Trained Dogs Rule

In a previous post I talked about clicker training and as I told you we were not having much success with clicker training our two Dobermans.  We were training inside and both of them seemed to be afraid of the clickers.

We live in the country and have a bit of property.  Our backyard is fenced for the dogs and past the fenced area we have a pond. What’s a pond without ducks!  We have 20 pet ducks that we lock up at night to protect them from predators.

To get them out of the pond we usually clap our hands and talk to them and they come out and head for the house.  Sometimes they are not that quick at responding to us.

So what you ask does all this have to do with clicker training?  One night when we went to put them away I had the clicker in my pocket and decided to see if I would get any reaction from them if I used the clicker instead of the hand clapping method.

It was truly amazing!  With just a couple of clicks out they came, quacking the whole way right into their house for the night.  We have been using the clicker every since to put them away at night.

Then I noticed something else. When using the clicker for the ducks it got the dogs’ attention. They are now responding very well to Clicker Training
I’ve come to the conclusion that the dogs didn’t want to be outsmarted by a bunch of ducks!

So when you attempt any type of training with your dog remember training takes time, it does not happen over night.  Be consistent with your training and remember praise, praise, praise.

Remember also that “The single greatest cause of death in dogs under one year of age is not Parvo, it’s not Distemper, it is lack of obedience training and 93% of training and behaviour problems can be solved using a series of simple dog training techniques. ”

Until next time

Maureen Brownell