bemckimmy

From reading this and watching some videos I think I might be moving too fast. I am going to go back to "loading" the clicker and then try and get her to touch the back of my hand. Once we can get that down and I've added a cue for "touch" I'll move on. I really want to teach her to lay down reliably. Heck just do something on command other than get on the couch or in the car. Those I've sort of taught with more traditional training and she is very unreliable. I think what makes this extra hard is we have our other dog very well trained, but we have had her for 12 years. We taught her as a puppy when they are much more easy to manipulate. Also she is a pitbull mix and just wants to do what I ask. Pixel seems more concerned with what she wants.

She definitely knows that the click means she gets a treat. No matter what she is doing if I click she expects a treat.

Good to know. I read Kathryn Pryor's book on clicker training, and that is where the box idea came from. I think part of the problem may be that I am too slow on the clicking too. We'll keep working. If you know of any good resources (books, videos, etc), let me know. I am a researcher.

So I started out with her targeting my hand with her nose and then getting a treat, which I thought was working, but now I am wondering if she was just sniffing for treats and not realizing she is doing anything. Then I started "101 things to do with a box". Where I got a box out and anytime she interacted with the box she gets a treat. She seemed to understand, but when I try and hold the click to get her to do more or repeat something, we have a staring contest.

I started doing clicker training for the first time this Sunday with my greyhound Pixel, and it seems to be going very very slowly. I am not sure she understands anything other than the fact that when mommy gets out the clicker she gets treats. From reading the books it seemed like she should catch on pretty quickly, but I am not sure if she is. I don't know if it is me or if it is her. Does anyone have experience with this? Did it go better for you? Becky

She seems to be getting idea that I want her to lay down, but every time I tell her to lay down she jumps up on the couch and lays on the pillows. She seems to think I want her to get on the couch.

Is the system I linked to above what you would consider Pet Smart type training philosophies or are you talking about the classes Pet Smart actually offers?

We had some success this morning. She pooped on the leash in our back yard. Yesterday was a bust, but she did it today. I praised her a lot. If I can get her to do that a couple more times, I'll move to the front yard and see if she can do it with the distractions.

You might ask if the group you are getting the hound from has a loner crate. The group we rescued from lent us a crate so we could see if Pixel would use it before we put the money into buying one. It was really helpful.

I am having a hard time training my new greyhound to lay down, or really any basic commands beyond "up", "off", "wait", and "come". I was thinking about trying clicker training but don't have any experience. I found Karen Pryor, Getting Started: Clicker Training for Dogs Kit (http://www.amazon.com/Karen-Pryor-Getting-Started-Training/dp/B0002UVIB8), and it seems like a good place to start. Does anyone have any experience with clicker training or this kit in particular?

That definitely seems to be a problem. When I take her to work with me she has to potty downtown and she can't seem to focus long enough to get the job done.

We have had our Greyhound Pixel since April, and we are having a hard time getting her to potty on the leash. She will go both ways just fine in our fenced in back yard, but doesn't want to go if she is on the leash. We have had some success getting her to pee on the leash but not poop. We are going on a trip this weekend and there won't be a fenced in yard for her to go in, and we don't want her pottying in our family's houses. She has a bad habit of refusing to go on the leash and then going when we let her off the leash in the house or office. Suggestions??