Really Impressed with Clicker Training Success *short vid*

[Kayla]

Hey guys,

Since Duke already knows all of his basic commands like sit,stay,come, down,paw and high five I decided it was time to teach the more complex tricks like roll over, eventually play dead, crawl, turn around and so on.

We've only been working with a clicker for a week and I've already seen drematic improvements in his heeling and lesh walking as well as we've started to learn roll over. Were getting their he'll do it completely but still needs to be lured with a treat so hoping to be able to wean him off of that by early next week and just do it on command.

Occasionally I think my click is a 1/2 second to late or early but I'm getting alot better. Feel free to critic my training style. When I was getting him to do high five and paw I had treats in one hand and the clicker was slipping out of the other which I was trying to fix incase anyone is wondering why I look so spazy. On the first attempt at roll over it didn't work out so I used "wrong" a command I use to let him know what he did wasn't what I was looking for and did not click or treat and tried it again.

The video is maybe 40-60 seconds long and has all of his basic commands plus roll over.

http://www.streamdump.com/?021e22

Thank for looking
Kayla

P.s Duke will be 6 months old on Feb 9th

 

[OutlineACDs]

ALWAYS give a treat for EVERY click. I noticed sometimes you would ask for a command and he would do it, you would click and then not treat. Even if you do not mean to click you must give a treat.

Nice dog though!

 

[Kayla]

Really I recall reading that after ahwile you can start doing multiple tricks and give a treat after a few. All of the tricks he did their excluding roll over he's had down for the last 4 months solid so he's pretty much weaned off treats and only gets them occasionally. Roll over is different as I still treat every time. From my understand once they get the idea that a click means treat by clicking then giving them a treat which I did for a few sessions before training with it you can make it more sparse so they work hoping for the occasional treat.

Kayla

 

[dr2little]

Really I recall reading that after ahwile you can start doing multiple tricks and give a treat after a few. All of the tricks he did their excluding roll over he's had down for the last 4 months solid so he's pretty much weaned off treats and only gets them occasionally. Roll over is different as I still treat every time. From my understand once they get the idea that a click means treat by clicking then giving them a treat which I did for a few sessions before training with it you can make it more sparse so they work hoping for the occasional treat.

Kayla

Great job Kayla!!:hail:

The clicker is a reward marker, it means that a reward is coming with each and every click. What you're probably confusing it with is the fact that you don't have to reward each behavior with a treat once the behavior has been learned.
Even if you can get multiple behaviors before rewarding with a treat, you must reward after every click....so just don't click for every behavior. You're at the point with him now that you can fade the clicker entirely for all of the behaviors that you showed on your video...that's terrific. Your clicker can now be used for new behaviors.
Loved the video!!

 

[Doberluv]

Once the behavior is well learned and reliable, you do not need to use the clicker for that behavior at all. But as long as you are using a clicker, a treat must follow it or you'll loose the prime, the association between the click and treat.

When your dog has advanced to be able to do a chain of behaviors such as come, sit in front, go around to a finish, you can indeed wait till all three are finished before rewarding. But by this stage, you probably won't be using a clicker for those particular skills except when you are trying to shape them up, make them better, tidier. But again, if you click, you must treat. A clicker is to mark a behavior so the dog learns which behavior you're reinforcing when he is still in the guessing stage....in the beginning. The clicker is used as a bridge from the moment he performs the behavior to getting the treat. The clicker equals a treat. It is a conditioned reinforcer, where by the treat is the primary reinforcer. If the click is not paired with the treat, it will loose that conditioned reinforcer "status." It will lose meaning and be pointless.

Once the behavior is learned and he is repeating it reliably, you may put it on a variable reward schedule. Again, by this time, you won't be using the clicker for the behavior since it is well learned.

