Does anyone clicker-train?

When I first got Sashka and she was extremely impossible, I was looking for anything and everything to train her. I ended up getting Karen Pryor's clicker-training book and it really taught her some great behaviours.

But the results are nothing short of spectacular with a puppy!

Last week I taught Ruby to pay attention to her name and look in my eyes in about five minutes - no matter what she was doing. Now, without any reinforcement at all, whenever I say her name, she stops whatever she is doing and looks at me.

So tonight I tried `sit'. Amazing. The whole idea is to wait until they offer you a behaviour, and then reward it. When she gets bored (ie if you ignore her) she sits. So I started rewarding that and, once again, after about six minutes I was not using the clicker at all, but just saying `Ruby (gets the attention) sit'. EVERY TIME. Unbelievable. I cannot believe something can work so fast so amazingly. So I just got her to sit for her dinner, I'm going to leave it an hour or so and see how she goes again.

It works amazingly well, on cats, too. I just can't recommend it highly enough. And the best thing is it's simple, fun and you feel a real bond with your cat/dog during and after the learning process (not to mention filled with parental pride!! )

I have clicker trained two of my cats to shake. All four will come when called.

I wish I had more time at the moment to work with them.

But you are right, it's pretty easy and amazing!

Bobbie

Ok, not to sound stupid here...but I've never heard of a clicker before. What is it, and where would I find one? Sounds very interesting and I would love to try it! Thanks!

A clicker is a little device with a button that makes a clicking sound when you press it. You click the device right before giving your pet a treat, and they very quickly learn to associated the click, with the treat, with the behaviour they have just displayed. It is a sound they wouldn't normally hear so it grabs their attention.

For example, when I taught Ruby to sit, I started by holding the clicker in one hand and a treat in the other. I stood completely still, and completely ignored her. When she stopped trying to get my attention and got bored, she sat down. The second she did, I clicked, and gave her a treat. Then I repeated the process. She soon realised that every time she sat down she heard the click and then got a treat. Pretty soon she was deliberately sitting to see what I would do. When this happened I started saying `sit' before I clicked and treated. After about six or seven minutes I took her to a different room and did it again in a different environment until she was really onto it.

Then I took her out the back, stopped using the clicker and just used the voice command and the treat. Then after a while I stopped the treat, and used verbal and physical praise instead. All up it took about 8-10 minutes and she has now mastered a learned behaviour and command forever. I went out this morning and after a whole night alone, as soon as I said, `Ruby, sit' she sat. It was awesome!!

Go to www.clickertraining.com for more info - it's great!

I clicker trained my arabian horse and it was amazing. They use cliker training on circus animals as well. It's the bridge signal that makes the training work so well.

I am still just stunned that it has been so easy - it's almost like there MUST be a catch in it somewhere.

And the bond I felt afterwards with Ruby was beautiful. I really felt so proud of her and myself, and I could tell she was very mentally stimulated as well.

Would you say that Ruby is a cat that responds to loud noises? Chester is a very intelligent and very curious cat who just doesn't listen to clapping, yelling, stomping or any other loud noises we can come up with. He even plain out ignores the can and coins trick! Don't worry, he can hear very well...comes running the minute a treat bag is even looked at. Somehow I don't think a little click would phase him.

Thanks for the info! I cant wait to try it!

Originally Posted by Sylorna

Would you say that Ruby is a cat that responds to loud noises? Chester is a very intelligent and very curious cat who just doesn't listen to clapping, yelling, stomping or any other loud noises we can come up with. He even plain out ignores the can and coins trick! Don't worry, he can hear very well...comes running the minute a treat bag is even looked at. Somehow I don't think a little click would phase him.

Click to expand...

Yup! Except that Ruby is a puppy...lol

The click I think is just a noise that is not in their normal vocabulary of sounds that they would normally hear - and you're right, they don't respond to it if it's a sound made by itself. But if, every time, that sound is associated with a reward, then they do start to pay attention to it and associate it with what they're doing and the reward they're getting. It doesn't have to be a click, it can be any consistent noise that is associated with a reward and a behaviour - it's the bridge of the behaviour/sound/reward that makes it so effective.

As you say - Chester responds to the sound of the treat bag and that isn't a very loud noise - it's what it is associated with that makes it so effective.

Honestly - I was just dumbfounded at how amazingly well it works - I still can't quite believe it either!!

I used clicker traning on my dog when he was 8 weeks old and all the professional trainers said you can't train until 6 months.

I had the same experiences as you, it is so easy to do and you end up with a perfectly trained dog. And think of the money you saved by not needing puppy classes.