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Dog
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Clicker Train Fido to Sit
Dog Obedience Supplies
-
Essential Ones to Buy
Helpful Labrador
Training
Tips
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Easy Steps
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Clicker Train Fido To Sit
By MS du Toit
Dog
training has over the years developed from the harsh methods of
punishment to almost an art or science where precision training is
possible using only a small device called a clicker. Clicker training
has long been used to train other animals like dolphins.
What is a clicker?
A
clicker is what it says -- a small device making a click sound when
pressed. It is also known as a reward marker. The click sound marks the
exact moment your dog did something that earns him a reward. If you
want to teach him to sit, you will click the moment he sits, and then
you will give him a reward or treat. To Fido the clicker means “Good
dog, you have done this thing right!”
If used correctly, the clicker
is very effective because you can catch the exact moment your dog does
something right. Your timing must be perfect -- practice your timing by
throwing a ball into the air and clicking the moment it turns to fall
back.
The philosophy behind the clicker is that the dog gets
conditioned that when he hears the click sound, he will receive a
treat. He will thus do whatever he knows (which he learnt through
repetition) that will result in a click. A clicker trained dog will go
through a whole repertoire of behaviours to get a click.
Where to start
Let
us say Fido has no experience with a clicker and you want to start
training him by using the clicker. First you have to introduce the
clicker to him and teach him that whenever he hears the click, he will
receive a reward. This is extremely important. Even when you click at
the wrong moment, he should still receive a reward, else the power of
the clicker will be diminished. Do this introduction by just clicking
and rewarding. At this point Fido does not have to do anything. You
only want him to realise that the click is a good sound and a yummy
treat will follow. It will only take about 10 to 20 clicks for him to
realise that. This process is also called “charging up the clicker”.
Moving on
Now
that Fido knows how the clicker works, you want to start teaching him
desired behaviour. Lets take an easy example: you want to teach Fido to
sit when you say “Sit”. Remember: he does not yet know the word “sit”,
so you cannot expect him to sit when you say the word. So just keep
quiet. Take a treat in your one hand and clicker in the other. Hold the
treat-hand in front of Fido’s nose (do not allow him to take it!), lift
your hand slightly up and backwards, luring him into the sit position.
Click the second his bum hits the ground and give him the treat. Repeat
20 to 30 times.
At this point you can start adding the word
“sit”. The sequence should be: Luring Fido into “sit” and at the same
time saying “sit” – Fido sits – click – treat. Repeat that sequence
about 20 to 30 times. You can now test him by giving the command before
luring him into the sit position. Chances are good that he will
immediately sit on command and you would not even have lure him into
position. If he gets it right, give a bonus treat and make a big fuss.
Congratulations! You have just taught Fido to sit on command!
What’s next?
The
above is a short description of the basic training method using a
clicker. You can teach your dog any trick or obedience command by
following that outline. Some tricks and commands are much more complex
and you should break it down into smaller steps first and combining
them later. This will be described in later articles – so be on the
lookout for those.
Tips
for successful dog training
- Set up your dog for success by keeping training
sessions short.
- End your training on a high note, while your
dog still wants more.
- Use really yummy treats and be generous.
- Always treat after a click.
- Do not train when you are in a bad mood or not
feeling well!
- Be consistent with your clicking, your praise and
your rules.
MS du Toit has been training dogs for ten years. Please visit her Dog
Training Review Page.
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Dog Obedience Supplies -
Essential Ones to Buy
By Grant Davis
Choosing
the right dog obedience supplies can help you control your excitable
dog, whether you take him to a dog obedience class or try your own hand
at teaching your pet obedience. Contrary to popular belief,
disciplinary items are not the only necessary items for obedience
training. There are a wealth of preventative items and encouraging
items as well.
For instance, treats are some of the important
dog obedience supplies, and they are generally overlooked because
people fear that treats are a detriment to obedience training. That is
not at all true. In fact, the exact opposite is true. It is important
to reward your dog when he goes something right. Treats are the best
way to do this. In their own way, dogs are extraordinarily brilliant.
It will take your dog very little time to realize that every time you
tell him to sit and he does it, he gets a treat. He will quickly come
to the conclusion that sitting gets him treats, that staying gets him
treats, that heeling gets him treats, and so on.
Collars and
leads are also essential dog obedience supplies. Harnesses are
preferable over collars, because owners can be firmer when giving
orders without worrying about harming or choking the dog. Moreover,
harness are more conducive to asserting dominance with your dogs. Of
course there are also electronic training collars, in which case a
collar is necessary over a harness. There are also anti-bark training
collars, which as you may guess teach dogs not to bark when they should
not. They are also a means to curb excessive barking.
House
breaking aids also key items when it comes to dog obedience supplies.
House training a dog can be a very tedious process, but if you go about
it the right way, it can be extremely easy. There are potty pads, which
can be used not only to teach house training, but also provides a safe
place for the dog to go in the house. The general idea behind potty
pads and products like them is that you as the owner first train your
dog to go on the papers, then gradually move them closer and closer to
one or more doors in the house. The dog thus starts going closer to the
door to do his business. Ideally, when you eventually remove the potty
pads altogether, your dog will start scratching around the door or
otherwise signaling that he needs to go outside and do his business.
If you need more information about dog supplies visit our Internet
store where we also have a section on dog obedience products.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Grant_Davis
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Helpful Labrador Training
Tips
By Richard Cussons
If
you want to have a dependable and obedient Labrador, then Labrador
training should not be taken for granted for it is only through proper
Labrador training that you can truly enjoy having a Labrador Retriever
as an additional member of your family. Despite their reputation as a
very mellow pets, Labradors can be quite problematic if not handled and
trained properly.
To help Labrador
owners with their Labrador training, below are some tips useful to
achieve successful Labrador training:
The alpha position
in the pack.
Having
descended from wolves, dogs thrive in packs. In wild settings, the
strongest one often assumes the leadership role. But since they are in
family setting, you must convince your Lab of the people pack, and you
as the owner must assume the role of the alpha, the leader of the pack.
Failure to do so would mean losing control over your four-legged friend.
Before the basic.
Labrador
training should start early, about a week or two after a puppy is born.
This early training however, doesn't involve training the basic
commands such as sit, stay and so on. Training at this stage of a
puppy's life should focus on simple associations and later on
socialization when the puppy is around three weeks old. Socialization
period includes social investigation, playful fighting and playful
sexual behavior. These things are essential to help puppy develop
social relationship as he grows.
The basic training.
At
around eight weeks of age, puppies can start learning the basic
obedience commands such as sit, stay, down or come. Other tricks can
also be taught depending on the dog's stamina, concentration and
physical coordination.
Communication is
the tool.
What
better tool can help owners with their dog training than good
communication? It is the owner or the handler's responsibility to
communicate to the dog what behaviors are correct, desired or
acceptable and what behaviors are undesirable and should be avoided. If
the handler/owner cannot communicate with the dog, he will not know
that the dog is confused, happy, nervous and so on. The emotional state
of the dog is important in Labrador training.
Appropriate
training method.
There
are various methods in training a dog, the most widely used is the
positive training method. This method means using reward to increase
good behavior that is being exhibited. Advocates of positive training
method believe that this method should be applied rather than punishing
a dog physically in the hopes of decreasing bad behavior. But if your
dog doesn't respond to positive training quite well, then you should
try other training methods.
Richard Cussons has written articles
of various breeds including Labrador Retriever. Discover tips on
Labrador dog training at labradorsavvy.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Cussons
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