Were you surprised?

Even though books and sources say that a dog can catch onto a clicker in a few sessions, I spent about a week, once a day, just clicking and treating, to get used to the idea that click means reward. (I can sometimes have the patience of Job.)
 
The first few actual sessions involved re-establishing previous obedience with the clicker added as the marker of a completed task.
 
Finally, ready for free-shaping, I used a butter tub. Not much at first. Then, I re-read, and realized that, initially, you needed the object between you and the dog. I would say, in approximately 3 clicks at the most, he understood. The touch that became a heel was, IMO, half lure, half shaping. But, with the tub, by click 3, he was getting creative. He understood that something he could do could earn a reward. And this gives him the power to decide to move or offer behavior for the reward. And that, I think, strengthens the commanded or cued obedience.
 
So, after the patience of charging the clicker, I would say the actual light bulb was a little longer than the blink of an eye, approaching 2 heartbeats.
 

Absolutely. I think my first time using the clicker, it took about 3 clicks before Juneau got the idea that click meant treat. And I posted here about 2 minutes after I taught her to spin in a circle with the clicker ... was really incredible to see the learning in action

My trainer said "Rarely does it take a dog longer than 15 minutes to learn what a click means"[] - imagine my disappointment and confusion when it took several sessions over several days before Dodger understood. I felt so defeated at the time that I didn't look at the clicker for months!![] ... When I look back I know I didn't even have the most basic understanding of training with a clicker so its no wonder Dodger was slow to "get it"...
 
So not the most promising start to training with a clicker... But 8 months later, after trying to teach Dodger to spin for weeks by luring, I whipped out the clicker in a moment of desperation. Imagine my surprise when it worked in seconds (I was equally surprised that Dodger hadn't forgotten the meaning of the clicker). 

Jetty, all I can say is that I'm certainly glad you did whip the clicker out again and try it.  You got to have a "lightbulb moment" after all. []
Most of the time, when this doesn't work it really is because the trainer doesn't "get it", not because the dog isn't capable of getting it.  When you work it correctly, it works.  Often, when a dog's early training has consisted of being corrected for "mistakes", he is unsure of whether it's ok to offer any behavior on his own, lest he get a correction.  These "crossover" dogs are among the happiest when they finally figure out that it IS ok.  Clicker training has produced, for me, a hound that most people are quite envious of, considering his repertoire of behavior.  His first family thought he was stupid. []

Mine is the exact opposite.  Zeus is the crossover dog.

He was trained in a traditional manner.  Probably what saved me in this aspect is I am not the authority/dominate/controlling type.  He hasn't received many corrections in his lifetime.  He will offer behaviors much more quickly than the pom will. 

The pom didn't know any behaviors before I started clicking.  He didn't even know sit. Both have come a long way in a very short time. And yeah, I was more than surprised with clicker training.  Thrilled would be more like it.

ORIGINAL: spiritdogs

Jetty, all I can say is that I'm certainly glad you did whip the clicker out again and try it.  You got to have a "lightbulb moment" after all. []
Most of the time, when this doesn't work it really is because the trainer doesn't "get it", not because the dog isn't capable of getting it.  When you work it correctly, it works.  Often, when a dog's early training has consisted of being corrected for "mistakes", he is unsure of whether it's ok to offer any behavior on his own, lest he get a correction.  These "crossover" dogs are among the happiest when they finally figure out that it IS ok.  Clicker training has produced, for me, a hound that most people are quite envious of, considering his repertoire of behavior.  His first family thought he was stupid. []

What shocked me most was the differences between my two dogs--the one who I began clicking with as pretty much a blank slate, and our old-timer that I'd trained traditionally. It was shocking, and sad, to see just how shut down Conrad was. I hadn't tried to teach him a new command in years, and I had no basis for comparison anyway until we got Marlowe. As wonderful as it was to see Marlowe responding so quickly, it was equally as mortifying to see Conrad just sit there, looking stressed out, not getting it all. I had to call my husband in and tell him, "Do you see this? We did this, it is all our fault and we have to undo it."

