Need Some New (And Easy!) Clicker Ideas

[RedHead]

I posted quite a while ago about being frustrated with the sloooowness of clicker training Teague, but thanks to those who told me to stick with it because we have made progress! Small progress, but for a dog who took two whole weeks to lift his paw to shake, not bad I taught him to target, and turned that into a bump on the face for "kiss" as well as stay, come (sit is not happening!) and his hardest trick yet...spin around. I think he is starting to "get" things a bit faster so that is good.

 

I don't do it daily but this week is supposed to be really cold so I thought with shorter walks he might benefit from more indoor training. I was hoping some people could provide me with some easy and fun clicker games or tricks. I really need to keep things simple, as he still will only work for short periods and needs very basic steps. Would love to hear of some fun games or activities for a hound that doesn't necessarily initiate a lot of behaviours or move on his own.

 

Thanks!

[krissy]

A really great one especially for a dog who has trouble with following what YOU want is to play the "anything with a box" game with your clicker. Doesn't have to be a box either. Pick an object (box, empty cookie tin, etc.) and put it on the ground. Arm yourself with clicker and treats and wait. ANY interaction the dog makes with the object gets a click and treat. You're not looking for anything specific right now. If he looks at it, click and treat. If he touches it with his nose, click and treat. If he puts a paw on it, click and treat. It gets the dog thinking on his own and coming up with ideas. He may start to offer one behaviour more often, or he may offer a behaviour you really like. In that case you can start to just click and treat for that one behaviour.

 

I didn't get any videos yet, but I did this with Kili. I got a box and put it on the ground. I clicked her for looking at it, for touching it with her nose, for trying to chew on it, for putting her feet on top of it. And then she started putting 2 paws up, so I started rewarding that more. And eventually she was jumping up on top of it and I liked that so I just looked for that.

[Batmom]

Need 2 people for this: One person holds dog, one person goes to another room. Then dog is released to "go find <name-of-hiding-person>." Hiding person has treats and clicker if you like. We play this with Gidget because she doesn't do much with toys. She has great fun motoring about the house looking for her person and is SO PLEASED when she scores!

[philospher77]

I strongly second the 100 things to do with a box game. It is excellent for teaching dogs that training is a two-way street. Katie... poor, shy, spook of a dog Katie.... eventually got to the point where she would see the box, look at me, and THEN stretch out a paw and touch the box! I swear, it was like a kid saying "Mom, are you watching? Look! Look! See what I'm doing!" It really helped bring her out of her shell.

 

A variation of the hide-and-seek game is just to work on a recall when Teague is in another room. And if he is having trouble with spin, have you tried going the other direction? Dogs are "sided"... spinning to the left may be very difficult, while spinning to the right is easy-peasy.

[Sambuca]

Bow is really easy. Click when the pup stretches. "chin"is also pretty easy. Put your hand under his chin and lure his head down so he puts pressure on your hand. Click when hes pressing down.

[RedHead]

Thanks for all the ideas! We did a bit of training today with the cold weather...I tried the box idea but with a toy just because I thought it might be useful in the future for training retrieves or other tricks. He is starting to offer behaviours on his own which is a dramatic improvement. I usually have the treat bowl in view as he doesn't fixate on it, but today I put it behind my back where he couldn't see it and he was facinated. He was right up close and seemed to enjoy the fact that these treats were magically appearing...it seemed to keep him more engaged. Funny what you discover as motivation We have been doing hide and go seek to practice stay and come, it is hard with just me here, but pretty funny to see how horrible his searching skills are. I'm trying to get him to use his scenting skills a little bit more. lol We'll keep plugging away and take things slowly!

Edited January 21, 2013 by RedHead

[Guest Giselle]

I've actually found that stationary, hardcore "thinking" exercises were the hardest for Giselle. She thrived on movement. Part of the reason is because movement requires us to use a bit of body language, which was easiest for dogs like her to understand. So, I was FAR more successful teaching really basic agility skills than I was freeshaping a rollover

 

Here's how you can shape a very very simple jump:

http://smg.beta.photobucket.com/user/LSophie/media/Videos/GiselleJump.mp4.html

 

You can teach "2X2 weaves" and sequence it together with a jump:

http://smg.beta.photobucket.com/user/LSophie/media/Videos/Gissieweaves.mp4.html

 

I used quite a bit of body language with Giselle when teaching her, so I was definitely not a perfect trainer then. But shaping is shaping!

[RedHead]

Thanks for the videos I really like the idea of teaching something more active like that, but didn't think of anything other than come. I'm thinking Teague might respond better to that kind of thing too, and I have already taught him "over" on hikes so he can jump over logs and fences. I never thought of the poles, I taught my old dog to weave through my legs as I walked but Teague is too tall, so I gave up on that one. I think I'll do a mix of the two approaches and see what works. Thanks again for all of the ideas. If we learn anything monumental I will post I am mostly just doing it to give him some stimulation, he goes stir crazy if his walks gets shortened down in the cold weather, so we'll just have fun with it.

 

Do you make your own poles out of PVC pipes? I couldn't tell from the video.

Edited January 23, 2013 by RedHead

[Guest Giselle]

Yep, I made everything from PVC pipes and connectors. Trial and error and a little creativity are all you need

[philospher77]

If you are looking for something active to try, this is a good description on how to train a "back up" command.

It might be something fun to do with your boy.