Almost 100,000 cats are put to sleep each year due to behavior problems and litter box issues, like peeing outside the box, are right up there as the proximate cause.
Countless others are given up for adoption due to this issue. Some of these cases are related to medical conditions and some are purely behavioral. Both can be treated successfully.
Clickers are not just for dog training!
You can use clickers to train cats, rats and birds too. There is even something called Chicken Camp where trainers learn to improve their timing and clicker training skills. Zoos use clickers to train animals to lift lips and limbs, open mouths, bend down and perform other behaviors that make routine health checks less stressful for the animals and the keepers. Over the years, I have come to love training with clickers.
Perhaps you've wondered, "Could my dog be clicker trained?"
Any dog can be trained with a clicker. If you decide to try clicker training you won't need to use the clicker forever, or even all the time. Clickers and verbal praise can be used simultaneously to mark desired behaviors and/or variations in performance. They are most often used by trainers to teach dogs new things. Eventually the clicker is faded out, or shifted as new behaviors are taught.
WHAT IS A CLICKER?
Clickers (shown above) are small, hand-held tools that make a CLICK-noise when pressed with the thumb. Clickers are used when new behaviors are being learned or when known behaviors are being applied in new situations. Clickers MARK behaviors that are currently being rewarded. Verbal Markers can also be used to teach behaviors, but the crisp, clean sound of a clicker is preferable when trying to mark precise moments of a dog's actions. A clicker is like a high quality, professional camera that can take a photo showing drops of water falling from a glass. Whereas my phone-camera might only show a fuzzy blur of water. When used correctly, clickers make for crystal clear communication.
A. Standard, Box Clicker (Cheap & clear, easy to hear sound)
B. Karen Pryor's iClick (Raised button is easy to push with a gloved hand)
C. Triple Crown Clicker (Contours to hand and is comfortable to hold)
DO I NEED SPECIAL TRAINING TO USE A CLICKER?
A clicker is a tool; it can be used correctly, used incorrectly and abused. As with most tools, the product depends on the user. For example, if I was given watercolors, a brush and instructions to paint a portrait of your dog, you would get a picture of a dog, but you might not be impressed. Ask my mother, an artist, and you'd get a technically correct product with added style and artistic flair -a painting you could frame. Hands-on instruction and coaching from someone who has trained with clickers will give you an advantage, but what you really need is practice. The best thing to do is start using the clicker for simple behaviors.
Stay tuned... >>HOW WILL MY DOG KNOW WHAT THE CLICK MEANS?
Do not hold unrealistic expectations. Pet owners who approach training expecting miracles overnight, only do their pet and themselves, a great disservice. Humans who have anger, anxiety, depression or destructive behavior problems never rid themselves of these issues overnight, so what makes you think your pet can do better than you?
We've chosen to bring these animals into our lives and domesticate them as part of our family. Kids don't come with a guarantee (although they should!), so why do we act as if our pets do? Animals that do not speak our language nor have the same likes and dislikes as us and are at our mercy to blend with this human world we have brought them into. Lets not lose sight of that.
Hiring a professional should only bring you closer to your pet and your goals. If you contact someone who suggests the use of pinch/prong collars, shock collars, constant treats, rolling your pet on its back, hitting, kicking, kneeing and confining in a crate for long periods of time as a way to achieve your goals - this is not the person you want to help you and your pet on the path to happiness and well being. It really comes down to one question.
If you were your pet...how would you want to be treated?
Training Small dogs can be a challenge. Dogs that weigh less than 10lbs move quickly. They are also so close to the ground already that using a Food-Lure (a treat held in your hand, close to their nose) can be challenging. For medium and large dogs Food-Lures are a convenient ways to move dogs into positions like sit or down. However, with small dogs Food-Lures can sometimes cause more jumping-bean action than is conducive to training.
For really small, fast-flying dogs I prefer to sit back and relax when training. For this type of training a CLICKER is really, really handy. A clicker is a small device that makes a click-sound when the metal flap inside the small box is pressed down and released.
Clickers are used to train dogs, horses, cats, pigeonsrats and even marine mammals. Using a clicker is simple. In the beginning the animal in training needs only to learn that each click-sound will be quickly followed by a small reward (technically it must be a reinforcer) that the animal will enjoy and working for. I like using small, tasty bits of food like cheeses or meats.
The rules are simple.
1. Click what you like.
2. Click at the EXACT moment the behavior is accomplished.
3. Don't command the animal to DO anything, JUST WAIT for something -be patient!!!
4. Reward the animal after every click.
5. Train is short intervals 5-10minutes
Sometimes it is helpful to think of the clicker as a camera. At the end of the training if each CLICK was a PHOTO, and if you placed all those photos on your kitchen table you would have only photos of the behavior (sit, down, bow) that you were hoping to train.
Here are two Kinder-CLICKER lesson for fast-flying, jumpy little-dogs.
1. Click (and reward) the dog anytime they are NOT moving. Click the dog for being still in any position. Offer extra treats for clicks that marked exceptionally cute still positions (like sit or down). After 2 or 3 sessions, raise the bar and click only certain positions.
2. Click (and reward) All Cute Behaviors. This is my favorite. I will click anything cute!!! Head-tilts, play-bows, prairie-dog position, sit, down, waving. Then I pick one behavior that gets clicked and a special bonus treat (gorgonzola). I like to see how long it takes for the dog to offer only that behavior.
Read Kelley's blog
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Contact Kelley @ amigodog@mac.com
Kelley Filson, CTC, CPDT is a Certified Dog Trainer living in San Francisco, California. Kelley has been certified by The San Francisco SPCA where she completed the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers run by dog trainer and author Jean Donaldson. Kelley is also a Certified Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
Kelley owns and runs AmiGO DOG Training, LLC. As a Personal Dog Trainer Kelley helps people and dogs better understand each other. Private, in-home dog training and behavior modification programs are available to anyone in San Francisco needing help training their dogs. Kelley specializes in working with fearful, aggressive, or anxious dogs.
Kelley is also very happy to be a partner and instructor for DogEvolve. DogEvolve offers classes and workshops to dog owners at two San Francisco locations. Unlike traditional 6-8weeek obedience classes, DogEvolve offers an a-la-carte style menu of classes on topics including: Quiet! Come! & Leash Monsters!
AmiGO DOG Training, LLC -Your "Best-Friend" in Dog Training!
415-356-9868
DogEvolve -Survival Training for the Urban Dog!
www.dogevolve.com