Another tip: Start out by eliciting the behavior by some other means besides a cue. In the beginning of learning a new behavior, a cue word is meaningless and using it won't cause him to perform the behavior. Just get the behavior going regularly and reliably by showing him, luring or some other means of eliciting it. Then add your cue at the same time that the behavior is happening, not before, not after. He needs to make an association between the cue and the behavior. Only when you think he has made the association do you start trying the cue out ahead.....as a command. If he doesn't do it, he has not made the association yet. The reason I don't use a cue in the beginning is because he doesn't understand English anyhow and it's just one more thing clogging up his brain. Let him concentrate on doing the behavior and then add your cue simultaneously with the behavior. It won't take long before he makes the association and your dog will pair the cue with the behavior much better this way. Then you can use it before, as a command to elicit the behavior. But remember that cues do not drive behavior. You'll need to reinforce it even if it's on a variable reward schedule. In other words, if you never give a reward again, the behavior will regress. So very gradually thin out the treats, no pattern but before he gives up. You can shape behavior this way as well by only reinforcing the straighter sits, the more prompt recalls etc....as he becomes more proficient.....but take your time.

 

[Doberluv]

Hee hee hee....Doc, we posted at the same time. I haven't watched the video yet....will do...takes forever on my slow poke computer to load. Just wanted to throw in my thoughts before I watch.

 

[Toaster]

Kayla,

Amazing. I think whatever you did to get to that point, you're doing right! I wish I could get Stogie to that point. We've got SIT - but thats about it! Everything else he does, he does when he wants to, not because I say it. Sometimes the two event coincide (I say it, he does it) but thats coincidence

I wish I could get my Stogie to do that, especially the paw or high five. But I'd settle for the basics - sit, come, stay, down... I think Duke is PERFECT and your methods are PERFECT.

GREAT VIDEO TOO BTW!

I'm so jealous. I'm gonna make Stogie watch that OVER and OVER!

 

[Doberluv]

Everything else he does, he does when he wants to, not because I say it. Sometimes the two event coincide (I say it, he does it) but thats coincidence

Here's a thought: What would you do if you were at someone's house and you sat in the blue chair. And your friend handed you a dollar. Then you did some other things and sat on the couch and he did nothing. Then you got up and sat in the blue chair again and he handed you a dollar or two even. Then it was lunch time, you had lunch, you got your cup of tea which your friend handed you and went and sat on the couch. He didn't give you a dollar. You got up to go the bathroom, came back and sat on the blue chair and your friend handed you another dollar. Would you tend to choose the blue chair from then on? (kind of a silly example) But the point is, your friend never asked you to sit in the blue chair. It was a coincidence that you sat in it in the first place. But the more times you were reinforced when you sat in the blue chair, the more you decided to sit in that chair.

For your dog, when he by coincidence does something you like, reinforce him anyway, even if you didn't ask him to "lie down" or put a paw up. He doesn't know English and hasn't made an association between a behavior and the cue word yet. Reinforce with something he loves and do it within 3 seconds. Praise him. After many reptitions, he'll offer that behavior because it's like you beginning to regularly sit in the blue chair because you got a payoff every time. When he offers it a lot, then add a cue, "down" or "shake" at the very second he is doing the behavior. He'll eventually tie the word with the behavior. When he does, start ONLY rewarding for the behavior when you have given a cue. This method is called capturing a behavior.

You can also try eliciting the behavior with enticement or a lure, depending on the skill....but fade the lure asap. Lure him into position and reinforce. Don't worry about the cue word at first. It just gets in the way.

For high five, entice him to touch your hand with his paw. If he doesn't get onto it, hold a treat in your closed hand. He'll sniff, lick and then he'll probably try pawing it. Bingo! Treat/praise. There's your first step. Soon you put your hand there without a treat in it. When he touches, get the treat from elsewhere. Gradually open your hand so it's not like a fist anymore, a little less closed each time. Keep your hand low at first and reinforce him for just a little raise of the paw. Gradually raise your hand a little higher, withholding the reward for the lower paw raises. Make sure he's getting pretty good at each level before trying a little higher. Once he's raising his paw pretty regularly, you can add the cue, "high 5." Hold your hand differently than you do for shake, just like you do when giving a high 5 to anyone. Baby steps.