I think Leave It and Stay should be easy. For Stay I had mine sit and would say stay and would reward them even if it was a few seconds and kept repeating it and I would back up and walk further away I would go back and reward.Leave It I did it on my bed with cookies. I would put a cookie in front of them andsay the command and I know they would try and take it but I put my hand over and kept repeating it and soon they catch on.I did not use a clicker for those behaviors but the down stay I did.
Clicker training
- Thread starter Smudge
- Start date
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
Leave it and stay are probably two of the more important ones anyway.
There are a couple of ways to do Leave it!
The first method is as Sharon already described, but call that "Wait". This is teaching pup good manners and not snatching at treats.
At puppy school, they taught us "Leave It" which is used primarily to keep your dog away from something (e.g. like garbage on the road). This was done with pups on leash (but once the word is understood, it will apply to any situation). With pup on leash, you walk by some delectable enticement that pup cannot ignore. As he turns towards it, you say "leave it" and keep walking. As soon as pup even glances back at you, you mark the behaviour and treat.
My boys are both great at Leave it! Thank goodness, because they can find some pretty nasty stuff up at the cottage sometimes.
Stay is done with pup in sit or stand position, gradually increasing the length of the stay. My pups know it in training, but instantly forget it when the doorbell rings! I must work on that.
There are a couple of ways to do Leave it!
The first method is as Sharon already described, but call that "Wait". This is teaching pup good manners and not snatching at treats.
At puppy school, they taught us "Leave It" which is used primarily to keep your dog away from something (e.g. like garbage on the road). This was done with pups on leash (but once the word is understood, it will apply to any situation). With pup on leash, you walk by some delectable enticement that pup cannot ignore. As he turns towards it, you say "leave it" and keep walking. As soon as pup even glances back at you, you mark the behaviour and treat.
My boys are both great at Leave it! Thank goodness, because they can find some pretty nasty stuff up at the cottage sometimes.
Stay is done with pup in sit or stand position, gradually increasing the length of the stay. My pups know it in training, but instantly forget it when the doorbell rings! I must work on that.
Smudge finally has "lay" down! It's been raining here for over a month almost nonstop. It wasn't raining today so I took the training outside for a little bit. 
This was his first time doing this command outside with distractions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJl-mqxrNDo
After I made the video I notice that I said "lay" too many times.
This was his first time doing this command outside with distractions.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJl-mqxrNDo
After I made the video I notice that I said "lay" too many times.
Dusty thinks clickers are SCARY!!!!!!
I tried getting Dusty used to the clicker yesterday by clicking then opening my hand so she could eat , and clicking then sroking her.
Today, before she had breakfast, I brought out the clicker again ( hiding it behind my back ) She came to my hand, I clicked, and she moved away. I tried again, offered food, she ran further.
Any suggestions?
I tried getting Dusty used to the clicker yesterday by clicking then opening my hand so she could eat , and clicking then sroking her.
Today, before she had breakfast, I brought out the clicker again ( hiding it behind my back ) She came to my hand, I clicked, and she moved away. I tried again, offered food, she ran further.
Any suggestions?
You don't have to have a clicker to train your dog. If your dog is afraid of it then I wouldn't even bother with the clicker. The last thing you want is for your dog to be afraid of something that is meant to mark the good behavior!
I use it because Smudge loves anything that clicks or squeaks. Is your dog afraid of squeakers? If not then maybe you could take a smaller dog toy to use for training. Squeak it to mark the behavior, and then maybe give them the toy as part of the reward.
Gizmo (my first sheltie) was also afraid of squeakers. I never figured out how to cure him of it.
corbinam
Moderator
I agree with Smudge--clickers are nice because they are an easy way to mark the correct behavior, but if your dog is afraid of it you can use another "marker". Some people in our obedience classes just used the word "Yes". So instead of clicking when your dog gets it right, just say "Yes". The advantage of the clicker is that it is really consistent, but if you are consistent with your marker word, you can achieve the same results.
Just make sure you "charge" your marker word just like you would with a clicker, just say "yes" (or whatever you choose) and treat and repeat a lot!
Just make sure you "charge" your marker word just like you would with a clicker, just say "yes" (or whatever you choose) and treat and repeat a lot!
Toffee's Mom
Forums Sage
agreed corbinam
since I don't have my clicker yet that is what I do.. the word Yes makes Toffee all wiggly and happy and hungry for cheese
since I don't have my clicker yet that is what I do.. the word Yes makes Toffee all wiggly and happy and hungry for cheese
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
After I made the video I notice that I said "lay" too many times.
IN puppy school, they were pretty firm about only giving the command once. I'm not sure of the rationale, however.
Another good technique is to incorporate hand signals as well as voice commands. So "Lay" or "Down" would be your hand flat in front of you, palm down, with a downward motion.
Oh thats to bad! Don't want to scare him,as like eevery one said,it won't do a bit of good if he's scared.
I did a bit of priming with Trapp with clicker,he soon realized when he heard the noise,it meant a treat was coming.
But it doe'snt work with every dog.I would use another marker to reinforce the good behavior,like everyone suggested~
corbinam
Moderator
Yes, we were taught to only say it once, as well. Especially after the dog understands the command, you only want to say it once. From what I understand, it's because the dog shouldn't be in control of when it responds to your request. "Lay" doesn't mean lay down when I feel like it, or after mom says it 10 times, it should mean lay down right away. It can even be a safety issue if your dog is in danger.
We were taught that if the dog doesn't respond right away, to mark the error (we used "uh-uh") and then place the dog in the down position and use a good marker (but not a click...like "that's it"--something more neutral). And then try again.