# Opinions/Feedback Please



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Yes, I love clicker training because it is the most precise way to mark the behavior that you want, and it makes it easy to capture new, unusual behaviors that you want to repeat!


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

Yes, clicker training works and is a lot of fun. It takes some practice to get good at it. Have you read the classic _Don't Shoot the Dog_? (This book is not specifically about dog training [despite the title] but is one of the seminal works of positive reinforcement, and explains the rationale behind it wonderfully.)

If you want to see some clicker training in action with a poodle, check out my 100 days of Sugarfoot video. There's a section where you see me using the clicker to have him interact with a laundry basket. Having never seen the laundry basket before, within seconds he's jumping in and out of it, etc. 

I used positive reinforcement to train Sugar, though I tend to use a "verbal marker" these days (the word "Yesss," spoken a particular flat, consistent tone) rather than the actual clicker. I still break the clicker out when needed.

To see the end result, look at one of the latest Sugarfoot videos in my account. You will see he is a fast, confident, impressive worker.

Though being intelligent helps the dog catch on quickly, the beauty of this method is that the creature you're training doesn't actually *need* to be particularly intelligent. Properly done, positive reinforcement will have the subject learning and responding despite itself, in a way. It's almost magic.

Good luck!
--Q


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