Topic: Clicker Training
no photo
Sat 05/26/12 07:38 AM
I have a big yard. My dogs do not always come when they are called. I have a physical problem so I can not go into the woods and hunt them down like I used to. At one point I had started using a clicker to call one of my dogs. I think that I need to start this again. Has anyone else had experience with Clicker Training?

justme659's photo
Sat 05/26/12 08:16 AM
I know my brother has trained his dogs for field trials with a clicker and or whistles (Like one or two blasts on a sports whistle, not those silent/only dogs can hear whistles.) Depends on the dog and what they respond to. It does work, but takes time. He mostly uses the clicker for in the house commands, like sit, stay or down. Outside, he uses the whistle, one blast for come, two for go left, three for go right and so on. Good luck.

motowndowntown's photo
Sat 05/26/12 09:29 AM
I've trained my dogs with both whistles and hand signals.
The key word being train. You have to work at it with your dogs, daily. The clicker is just a tool. Dogs aren't going to respond to it unless they know what it means and want to respond to it. Your job is to teach them what the clicks mean and that it's something they like responding to.

no photo
Fri 06/22/12 02:19 PM
When they respond correctly they need to be reinforced with something that they really do like. Dry cat food worked for Napoleon when he learned a few commands. Josephine gives me dirty looks when I offer that to her and goes off in a huff!

talldub's photo
Sat 10/06/12 06:44 PM

I've trained my dogs with both whistles and hand signals.
The key word being train. You have to work at it with your dogs, daily. The clicker is just a tool. Dogs aren't going to respond to it unless they know what it means and want to respond to it. Your job is to teach them what the clicks mean and that it's something they like responding to.

Couldn't agree more. I use it for parrots but principle is the same