The first things you do to start shaping behaviors (rewarding behaviors to increase the chances that they will happen again) in the "how to train your dog" book When Pigs Fly!: Training Success with Impossible Dogs is to associate the sound of a clicker with food.
If this sounds like Pavlov's Dogs, you're right - only it's the click instead of a bell.
Basically, you click the clicker and then feed the dog a treat as soon as you can (within a half second of clicking). If you do this twice a day for three days (20 treats at a time), the author maintains that you will "power up the clicker" - your dog will give you his immediate attention at the sound of the clicker.
Your "pigs fly" dog - you know - the pup who does his own thing and mostly ignores you unless you are giving him his dinner - is on alert for the click. Great first step to "how to train your dog!" Ever try to train a dog who's paying attention to the squirrel running up a tree? LOL!
If this sounds like Pavlov's Dogs, you're right - only it's the click instead of a bell.
Basically, you click the clicker and then feed the dog a treat as soon as you can (within a half second of clicking). If you do this twice a day for three days (20 treats at a time), the author maintains that you will "power up the clicker" - your dog will give you his immediate attention at the sound of the clicker.
Your "pigs fly" dog - you know - the pup who does his own thing and mostly ignores you unless you are giving him his dinner - is on alert for the click. Great first step to "how to train your dog!" Ever try to train a dog who's paying attention to the squirrel running up a tree? LOL!
1 comment:
That's very sound advice. Start when they're well-exercised (a tired dog is a good dog, as the saying goes), and get their attention. I think where most people fall down is on the consistency; before you can discipline your dog, you've got to discipline yourself, and people are much better at slipping out of things than the dogs they're trying to train...
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Jack@PDB
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