Paul Bright

The clicker is just a tool used to mark the desired behaviour you're wanting. At the end of the day, you'll still get great results using your voice or marker words like you've got with 'good' and 'yes', the clicker can help with timing it more precisly. Interesting what you've said about recognising their own clicker. If you look at 10 different sites/books, you'll get a bunch of different answers from them. Looks like it might not just be the clicker in and of itself, but the clicker and owner combined, creating a powerful training tool.

Well why don't we start with these questions. Why can't you? Sound good. Again I don't have all the answers, so anyone elses feedback would be great too. Use of Clicker vs. Your Voice...A few things I found was that a clicker is useful becuase it gives a distict sound. Orginally I thought if you were out with other who are using clicker training too, that your dog would get confused with all the different clickers. Turns out that your dog can tell the difference between your clicker, and the persons next to you because of their sensitive hearing. Using a clicker will also allow you to immediately reward your dog for good behavior. A click is instantaneous – faster than verbal praises or commands – allowing you to give rewards more accurately. You are more likely to miss the moment when your dog is doing exactly the right thing you are training him to do. And being able to pinpoint the exact behavior you want to reward would mean that your dog can understand and learn faster.

You mean instead of positive punishment I think, no offence. It is a nice gesture to offer to answer people's questions about clicker training. I think there is a question on clicker training in the training section at the moment, so you could post there perhaps. It would be interesting if you told us what you have trained your dog to do. Look i've used clicker training to teach my dog the basics like sit, stay, roll over, play dead etc... so nothing to fancy. And Im sure people in this community have done a lot more then that with their dogs then this using other methods. But thats what ive done. Im certainly no Karen Pryor, I wish I was. A little while back a friend of mine and I did a survey and we asked "What your biggest question about clicker training?". I got over 41 different questions (a few were doubled up), here -are some of them: -My question "Why can't you just say "yes" or "good"? -How do I do this without 3 hands? I need one hand for the treat, one for the clicker and one to hold the leash (well I guess I could drop the leash, but that is only if my dog is already trained.....) -How do you know when to stop using the clicker for a specific command? - How do I learn to use the clicker without confusing the dog, especially if I'm doing it wrong? Do I need to learn before I try it with my dogs? - How do I train my dog what the clicker means? It amazed me how many questions people had about clicker training. The goal for me was to work out the answers to these questions for people by using personal experience research and possilby interview a clicker training expert, and to create a course which addressed those questions. I ended up creating a small course through the research I did and trial and error to help people train their dog what the clicker means, as that question came up the most. My intention for creating this post was to try and help out and answer the best that I could the questions people had about clicker training. Again Im not Karen Pryor, so I was going to use personal experience and the research I've done to do my best and answer the questions. Im sure there would have been some I had no clue about, but Im sure there would be someone here that would know the answer. I aplogise for upsetting anyone. Thanks

My training background...Im not a professional trainer or anything like that. Im just regular person who has used clicker training to help train my dog. This is what I think clicker training is. A Method of training your dog that uses a "clicker" to mark desired behavior and then rewarding it. Mainly what I like about clicker training is that is uses postive reinforcment as opposed to negative reinforcement. Clicker training is just one of many tools that can be used to train a dog. It just happens to be the one that I like. Here's a question that was posted a few days ago about clicker training. http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=209579 While I do have something to try and help people with clicker training, it wasn't my intention to flog anything. So I aplogise for coming across like that.

Agree here... Karen Pryors Stuff is great. Basically to get started there are only 3 things you need. Firstly you need your dog, secondly a clicker, and lastly some treats. Clicker training works greats for all dogs, or all breeds or all ages, so this part should be handled easily. I can't remember if you have a clicker or not, but you can pick these up really cheaply. Less then $5. With the treats, just use anything your dog really loves. My golden retriever loves food, so for me food works great. After you have those 3 things, your next step is to charge the clicker as previously mentioned. There are a number of ways to do this. One way is to lay treats on the floor and as your dog eats a treat, press the clicker. Do this a few times and you'll dog will soon understand the the clicking sound = a reward. After that it is then a matter of breaking down the tricks/behaviour you are wanting, and as your dog does them, reward by using the clicker. Good luck, if you have any questions just let me know

Looking around on this forum and others, I've noticed that a number of people have different questions about clicker training. Questions like "How do I train what the clicker mean?" "How does clicker training work?" etc.... And I am wondering, what questions DO you have about clicker training? If you reply and post a question, I'll do my best to try and answer it for you

Yes, do your research first before picking a puppy school. The nearest might not always be the best. Ask about how big classes are. Your trainer may be the best but he teaches a really big class then he will not be as effective. Ask for recommendations if there are any near your area Good luck and have fun!

