[Spiritsmam]

Last year 3 of my senior dogs passed away. They were well behaved and a joy to be with. Over the past 4 months I have taken in two rescues, both young (Sam 1 year, Eli 22 weeks), wild, and having medical problems. Going to training classes is not an option for either at the moment (due to medical status), so I was thinking of trying clicker training at home (it would be good mental exercise and a refresher for my other three dogs also!). I did a search on Amazon and find numerous books on the subject. Are there any in particular that those of you "in the know" would recommend? Any tips on clicker training?

Many thanks
Joanne, Spirit and Eli

 

[MaggieRoseLee]

Clicker training is ideal for you!

I think what I would do is stick with Karen Pryor's site to begin with. She's the one who started it all and gives a good basis so you progress properly and understand why it works when we do it properly. (no talking is vital and I am always forgetting that with my big mouth). The mere fact the training is based on allowing the dogs to think and figure it out without all out distracting 'help' is one of the best things about it! (remembering that and having the patience to allow the dog to figure it out is the hard part for me).

http://www.clickertraining.com/

She has some free articles to read up on her site, but also alot of books/DVD's you can purchase.

And her new i-click clicker is much better than the old style box clicker. Softer click, you always grab the right 'side' (cause the button is in the middle) so the timing is better to bridge between the behavior you want and the reward the dog wants.

If you can locate a clicker training in your area, may be worth a few private lessons at your home with the dog. Alot of time we read up on stuff and think we are doing it perfectly, when just a few tips from someone with experience can make us even better.

 

[kaslkaos]

Here's a step by step on-line book.
http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/%20Dog1/levels.html

 

[Kaylas Mom]

Another site for you,

http://www.clickerlessons.com/index.htm

 

[MaggieRoseLee]

http://www.clickerlessons.com/clicker.htm great explaination on how to 'load the clicker'.

 

[FourIsCompany]

Another good book is Click for Joy. It's format is Q&A, so when you have questions, you just look them up. I like it.