LESSON 2.
ATTENTION + LOADING THE CLICKER
Too many letters and too many readers wanting wanting informationI have had to start sooner than I had planned... many of you won'thave purchased your clickers. Not a problem. Start on Attention.
No attention, no dog. Then later, the second most is the recall -calling your dog to you - it could save his life but remember - noattention, no dog. One other thing... the reason no clicker is usedfor attention is because it is a modus operandi - the foundation forall the behaviors the Bedlington will learn. It is a given. It shouldbe understood. The moment you speak your Bedli's name, he looks atyou and everything starts from there.
No attention, No dog.
(Did I say that enough - do you understand - "Yes" what a trainer- give yourself another cookie!)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Puppy/dog - Standing or sitting in heel position (the last thingsome trainers train is the sit.) (heel positon = the area from thedog's head to shoulder should be in line with your left hip) Have 4pieces of string cheese between fingers or favorite treat - hold handin front of your waist with palm down so puppy can see thetreats.
Hold 5th treat in Rt hand and point to eye - Say "watch -ch-ch-ch" when puppy looks you in the eye for 3 seconds (during thech ch ch)... say "yes, good watCH" and give puppy treat from lefthand. Don't forget to smile.
Repeat 3 more times. That is one set. Go a few steps forward andrepeat next set. Don't forget the "ch-ch-ch" sound. Dogs love that.Later you can fade the watch to "ch" and then much later the "ch" toa smile. Do 4 sets three to five times a day. Start at 3 secondwatches and gradually increase the time. When you are at 30 seconds -start adding distractions. Throw toys. If looks away, say "ehhhh,what was that" (NRM) and start game over again. Keep it a game. Havepeople come up to you and talk to puppy and puppy must not look away.Have other dogs come up to you. Now, when this behavior is fluent, nomistakes.... then and only then can you take it on the road ie otherrooms, then other bldgs, friends' homes and then outside. You must doattention exercise (whatever stage you are at in training) for therest of the dog's life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before we start, let's find out - why a clicker - why not yourvoice - why not something else - why not anything else? Why theclicker?
2.. impersonal
3.. accurate/fast
In training an animal, any animal, consistency is the key. Theanimal comes to rely on the sound to tell when he is right. He willwork for that sound. Impersonal. Now, we have all had days intraining a dog that we want to yell, "you dumb bunny... do it thisway!" Even when you try and mask that attitude, the dog can pick-upthe smallest nuances and inflections in your voice and can react tothem. Can't do it with a clicker. You could want to kick his butt -just smile and keep on clicking. Pretty soon, you'll wonder why youever wanted to kick his butt. Fast. Nothing is quicker. It takes toolong between the clickable behavior and your mouth forming the word,"yes" to be accurate. OK, for the trained dog when the clicker andfood has been faded ... or for behaviors around the house..."yes" isa good thing and replaces the clicker but for puppies, beginningdogs, smoke comes off that clicker and so do the correct behaviors.It pinpoints the EXACT PLACE & TIME when the dog was correct.Trust me on this one!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stand near your puppy and click - then feed.
After about 5 times, start putting a 3 second pause between theclick and the feed. By about the 10th time or soon thereafter, youwill see your Bedli look around for the food. As soon as thishappens, increase to 5 seconds, smile - feed. If the Bedli is openlysearching - your clicker is loaded! It's a hoot and so much fun andjust watch how your Bedli loves it! What happens if the Bedly doesn'tsearch for treats - your treats aren't good enough and your Bedli istelling you that they aren't! I kid you not. Treats:
(*lowfat)
2.. beef jerky without the MSG*
3.. cooked beef with garlic*
4.. any kind of cheese
5.. low fat mozarella string cheese*
6.. sliced hot dogs (cooked)
7.. left overs from meals
8.. already cooked chicken weiners* slice these in half andthen
cut to size across (Babe's favourite)
When you are trying something new... always have the old treatsaround for back-up, just in case they don't like your choice. A wordto the wise: Don't change your treats too often unless you likegetting up alot in the middle of the night.
Always smile and laugh with your Bedli. It goes a long way. Thesmile gets coupled with the treat and then you've got a signal toyour Bedli that he is right! That smile is your first and foremostKeep Going Signal. Now, I want to call it C/R = click and rewardbecause some of you may have a Bedli that does not like treats asmuch as a toy or a game of tug. Or your Bedli may be sick and can'thave treats right now.
There are games you can play to get your Bedli interested in foodand toys (if there is the odd one out there that doesn't adore thesethings - for another chapter or email the list.) Then you can watchfor a behavior that you like - say a head turn - C/R. Make much agreat todo whenever your Bedli is right. C/R Then tell your Bedly,"What a good boy/girl!" That is the end of lesson 2!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Write me on the Bedlington-L List - put "Clicker Corner" in firstpart of the Subject line - then the subject matter. If you are tooembarrassed to ask on the list or you feel you need some personalattention, email me below. Please give me time to answer. I welcomeall your questions and love your enthusiasm.
Bedli loves and cookies all around,
alison underhill
THE CLICKER CORNER
Bedlington-L@LME2.LME.Mankato.MSUS.EDU
Sidney, BC
Babe: "I trained her all by myself"
Tilly: "Here, have a cookie, dummy."
Return to Clicker Training homepage.
Return to Bedlington-L homepage.