Training with Treats?! - Page 3

So last night the little goofball decides he's going to make me walk a lot...

Every sit, stay or platz out of motion became a platz out of motion once I had walked several steps away which meant I had to go back and start all over again.  It sure would have been handy to have had eyes in the back of my head!  I think that for the time being, I'll be training only one of these in each session; hopefully that will alleviate the confusion.

GSDoogie,

I always use treats with young puppies, but older dogs do well with food in training too.  Like mentioned by others, some dogs do better with toys as a motivator instead of food and I do whatever the individual dog likes. However, some dogs are get too high with food or toys and switching to one or the other helps them focuse better. 

 At advanced levels, your voice can be the motivator. In competition, when you can't use food/toys, even a smile can be a reward to a dog, as they've been conditioned to learn that when they've done well, you are happy.

The relationship comes first, however. It must or anything else used isn't going to work to its potential.

Clicker training isn't a joke, you just haven't seen it in action. Dog trainers that do use it, use it in varying degrees. Some use it alot, some maybe only for certain exercises or goals.

Clicker training has been used on sea mammals for many, many years. It works well in training other species, like parrots. One of our clients uses clicker training on the birds in her store.

It's also helpful for dog trainers, who have trouble with their timing in using their voice as the primary reinforer.