by TheRedQueen » March 12th, 2010, 12:29 pm
Jenn wrote:I admit I'm probably just confused, cause I'm sure it's been covered or I could find it somewhere but why not give him any verbal clues, to lay down, or anything else? The point of the clicker training is for them to figure out on their own what your wanting without saying anything? He's really so cute
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We're shaping this behavior...so the clicker does the "talking". I tell people it's like playing the old kids game where you tell someone if they're hotter or colder. So he gets clicked for behaviors that are headed towards the end goal...which are sometimes little tiny behaviors (looking at the basket, or touching the basket, etc) We don't always end with the goal...in this case, he didn't lay down in the basket...but we'd gone on long enough. The next session (I'll tape this too)...he *should* just jump into the basket, because he now knows that the click/treat comes from that behavior.
So you're right...I want him to figure it out, and not be told what to do. I don't add a word or visual cue until he's got the behavior solid...because otherwise it's just confusing for him. Traditional methods are to give the word, and help the dog into the position...but the dog doesn't really know what that word means at first. So with shaping, we add the cue/word later when the dog has the behavior down pat.
"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo
"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw