Clicker Training?

[snkoyle15]

I know there are a bunch of different threads that touch on this subject, but I was wondering if I could get it all in one spot.
I'm kind of interested in trying this with Gizmo but have some questions about it.
1. Are there advantages to clicker training?
2. Does it really work better then treats alone, and why?
3. How do YOU train with a clicker? different methods? How do you go about starting with it? Do you use treats along with the clicker? etc...
4. Is it worth doing?
5. What tricks/commands do you teach and how? - there are a lot of things i want to teach him, but i just dont know how to go about doing it.
Any tips or other advice would be muchly appreciated.

 

[Silaria]

1. Are there advantages to clicker training?
I love clicker training and I find Edan picks things so much faster when I use it. I've actually seen this. There have been some agility skills I was trying to teach him and started with a verbal "yes" and he wasn't quite putting together the exact behavior I wanted. I pulled out the clicker and, because the click is a very distinct sound that marks a very distinct action, by the end of the right we went from 50% success to about 80% success.

2. Does it really work better then treats alone, and why?
The clicker is a very distinct sound that marks the specific behavior you want AS SOON AS it happens. The treat reinforces the click because they are rewarded for the correct behavior.

3. How do YOU train with a clicker? different methods? How do you go about starting with it? Do you use treats along with the clicker? etc...
I primarily do behavior shaping with the clicker. Basically I ask for a behavior then wait him out until he gives me what I want. I've been using this technique to teach him Treibball and its working very well.

I started with sending him out to a mat away from him. Originally he just had to touch the mat to get a click/treat. After he started offering the behavior of going to mat, I added another layer of difficulty - he had to be standing 100% on the mat. I sent him out and just waited for him to move over a few steps. It took about 5 minutes because Edan's use to problem solving. The next step was to wait for him to give me a "down" on the mat. This one I had to give him the command "down" a few times to teach him what I wanted but after the 3rd time, I just waited him out.

We progressed from touch the mat to down on the mat within 2 days training for 10 minutes.

Now, there are times I just use the click/treat to just simply mark a behavior; for example, hitting a contact correctly on an obstacle. Its a very clear indicator of how he performed.

4. Is it worth doing?
In my opinion - Yes!

5. What tricks/commands do you teach and how? - there are a lot of things i want to teach him, but i just dont know how to go about doing it.
You can teach ANYTHING with a clicker. There really isn't one specific way to teach a command. One way is to teach the command in small increments; even a simple command like "sit".

You give the command and/or hand signal and, as the dog's bum hits the ground, immediately click/treat. If they are struggling, break it into smaller parts. As the dog starts to move to a sit position, click/treat for the start of the moment. Do this a few times then 'ask' for a little more from the behavior - get closer to a sit or in a sit.

Believe me, if you can think of a trick, you can train it with a clicker.

Any tips or other advice would be muchly appreciated.
There are many videos on YouTube about how to clicker train. There is also the clickertraining.com web site.

Try it! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[SheltieChe]

I know there are a bunch of different threads that touch on this subject, but I was wondering if I could get it all in one spot.
I'm kind of interested in trying this with Gizmo but have some questions about it.
1. Are there advantages to clicker training?
2. Does it really work better then treats alone, and why?
3. How do YOU train with a clicker? different methods? How do you go about starting with it? Do you use treats along with the clicker? etc...
4. Is it worth doing?
5. What tricks/commands do you teach and how? - there are a lot of things i want to teach him, but i just dont know how to go about doing it.
Any tips or other advice would be muchly appreciated.

1. yes, you can isolate precise behavior you want
2. yes, for same reason. It takes time to get your treat out and give at right moment so you need a marker to specify "I want THAT"
3. I use clicker not that often, mostly with new tricks or some behavior that is not too complex and I need specific skills. I do a bit of shaping, not to much of free shaping but my dogs will offer various behaviors... I just don't think it is good when they so frantic to offer it you can not see whats what...
So I would rather set up environment to achieve my ends faster than just do linear free shaping. It means if I want to teach to pick up something I might play tugging with the toy and then ask to give into my hand, which dog already was kinda doing by tugging/ releasing. This way I can give lots of reinforcement in short period of time as oppose to sitting down and waiting until my dog will notice something and possibly picks it up on his own...
4. worth to me but again only for specific things. I am not clicker nut.
5. Check out kikopup channel on youtube she is pretty good with tricks and explanations. Once you know what you like Silvia Trkman is a master with tricks and has terrific on line classes as well as DVD's to buy, you can also rent them from Bowwowflix

 

[Goggle]