Leave her lots of toys as she seem bored and teething. She needs chew toys by her side. As she is probably still teething, I would suggest putting up things you don't want her chewing on like your shoes, etc.

Accidents do happen, even to adult well trained dogs. Hopefully that 24hrs. was just an accident. Keep at training your puppy and you will be able to completely potty train her soon.

Hi! How is the training going? Here is a short video I found that might help you out: http://www.ehow.com/video_4973108_teach-dog-fetch.html I hope it helps!!!

When starting training with a new command, I reward with treats, As the dog/puppy learns the command and later on masters it, I reward verbally or with a pat. I start out with treats as this easily and surely catches their attention.

Do post pictures of Katie As for training, you may want to try clicker training. It uses positive reinforcement to teach dogs and even puppies good behavior. You can then move on to teaching your dog basic tricks with this method. It is both fun and rewarding for dogs

You need to avoid heavy exercise (extended running off the lead) until the bones have reached some degree of maturity. To this end avoid unaccustomed running until about nine months of age. Regular lead exercise however is good for general fitness, happiness and socialization of your dog and should be encouraged (so long as she is fully vaccinated). Too much walking on hard surfaces may be detrimental to joint development and so try to have no more than half of the walk on hard surfaces. You may allow your puppy brief periods of freer exercise (five minutes or so, and this would form part of the training process) using a long lead initially to teach recall.

A neutral place would be somewhat brand new to both. You may also want to introduce a piece of cloth or towel with the new puppy's scent to the older dog before letting them meet. For the first few days after the initial meeting always supervise them when they are together. When you are absolutely sure that they go along perfectly fine, then you can leave them to themselves

Yes this very normal. Breeders do this to avoid diseases that puppies may easily catch as their immune systems are not strong yet. Outsiders often bring in diseases from other pets and the environment.

I know how you feel. It is frustrating to have a dog/puppy who can't seem to grasp where to correctly potty. But don't worry, with the right knowledge and patience, you and your puppy will work things out. Here are some links you may want to check out: http://www.perfectpaws.com/htra.html http://www.5min.com/Video/Toilet-Training-your-Dog-5769

These pictures are really adorable. I wish I could post a picture of my dog who loves to sleep with a pillow. She snores too and sometimes dreams -- wags tail and all. Thanks for sharing your pictures!!! Hope to see some more!!!

First you need to find out what makes your puppy bark or the stimuli for her barking. Remove the stimuli if possible, that is the easiest way to stop your dog from barking. If not, train her not to bark. Here is a good website that will teach you how to stop your dog from barking: http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1125

Great job! glad you were able to control not picking up your puppy when it cries. It is so hard to ignore, I have been there many times. But you are absolutely right, sticking to a routine will pay off. ;) Congratulations!!!

I agree. Ignoring your dog when doing inappropriate behavior will do wonders. When he jumps at you for instance you may get irritated but he still gets attention. And that is what he is after. So when you ignore, he learns that what he is doing is ineffective. When he sits and stays however and you reward, he gets attention.

I agree. Always ask your breeder regarding the type of food your new pup is used to. If you do not agree with this, then change food gradually. Do not change abruptly. I feed my dogs 30% kibble, 30% raw and 40% rice/veg/meat mix. I give treats too.

Swapping for a treat or a toy (even a ball too) will make him release the original ball. As soon as he dies this, reward and praise. Your dog will learn that releasing is a good thing. Consistency is important when training so do it as often as you can :D Good luck!!!

Here are some great links on how you can teach your puppy to play dead. The important thing to remember is to praise and reward when your puppy gets the right action. Also, be patient! Your puppy will learn :D http://hubpages.com/hub/Train-Your-Dog-to-Play-Dead http://www.ehow.com/how_2063026_teach-dog-play-dead.html http://www.5min.com/Video/Play-Dead-Dog-Trick-97357378 Good luck!!!

Taping your sessions is a wonderful idea to see if the problem lies on the dog or the trainer. :D Training is a learning process for both trainer and dog. If you don't instruct well, your dog will not get what you really want him to do. Better you learned it early on though

You need to avoid heavy exercise (extended running off the lead) until the bones have reached some degree of maturity. To this end avoid unaccustomed running until about nine months of age. Regular lead exercise however is good for general fitness, happiness and socialization of your dog and should be encouraged (so long as she is fully vaccinated). Too much walking on hard surfaces may be detrimental to joint development and so try to have no more than half of the walk on hard surfaces. Allowing your dog to walk on grass is a good start. You may allow your puppy brief periods of freer exercise (five minutes or so, and this would form part of the training process) using a long lead initially to teach recall. Hope this helps!!!