# CLICK AND REWARD TRAINING???



## SJB (Jul 2, 2003)

Have any of you ever heard about "Click and Reward" training?
We recently purchased a tape series on dog training. The focus seems to be on Click (a clicker) and Reward the dog with a little treat. 
Have any of you tried this?
My greatest concern is weening them off of the reward in the field.
We are getting a new Chocolate Lab puppy and I certainly don't want to deal with a clicker in the field.
Thanks for the replies.
Sam


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## whitehorse (Jan 28, 2008)

don't waste your time. i know a family that had used it, and the dog would sit on a click... a lotta good that does when you don't have it. replace "click" with "sit" or hand signal, or both and you'll be better off

what you essentially are doing is conditioning the dog to respond from a click, so that he will sit and get a treat.

a better one is condition him with sit, and a whistle... i wouldn't waste time money personally


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## Fosse (Jan 5, 2007)

Get the DVD Sound Beginnings Retriever Training DVD with Jackie Mertens

This is a great way to start your pup!


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## gonedoggin (Mar 20, 2008)

I find the clicker method to be extremely effective for conditioning young pups in obedience and line manners. It's entirely positive so the dog develops a great attitude while you can gradually increase the standards to a very high level.

You eventually phase out the treats and eventually the clicker as well. I then condition the behavior w/ the e-collar. The advantage to this approach is that you can start teaching at a much more tender age w/out any negative repercussions. In my experience, the more times the dog does something right in his life, the more reliable that behavior becomes (and vice versa).

Most advocates of the clicker method are "positive only" trainers. That is, they believe there is no reason for negative reinforcement whatsoever. I consider this to be something of a "movement" based upon an ethical position rather than because it is the most effective approach. Therefore, while I don't share the "ethical" values of these proponents, I do use some of their methods w/ very good success. The difference is that I also incorporate negative feedback in my program as well.


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## SJB (Jul 2, 2003)

I agree about the "positive only" trainers out there. And I might add, it seems good for a house dog. However, when you are in the field, or at a friends house and you want your dog to come, I don't want to have look for a clicker to get the dog to come. I have enought trouble keeping up wiht my reading glasses let alone a clicker. 
Alright then, do we ween the dog off of the e-collar as well??


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## Fosse (Jan 5, 2007)

There are positives and negatives to every training program. A good handler should not take one program and stick to it. The best thing to do is to take a little from each program and make it your own. You will find most of the main retriever programs(Lardy, Stawski, Gram, Rorem...) all come from Rex Carr and are very similar. The other programs that stem from a different school can be added in if they work for you dog.


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## gonedoggin (Mar 20, 2008)

I think some of you are misinformed about clicker training. You don't "click" as a command to sit for example. Your commands remain the same (voice, whistle, etc.) but when your dog complies, you "click" at that precise moment to communicate to him that he's doing it right.

The clicker is simply used to "mark" desirable behavior at the exact time it occurs. In order to give the clicker meaning, you begin by "charging" the dog. This simply entails cutting up a half of a hotdog into thin slices, sitting near the dog and "click" then treat immediately. You do this 20-30 times in a row until the dog begins to associate the sound of the "click" w/ the coming treat. It's a Pavlovian response to a sound that probably makes the dog feel good at the instant he hears it.

Now when your dog gives you the response you want, you can "mark" the behavior at the exact time w/ the "click. This gives the dog the notice that he's doing well and that a treat is coming. Army studies have shown that a dog makes the most effective association between the action and the result if the time between the two is <1.3 seconds. That is the whole secret to the effectiveness of the clicker as well as the e-collar for that matter.

I had heard about clickers for several years before I decided to look into them. I was completely dismissive of the approach because as I mentioned earlier, the people who advocate this method are mostly a bunch of liberal, pansies who are opposed to hurting the feelings of their "fur-babies".

If you can get past that aspect of the method however, you might find that you can supplement your traditional methods w/ something new that is more effective.


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