Though also surprising to me was when Conrad turned the corner how everything changed for him instantly. He had a lightbulb moment, not a gradual change, and once the lightbulb went on, well, it was so wonderful to see him wagging his tail and offering behaviors and keeping his ears forward rather than laying them back in submission.

I was surprised that the clicker seems to be less of a precise marker for me and my dog than my words are. Maybe my dog is highly verbal (I know I am, lol). Maybe I'm still too fumbly with leash, clicker and treats in my stubby little fingers.

What I'm happily surprised about is that taking a clicker class and practising, has taught me a lot about my timing, as well as catching and shaping behaviors vs luring. My dog loves to offer me highlights from her repetoir of behaviors.

ORIGINAL: spiritdogs Most of the time, when this doesn't work it really is because the trainer doesn't "get it", not because the dog isn't capable of getting it.  When you work it correctly, it works.  

 
I agree ENTIRELY... It was not Dodger's fault at all - I had no comprehension that the clicker could teach him how to think... My thought process was "he knows the basics, why would I need a clicker to teach them all over again?" - how pathetic is that??!!!![] Since I had no understanding of the how and why's of clicker training, I'm not sure why I expected Dodger to "get it"....  I was in bad need of a lightbulb moment - not Dodger[]
 
Houndlove - I think Conrad is a very special boy to have trusted you enough to abandon what was "known" and "safe" to him and start actively offering behaviours.  It must have been a very emotional moment for you (and probably still is)!   

I was baffled the first time I ever used it. I remember teaching down to dogs by luring (I've never used corrections or force to train those types of things), and I was always turned off when I wasn't able to fade the lure like I wanted to. Then when I taught my first "down" (it was the first behaviour I ever taught with the clicker), and Gaci learned it in under five minutes, I'm sure I had the most stunned expression on my face.
 
Since then I have great faith in the power of the clicker (well, the power of knowing HOW to use the clicker) and I have never trained things as fast as I am now. Heck, I used the clicker, within ten minutes, to change a dog from being a screaming raving maniac when a dog came near her, to one that would lay on/by, lean on, and step over (or under, since she's tinnyyyyy compared to the Belgian we worked with last weekend) another dog if she thought it meant good things. The turn-around is just amazing, and just one more example of all of the things a clicker can do.
 
What I love, though, is being able to watch others learn that same thing. My stepfather just recently, after my having been using a clicker for about two years, clicker training "his" (the spoiled Kamara one I've talked about on other threads) dog, and he was just blown away at how quickly she learned down - in two days. And that's with BOTH of them new to the clicker. Even though he saw me doing it for so long, and saw all of the things I taught, he just didnt' believe how quick it really was. So I've officially converted him, by doing nothing more than setting a good example. [] And I like to see that more than anything.

Jetty, all I can say is that I'm certainly glad you did whip the clicker out again and try it. You got to have a "lightbulb moment" after all.
Most of the time, when this doesn't work it really is because the trainer doesn't "get it", not because the dog isn't capable of getting it. When you work it correctly, it works. Often, when a dog's early training has consisted of being corrected for "mistakes", he is unsure of whether it's ok to offer any behavior on his own, lest he get a correction. These "crossover" dogs are among the happiest when they finally figure out that it IS ok. Clicker training has produced, for me, a hound that most people are quite envious of, considering his repertoire of behavior

 
I know this thread is kind of old and moldy by now but I wanted to agree with everything you said. And that I agree from direct personal experience. These are not just words from a book, this is real life experience. And I, like Kim, was amazed at the the proficiency and speed of this system, as well as the overall effect. As I tried to relate in my "trust" thread, as the dog becomes more trusting that you are the most rewarding thing, they respond better to your training. Sometimes, almost a logarithmic response curve (there's that math thing, again.) I think it may be partly due to the dog's natural ability or desire to increase a behavior to seek reward, as Chuffy had pointed out some time ago. And yet it's so simple and basic and doesn't require physical power or trying to imitate a dog.