Today - Lesson 1 - Clicker Re-Association and Attention

I know I had said today would be working on targeting.  I lied.   After a few minutes of working with Ranger it was clear that I did NOT have his attention.  There were so many things that were way more interesting.  So, I did what any good trainer would.  I pulled out the 'extra special' training treats and went *back to basics*.   Probably not a bad thing overall, actually. 

First things first.  Personally, I'm a huge fan of clicker training.  Why?  Because clickers can be used to mark, almost instantly, and reassure your dog that what they're doing RIGHT THERE, is exactly what you want.  Clickers have been used by aquatic trainers for years.  Why?  Because you cant get your hands on a dolphin most of the time - or an orca for that matter.  How do you tell them what they did *RIGHT THEN* is what you wanted?  How do you reward them in that exact moment of giving you what you asked for?  Well... you click! 

There are tons of different kinds of clickers out there.  From your standard, old-fashioned noise clicker that you used to use at football games, to your state-of-the-art electronic clicker with a zillion different click-sound settings.  For a single-dog home, I personally stick to low-tech.  A simple press-button clicker can do just fine.

We use StarMark Clicker Dog Training System for our one-dog needs.  Its ergonomic and fits well in my hand.  The button is easy to click but not so easy that it can 'mis-click' in your pocket or training pouch.



Speaking of training pouches, while they are not absolutely necessary to training a dog, they do definitely come in handy!  There are two that we really like:

Treat N' Ball Bag - Blue - by Outward Hound.  I'm a fan of Outward Hound in general, but this product in particular definitely gets a paws-up from me!  Its deep enough to hold not only treats but a standard tennis ball (for times when you want to reward with a couple of quick tosses and not treats!).  It also has a sturdy belt clip on the back, a drawstring top that closes *tight*, and a couple of various pockets on the outside for that extra key or a plastic bag (just in case of course!)

The Training Pouch by Black Dog.  The reason why we really love this pouch (other than its made by Black Dog and we love their products!) is that it has a removeable inner liner that you can purchase.  If you train with bits of hotdog or chicken, etc, being able to take your inner liner out and wash it is wonderful!


Armed with our clicker and our treat pouch, we set out to do a 10-minute training session of clicker re-association (getting him back into the groove of using the clicker!).  All you do for this part is just click and treat.  The dog doesnt have to *do* anything for it, you just want them to realize 'click means good things!'  So we click and treated our way through our training session and ended with a few tosses of his favorite toy!

After 2 separate 10-minute sessions of click-n-treat.  Because he's already been 'clicker trained' and this was just a 'refresher,' we were able to move on to attention without any problems.  Owners who are new to clicker training are encouraged to remember the addage "slow is fast" and never try to rush through a new command or technique.  Practicing a new technique repeatedly until it is down pat is going to give you a great foundation of commands. 

However, in our case, we already had the foundation - we just needed a quick little refresher.  So, when I could tell he was really getting it, we stepped it up for our 3rd training session and added our attention command  "watch me."   I would give him the "watch me" command and as soon as his eyes hit mine, I clicked and then treated.

Clicker training and specifically training your dog for 'attention' is really a great way to solidify a strong bond with your dog - companion, working or service - while simultaneously helping to reinforce your place as pack leader!