# Clicker Training (early success)



## Nawal (Mar 3, 2012)

Hi poodle experts! I wish I could come here with news that Puppet is the best adjusted and behaved poodle in the world, but she is not. I love her to death but she barks at strangers, is very skittish and untrusting outside the house. 

I had had a lot of success with clicker training inside the house to teach her tricks, so I decided to take the clicker on our walks and use the same technique, this time using the click and treat as a reward and a distraction when we approach strangers and randomly when I just want to make sure she listens to me.

So we have been walking, sitting on command and clicking and treating randomly, and we also have started doing this when we see the "bait" (people, dogs, strange things) and again when we walk right by. She has been doing really good and I feel dumb that I have never tried this before (she's about to be 4)! But I am not sure how to take it from there, should I keep clicking and treating for a while, the phase out the treats and eventually the clicker once she is desensitized? 

She still has a ways to go until she does not need to be coaxed into behaving outside but this has been so exciting for both Puppet and me! Ok well, it really is just exciting for me, she just enjoys the treats, lol!


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## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

I have no advice, but "GOOD JOB" on trying something to make life with your dog more of what you envisioned it to be - especially at almost 4! 

I'd say keep it up as long as it takes, but I'm saying that off the hat here, as I have no experience to speak of. 

sarah


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Good job! :clap:


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Based on some training "I" received from my previous poodle's trainer some years ago, I'd suggest to continue the click/sit/treat until it is automatic that instead of any undesirable reaction (barking, etc.), Puppet looked at you, sat, etc. and was focused on the new and better desirable behavior. Once it becomes second nature, Puppet will be much less stressed. I think you can then stop the treat and continue, and what should eventually occur (if I recall correctly) is that when something scarey or threatening is encountered, Puppet looks to you and waits for the sit/treat, etc. Someone else may have a better explanation, but that is what I would do, until it became automatic and the scarey stuff that triggers the bad behavior is no longer scarey since the scarey thing represents a click/treat, etc. I had to do something similar with Jake, my previous poodle, after he was attacked by a dog and developed fear aggression. It took a long time.......and you have to have patience, be consistent and eventually you will see results. Good luck.


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

That's great! At first it's good to click-treat, click-treat, click-treat, but every once in a while, just click and praise. Increase the amount you click and praise vs. click-treat. Then change it up by doing a mix of just treating and click-praise. And then a mix of just praise and click-treat. Then you can do a mix of just treats and just praise. Then phase out the treats and just praise. It's always good to use the clicker every once in a while to reinforce the good habits. 

I'm sure there are better ways to do this, but I'm not a dog trainer.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Well done to both of you - it's not easy to change behaviour that has built up over the years.

My understanding is that the click should ALWAYS indicates a reward is coming - if she finds praise very rewarding, that's fine, but otherwise I would click and treat, or just praise without the click. Perhaps gradually fade the C&T, using it for the more difficult occasions when someone comes that little bit closer, or the passing dog is just that little bit more threatening, while using just praise for the "easy" encounters? As Liljaker says, gradually she should come to look to you in situations when she would have been barking and lunging - and the first times she does that without being asked you want to be ready with a real jackpot of treats and praise!


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

tokipoke said:


> That's great! At first it's good to click-treat, click-treat, click-treat, but every once in a while, just click and praise. Increase the amount you click and praise vs. click-treat. Then change it up by doing a mix of just treating and click-praise. And then a mix of just praise and click-treat. Then you can do a mix of just treats and just praise. Then phase out the treats and just praise. It's always good to use the clicker every once in a while to reinforce the good habits.
> 
> I'm sure there are better ways to do this, but I'm not a dog trainer.


No, this devalues your click. You treat every click - even if it is a mistake. 

But tokipoke is correct to go to a random reward schedule and then vary the rewards.

I would imprint "yes" as a word meaning the same as the click. You'd be suprrised how quickly dogs get this. I use the click for puppies, and then I use the clicker when I need more accuracte timing. Other than that, I use the word "yes" in the exat same way as the clicker. I use it because it is pratical - no matter how may clickers I have, stash and wear, I'm always missing it when I want it. I never lose my voice (except if I'm sick, lol).

After "yes" is imprinted and you're having success without the clicker, then add duration - more time inbetween your random clicks, BUT at a variable reward. You can keep track of it in your head by remembering the maximum time between clicks. But even if your max duration is 30 seconds, you'll be clicking after 2 seconds, or 5 seconds more often than after 30. If you only increase the duration without the random rate, your dog will get to a point where it decided the reward is not worth it and will quit. Don't do random rate of reward around the "bait" though - that is a long ways away.

After your dog is working enthusiastically with the variable / random reward schedule, then start carrying your reward. Begin doing this by taking 10 extra-high value rewards. Start by varying your rewards by increasing them UP. After a week, then start a "slot machine" bag by mixing high and low value treats in a bag. At this point, I would take about 10 extra-high value rewards also for jackpots with the "bait". The fastest way to wean a dog off of reward is painfully slowly.

You will be "done" when your dog sees the "bait" and looks at you immediately without any cue from you. (for example, I was working with the same training for an aggressive dog. When we were in the dog park, she would see another dog approach and when it was about 25 feet away she would come back to heel and drop into attention heeling without a cue from me. That's when I knew the behavior was not only learned, but also the "bait" was conditioned as the stimulus/cue for the behavior.) When you get to this you can start weaning off food/toy reward and use add praise instead. Do it at a random rate. You can also introduce movement (running) as a reward. 

At this point you have a choice. You can "finish" it off with correction (you MUST put the behavior on cue before you can do this!) and stop using rewards, or you can continue using rewards intermittently. Both of these take surprising mental effort from the trainer. With correction, great care must be taken to do it right. With reward, you have to stay clever and never get stuck in a pattern where your dog learns when you will have reward and when you won't.


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

Thanks for clarifying clicker training, tortoise. As for weaning off treats, I knew there was a method to the madness!


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## Nawal (Mar 3, 2012)

Thank you so much for all the suggestions and valuable info! I will keep working with her, and hopefully see some more results! I kinda feel like a bad momma that did not know any better and screwed up her "kid" so all these little successed are great for us.


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

I think you're doing a good job. By the way, could you please let me know where can I get a clicker?

I can use this to train Charlie. Charlie is also untrusting outside the house. Inside he is an angel, well some of the time.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

There are many sources for clickers on the internet, but if you have problems finding one where you live anything that is easily carried around and makes a consistent sound can be used as a clicker - a ballpoint pen with a click mechanism, for example.


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

Thanks, fjm. I found one on Amazon today but will also check my local Petco and see if they have them.


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## CMPB (Feb 15, 2012)

tortoise said:


> No, this devalues your click. You treat every click - even if it is a mistake.
> 
> But tokipoke is correct to go to a random reward schedule and then vary the rewards.
> 
> ...


You need a website. I take to writing things down I've read from your posts. A concise place for keeping record of these snippets would save me like $1.97 in pens. Okay? Thanks )


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

CMPB said:


> You need a website. I take to writing things down I've read from your posts. A concise place for keeping record of these snippets would save me like $1.97 in pens. Okay? Thanks )
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


:lol: That's funny!  

I'm working on a website for training service dogs. None of the training section is up yet - don't get too excited. It is so amazingly huge and overwhelming. It is located at Owner Trained Service Dogs The training section depends on this elaborate database / software thing that i don't understand and the lady who is doing the technical part has been quite ill - no end in sight. 

If/when it is complete it will include everything from housetraining to training service dog tasks. Our goal is a one-stop-source for everything a person with zero dog experience would need to know to be able to select and train their own service dog.


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