Soon after learning that a click marks the exact behavior and tells the animal what earned its reward, newcomers to clicker training wonder how to go about getting that clickable behavior. On this point, the answer they hear depends on whom they ask.
Shaping and Targeting
Helping Shy Dogs Blossom Using Targeting
By Dee Ganley on 02/01/2012Shy dogs are an especially difficult challenge in the shelter environment because it is so hard for them to establish trust. We have found that teaching these dogs to target our hand can help many shy dogs develop confidence with people fairly quickly. You can't begin to try this method until there is at least one person (staff or volunteer) the shy dog has a little trust in.
Target training teaches the dog to touch his nose to some object or person for a click and then treat. (If the shy dog is very noise reactive, you may choose to use a "soft" voice marker or a muffled clicker)
How to Clicker Train Your Dog to Stay in the Yard
By Steve Benjamin on 06/01/2011Draw the lines yourself
Would you like to train your dog to stay in your yard without resorting to electrical shock?
How to Survive Puppy Teething and Nipping
By Casey Lomonaco on 05/01/2011Ouch!
I am firmly convinced that the evolutionary process made puppies adorable so that we would overlook the fact that their mouths are full of razor blades—blades they do not hesitate to put to frequent use. Nipping and chewing rank high on the puppy parenting complaint list, and are symptoms of teething, a developmental stage associated with both human and canine infants.
How to Clicker Train Your Critter
By Joan Orr on 04/01/2011Why train your critter?
Ferrets, hamsters, mice, rats, sugar gliders, flying squirrels, guinea pigs, rabbits, chinchillas, and other small pets.
