akyramoto82
Posted : 3/3/2010 1:00:23 PM
pretty soon You'll be like me, crazy puppy lady with a clicker in hand and treats on my hip LOL
oh i wanna suggest this, cuz it was one of my first questions about clicker training.
when do you stop C/T?
once simba has something down 100% or even 90%, start asking for that behavior a little more, maybe he has to sit twice to get a click, or he has to look at you for 2 seconds before he gets a click, then 3 etc.. but throw a onesy in there every once in awhile. and jackpots - thats when he does something really well ( or just cuz you feel like it) and after his click you give him a bunch of treats. Its like a slot machine, he's gonna keep playing for that once in awhile big payoff.
but ya, you work up to longer and longer behaviors, eventually fading the C/T out. there are alot of things I still click Zoey for 100% of the time, because i really want to cement it in her little puppy brain - and thats usually recalls and loose leash walking.
I also wanted to add that I use certain treats for certain degrees of difficulty so in the house she'll get - dog food or chopped up soft treats ( mostly dog food though), when i started loose leash walking it was lunch meat, then dried liver/soft treats, and now she'll do it for cheerios and dog food. With the cars I used lunchmeat & hot dogs in the beginning, and now we're down to soft treats/dried liver/cheerios. My trainer also uses string cheese as a reward - depending on the pups tummy. you can also mix in praise as a treat or ear rubs,whatever he enjoys and will work for.
So if you're asking him something difficult or in a highly distracted environment use a high value treat to keep his attention, when he gets more proficient, you can go down a level on treats.