1. Are there advantages to clicker training?
Yes! It may take longer at first but once your dog starts to experiment and try new things it will become much quicker to trsin. Also, a big plus is that it helps to build confidence in shy dogs.
2. Does it really work better then treats alone, and why?
The whole premise behind clicker training is that the click is a marker that tells your dog "Yes that is right" - the click is an extra peice of information for your dog to put the puzzle together. Treats reinforce a desired behaviour but hey cannot give as precise information as a click can
3. How do YOU train with a clicker? different methods? How do you go about starting with it? Do you use treats along with the clicker? etc...
First, the clicker is a marker that gives information to the dog and the treat reinforces the behaviour. A click should always be followed immediately by a treat. After a while the click will become a reinforcer in itself but should still always be used in conjunction with a treat (food or toy). I try to use clicker training in it's "pure form" so absolutely no luring. I like to see the dog experimenting to find the right answer. I do use a combination of capturing and shaping depending on what I am trying to train. However I do always try to set up the situation so that my dog will have lots of opportunity to be successful, for example if I was training a back up I might train in a narrow space so he only has two options - move forwards or backwards.
4. Is it worth doing?
Definately....if you want a dog that is able to think for himself and really understand the desired bahaviour then it is a great method.
5. What tricks/commands do you teach and how? - there are a lot of things i want to teach him, but i just dont know how to go about doing it.
You can teach anything you want! Eiether capture and mark a behaviour that your dog already does or for more complicated behaviours the trick is to break the behaviour down into smaller steps and work in succession until you build up to the full behaviour. If there is something specific you had in mind maybe post it one here and Im sure everyone could give you suggestions on how to break it down.
Any tips or other advice would be muchly appreciated.

 

[romeosangiovese]

First off, we LOVE clicker training, so this is a totally unbiased view!

1. Are there advantages to clicker training?
Yes, dogs who become clicker savvy (those who train with clickers alot) learn new things very fast! And it does help with a dog's confidence. And you can teach just about anything that a dog can physically do.

2. Does it really work better then treats alone, and why?
A clicker gives a clear consistent signal that marks the behaviour you want. Your "Yes!" or "good!" or other verbal marker will change based on the tone of your voice - it's never really the same. Because the click is always consistent, dogs pick up what you want faster. It's also short and punchy, which makes the point you mark, very precise. Great for shaping. I also find that my hand eye coordination is better than my mouth eye coordination! Must be all those video games!

3. How do YOU train with a clicker? different methods? How do you go about starting with it? Do you use treats along with the clicker? etc...
There are 3 different methods to train with a clicker - shaping, luring and capturing.

Shaping is where you click and reward small movements towards the larger behaviour you're looking for. For example, if you want a dog to go lie down on a mat, you'd click if the dog looks at the mat, then if it takes a step towards it, when it sits, and finally when it lies down, and all the little behaviours between that go towards the final act of going to and lying down on the mat.

Luring is where you hold a treat and manipulate the dog around when they follow the treat in your hand.

Capturing is when your dog happens to be doing something you want to put on cue, and you click it. For example, if you dog yawns, and you'd love to put yawning on cue, you'd carry your clicker and treats around and wait for your dog to decide to yawn, and you'd click it and reward the dog.

I do mostly shaping and luring. I have only captured behaviours a handful of times!

I do use treats, small soft ones that are easily swallowed and don't need much chewing motion so that the training can move quickly.

I started off with the book "Clicking with your Dog". It showed me how I could train while watching tv, in the loo (I haven't!), doing other things, so easily! It's a great starter book. Then I moved on to 101 Dog Tricks which has a ton of stuff that you could teach your dog!

Incidentally there are a few different types of clickers around. I started off with a fairly loud one, but have moved on to a softer one. Something to consider depending on how shy your dog is.

Also, there are a couple of concepts that you'll need to learn and do to ensure that the dog will do the behaviour without food (coz that's the main problem people seem to have with clicker training with food). One is to fade food and the clicker, and the other is to reward inconsistently once the behaviour has been learnt.

4. Is it worth doing?
Yes, yes and YES! Other than being a great training tool, I found that clicker training made me realize that I could train so many things with my dog. I don't know what it is, and it sounds kinda silly, but had I not done clicker training, I think I would have just trained normal things like obedience stuff and shake paws. But now, Romeo can take tissue when I sneeze and Juliet can crawl under Romeo's belly when I tell her to!

5. What tricks/commands do you teach and how? - there are a lot of things i want to teach him, but i just dont know how to go about doing it.
Any tips or other advice would be muchly appreciated.
Lots of stuff on youtube - we love kikopup. She's an inspiration!! Kyra Sundance (and her 101 dog tricks book) is also great.

You really can teach just about anything with a clicker. From useless but entertaining tricks to show off to your friends, to more helpful things, like putting toys away and closing doors, to agility and other dog sports. Limited by your imagination!