Look what my smart dog learned in one session of clicker training!

[Momily]

Last week we finally figured out a "treat" that Lyle likes (bacon!!! Also artificial stuff made to resemble bacon), which was really exciting. Now that we've got a reward, he's been learning so much so fast. He's getting good at sit, stay, down, stay, out, and off.

So, today we were at Petsmart and on impulse I bought a couple clickers and a book about clicker training -- I figured he'll catch on quickly and it will be a way to challenge him and keep his mind busy.

Well, within the first 5 clicks he learned that eating bacon is associated with a horrid scary noise. So now, I can hold a piece of bacon under his nose and he just looks at me with a sad sad look that says "I won't eat it if you promise not to use that thing".

He's such a brave dog, only afraid of a couple of things -- the sliding door on the van the first few times it slammed close to him, the wild rottweiler on the alley who lunges at the fence if we walk past, and fighting dogs at the dog park. He didn't blink at the car wash, sirens, a cheering crowd at a soccer tournament.

But that little metal clicker has reduced him to cringing. I tried to load it, by giving him a treat and clicking -- the first click he jumped, the second he backed away and wouldn't come back, the third he just wouldn't eat. So I scooped him up and tried petting him and scratching his ears and doing all the things he loved while I clicked it again, and he got very still. I wrapped it in lots of cloth but he still seemed scared. So, I let him go and he went across the room. I tossed him treats there and he wouldn't even look at them.

Part of it might be that he's exhausted. We went to the vet, the groomers, a 3 soccer game tournament, the playground, the dog food store and the ice cream parlor together today. We also had an unfamiliar toddler in tow. He's asleep now by me out on the deck.

Please tell me I didn't "cure" him of liking treats, or traumatize him too much. I can return the clicker but I still want to be able to train him with treats.

[LeahBoo]

Yeah, I had a dog who reacted like that to a clicker, a border collie/australian shepherd mix. Herding breeds are more sensitive to noise than alot of breeds.

I've since tried a snapple top (supposed to give the same results, but not so scary). But it didn't matter. She was done with anything clicker related. What worked best was a quick "good" when she did something right. Not quite as effective as clicker training, but close.

She also wouldn't take treats if she thought I was using them to "manipulate" her (get her in the crate, get her to pay attention to me on walks, etc). Some dogs are too smart.

Best treat I found for her were pounce cat treats, she never turned those down. They're already small, but you can still break them smaller.

[slimkins]

You can also use a verbal cue instead of the clicker if it is making him uncomfortable. Just find a word that you wouldn't use commonly and reserve it for training and reinforcement only. Because if the clicker scares him and you keep using and he is taking treats, you might be rewarding fearful behavior.

My dog is use to the word "yes" and "bingo".
I definitely don't think you traumatized him... just try something new.
Also, dogs won't take a treat if they are nervous or focused (in a crazy way) on something. That is probably why he wouldn't eat the bacon.

[yllek]

Awww... that poor guy! I know just how he feels. I can't stand the sound of those box clickers either. I bought a whole bunch of I-clickers when I got my new pup, just so I wouldn't have to run out and be left with those box clickers. Makes my head hurt just thinking out it.

Some folks use the clicky end of a ball point pen. Very soft, but dogs have such good ears, it's still effective.

And this isn't entirely clear to me -- Are you clicking first, then giving the treat? While reading your post, I somehow got the picture that you were giving the treat then clicking afterward.

By the way, a lot of trainers are not "loading" the clicker anymore. You can just start using it to mark the behavior.

Keep us posted how Lyle does.

[hillymum]

What do you mean by loading the clicker?

Poor dog. Sounds like he will be easy to train without the clicker.

[beanma]

The plastic clicker that comes with this kit I got when I first started looking into clicker training has a softer sound than the metal ones, but it's still plenty noticeable. You can vary the things you click with, too. Poppy (my crazy puppy girl) and I are in a Family Dog class right now and they gave us the metal clickers so sometimes I use that since I've misplaced the plastic ones right now. She's a super physical not very sensitive to any physical sensation kind of dog, though, so she doesn't mind the metal one at all. I have also successfully used a ballpoint pen click, too, as a PP suggested. Our trainer also suggested "YES!" (said in a pointedly happy way) as a bridge word, too, if we didn't want to click.

For treats, our trainer told us that chicken hot dogs cut length-wise into 4 long strips and then diced into small morsels and then cooked in the microwave for 5 minutes on high make excellent treats. I did mine in the toaster oven instead of the nuke-ro-wave. I toasted them 2 or 3 times, just enough to sort of dry the outside, but they're still a little squooshy — definitely not crispy—and that worked well for us. You can get a pack of Gwaltney chicken franks for about $1 or you could go for the organic stuff if you're feeling flush. He said the beef ones are too greasy, but I think you could try them, too.

"Loading the clicker" is when you freely associate the clicker with treats so the dog learns click=treatiscoming. You just click and give a treat w/o requesting any behavior for a few minutes.

Oh, and I don't think you made him afraid of treats forever. Try taking him in a different location from where you were doing the clickering and pet him and treat him there. He was probably just traumatized and worried about the bad noise.

[cyncyn]

I have been looking into clicker training for our next dog and wondered about the noise. Mostly for me though lol. I found a class nearby but I think I would go crazy listening to all the clicks from a group. We are looking at a herding dog too and she might be sensitive. We'll have to give it a try and hope for the best I guess.

[Carlin]

My dog didn't like the clicker noise either. I think the sound hurt her ears. Luckily the only thing the click does is act as a consistent bridge between the behaviour and the reward so you can use any noise you'd like to do the same thing. I've used the clicker successfully with horses and the technique works well.

[beanma]

The plastic ones really aren't so bad. Check those out instead of the metal ones. I find the plastic ones easier to use, too. They have a big round button you push. With the metal one it's easy to try to click the wrong end and then it doesn't do anything.