Fearful of the Clicker - Now what?

I trained at least four dogs without doing any clicker training at all. Three of them got CD's, two got CDX's, and they all were therapy dogs and CGC's. So I had no trouble training before clicker training became popular. I tried it with Bela because I thought it would be lower stress on her. Boy, was I wrong! Time hasn't cured her of this, and I'm not sure it ever will, but ya gotta be flexible, like my old trainer used to say.

Bela is scared of many noises - she was 5 when she was rescued from a puppy mill, so no telling what she associates the noises with. I think with most things it's just a superficial fear, as in things she's never heard or experienced before. You have to remember with these rescues that they have no idea how to live indoors (or outdoors without confinement, for that matter).

Here are a few things that frighten Bela:
  • The sound of silverware on glass or crockery
  • Thunder (but not very badly now at all)
  • Men
  • Loud voices
  • Tall people
  • Vaulted ceilings (as in my living room - maybe it echoes?)
  • Strangers (understandable)
  • Anything loud - trucks, and construction equipment

She did have a lot more, but has successfully become immune to them. I always give her verbal cues when she looks uncertain - like "It's OK. Let's go." in a certain tone of voice. She now visibly relaxes when I say that.

But I do wish I could try out the clicker method. In theory it should work well with any noise.
 
Since the clicker is only used to give a faster response from you then anything you do or say is just a tad slower in coming - shouldn't make a difference. I agree that all common noises should be introduced to these rescue dogs as long as it is done slowly and methodically. I am a true believer in not pushing a dog that has suffered trauma past it's threshold unless absolutely necessary - ie a trip to the vet. So for a dog that is afraid of the noise a clicker makes I might do a double tap with my finger nails on the counter each time I get a cookie. If the dog runs away from that then I will click with one of my finger nails against the other. Once I find what the dog can handle then I will keep it there for at least a week and then go up a level for the same behaviour. It might take me a month or two to get the dog to where it is able to handle the clicker or a voice click but it learns two things. One is that the strange noise isn't so scarey and the other reinforces that I won't put him/her in harms way. Each time the dog learns to make peace with a scarey thing, it makes it easier and faster for the next new noise. When Tinsel gets scared I ask for a behaviour that he is confident doing. For example, sometimes he is worried about going out the patio door and runs to the family room waiting to be picked up. He's still not sure that isn't what he is suppose to do. So, I go to the family room where he is laying on his bed and stroke his head once with the "your beautiful stroke" then turn and say "Let's Go". He then happily follows me to the patio door with lots of gentle praise for him and he is able to walk out the door. It's slow but it helps him to find his courage.
 
My friend is giving up on regular clickers. Her dog is deathly afraid of it and shuts down. Poor thing. I told her to try the pen, if that doesnt' work, just use a verbal marker. It may not be as precise, but it's better than nothing and the concept is still there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top