job is to click at the precise moment the finger touches the desk. Once you have clicked, get a treat out of a pouch and put it on the desk. The movement of your hand to your pouch must come AFTER the click - no overlap. Video is really helpful; it's a right pain in the bum to undo bad habits later, so get the dynamics engrained from an early stage. Click the precise thing you want, then and only then move your hand towards your cache of treats.
You can also practice this with a ball. Have your helper (@Jacqui-S ;) ) bounce a ball on the ground. Your job is to get the click in at the precise moment the ball hits the ground. You'll find that there is a bit of a delay between you pressing the button and the click actually sounding, so you have to anticipate that and start looking for the thing that comes just before the thing you want to click. It's harder than it sounds, so definitely worth putting the time in to practice :)
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Once you have timing, you need to "charge the clicker", which means basically just teaching the puppy that the click means a treat is coming. Count out ten treats, and click-treat, click-treat until the treats are gone. Remembering that the click happens and only then do you move your hand towards the treat (or to dispense it if it is already in your hand). I'll harp on about that because it's something I really struggle with getting right, and I so wish I had been clean from the outset!

Over the course of a day, you can repeat this process of click-treat with ten treats a few times, until you see a glimmer of understanding in your pup that the click means a treat is coming - depending on how you have been delivering the treat (on the floor, or to his mouth etc), you'll notice him look or move towards where he expects the treat to appear when he hears the click. This is the point when you know you're good to go.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
The next job - choose a task that is very easy to train and doesn't "matter". You will make mistakes, the dog will likely be a bit confused, and you don't want to damage important behaviours while you're learning. I would recommend a nose touch to your hand because it's really easy to teach.

There are different ways to teach it, but I just sit down on the floor with the pup and put my hand out to the side of his face. If you put it out in front, it can cause the puppy to back off, whereas if you put it to the side, you will find they turn towards it. Click as soon as the pup looks towards your hand, even if he's not making contact at this stage. Then deliver the treat on the floor. Position your hand again, click when he looks again, deliver the treat on the floor again. The position of where you feed helps you to set up "loops". That is, if you were to feed with him still looking at your hand, you would have to break that look off somehow to start again. What you want is a clean loop so that the end of the chain (behaviour > click > reinforcement) is in a position where the behaviour can (and is likely to) be immediately offered again. So feed on the floor so that the next move is the nose coming up towards your hand again. Hurrah! Loopy training! Do this for ten treats, then take a break and have a play. Training should be a predictor of playtime for young pups especially.

Note: you shouldn't be trying to encourage the puppy to touch your hand, either verbally or physically. Just set up your environment so it is the most likely thing that will happen. Don't say anything (you can give verbal praise alongside the treat, just don't say anything to try to get the puppy to do the behaviour).

When you start your next session, set it up the same and have a refresher. So maybe fifteen treats, five of which are to go over the behaviour you had from the previous session, and the next ten are to build on that. You can start clicking only when there is contact with your hand - but be led by the puppy. If he is finding it hard, make it easy for him again. You should be aiming for a clickable moment every few seconds; if you're getting pauses or other random behaviours, your puppy is telling you "I can't", and you need to make it easier again.

VIDEO, watch back and share for feedback :)
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Jacqui-S said:
@snowbunny thanks. Maybe.....
Can you remind me of what those clickers are, or where you get them, the ones you have on your finger?
Click to expand...
Oh, they stopped making them, gutted!

BUT! I have a different type now, which is very similar.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASCO-Premium-Clicker-Ergonomic-Training/dp/B07F34NTDY

Although these aren't available at the moment, either. Hopefully available elsewhere, they're so much easier than a standard box clicker that you have to hold.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Ugh, I actually tried to buy a load (ten! haha!) earlier, and it was declined by my credit card company as a potential fraudulent site. Poop. I'll have another look tomorrow. I love these clickers so much! :D
 
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