Jump to content
BC Boards

Obedience training methods


Recommended Posts

Find your local dog club (or even a PetSmart!) and attend classes. It's great socialization for the pups as well. They can go through a fear period around that age or so. Just look for a fun setting and an instructor that uses positive methods (rewarding the good, no harsh physical corrections).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Zoe:

Hi, I wouldn't order it. Have a look at the videos on here. They are free !

here

Thanks for the info. I watched the basic obedience with the clicker. I'm wondering though, if I want to use my dogs on stock - will I be able to use a clicker, and how would I do it. Or do the dogs get to a point you don't use the clicker anymore??

Thanks, Lisa

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Lisa

 

It has been done (using a clicker to train 'herding' - but personally, I wouldn't even think about using a clicker when training dogs on stock. It's a whole different ball game - you're not teaching 'tricks' - which is essentially what obedience and agility training are IMHO. I use a clicker for both of those, but not for stock-work or tracking, because in both of those, I believe you're using and harnessing the natural instincts of the dog.

 

My little "Barbie" collie trains with food and sometimes a clicker in agility, but when we had the chance to work at my sheepdog trainer's sheep farm, became quite a useful little farm dog without any food or clicker - in fact she wouldn't have even noticed them.

 

So in short, I think there is no harm using a clicker for obedience, agility and so on. If the dog has any instincts or talent to do stock work, I don't think what you've done in the other disciplines will matter. A good stock dog trainer will be able to help you, and the dog will differentiate quite nicely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Barb

Thanks for the advice. I'll think about getting a clicker. Any certain type? Petsmart is 50 miles away. I have to go that direction next week to do school shopping for the kids - maybe I can remember to get one. There's so much training advice out there, it's hard to know which one to pick. I've learned a lot just reading all the stuff on this bc board. It's very evident how much everyone loves their dogs. My dogs are still very young. I look forward to them being able to do so many of the things I'm reading about. Some days though I just don't know where to start. It's been too hot here to do more than swimming with them.

Thanks again - Lisa

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You don't have to buy a clicker. You can use the clicker method with any noise you find useful: a toy, snaping, to click your tongue... posibilities are infinite. I know a trainer who use his respiration to reward the dog in the middle of schutzhund competitions.

 

If to buy a clicker is so complicated and you don't want to wait, there is no reason not to start now. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Lisa

 

Catu is right - you don't need to use a clicker as a reward marker - I just find them very convenient - and alos you know they're going to be the same each time.

 

I prefer Karen Pryor's i-Clicks - they fit very neatly into your hand, and the raised button is much easier to use than the box ones where you have to depress a metal tongue. You can get them quite cheaply from Karen's website . They only take about a week to get to Australia, so I'd imagine would be quicker in the US.

 

I'm not a 'pure clicker trainer' - I use the clicker for some things but I do a lot more luring than some purists would do. I find the clicker improves my timing, makes me pay much more attention to exactly what it is I'm trying to train, and is a very quick and powerful indicator to the dogs that they've done the right thing.

 

There are lots of helpful articles on the Net about the principles of clicker training, and you can also find some good exercises that you could play around with indoors while it's so hot. 101 things to do with a box is a good one, and you can also train stuff like paw touches, bow, twist/spin - all sorts of things which don't involve lots of space or too much movement.

 

It's great to do lots of stuff with young dogs - doesn't have to be formal obedience. It all helps to condition the dog to enjoy leaarning,a nd helps the bond with you which is the foundation of all training.

 

Feel free to PM me if you want some more links or explanaation. I'm no expert, but I can probably point you in the right directions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...