Five Steps To Success With Clicker Training For Dogs

Clicker training is a new way to train dogs. It’s used to train show dogs to do special tricks, but it can also be used to train your family Labrador retriever to sit or lie down. Clicker training starts with the knowledge that dogs want to please their masters.

Dogs like to learn new things. They like to have their “pack” around them. The only problem is that they don’t understand exactly what we want. The clicker tells the dog, “What you did THEN was great!” and rewards the behavior. The dog says, “Hey, that was fun!” and tries to get the human to respond in the same way again. So we end up training each other.
With clicker training, you bring up dogs with all positive reinforcement. A clicker trained dog is happy and cheerful and never afraid of you. Here are five tips for clicker training your dog.

1. Include the kids in the training. It’s not necessary to have enough strength to jerk a strong dog into submission, because you don’t use a leash. All you use are clicker, treats, and time. You’ll want to supervise your small children, especially if the dog is big, but the clicker training quickly have the whole family using the same words and rewards — making it much easier for the dog to learn.

2. When you’re starting out, click anything that approaches what you want. The dog learns to do the behavior and then learns the word for it. If you’re teaching “sit,” click and reward every time the puppy’s rump gets close to the floor. As the dog gets better at the behavior, you’ll click and reward actions closer to what you want.

3. Spend as much time as possible playing clicker with your dog. Pick an action you want the puppy to learn and click and reward over and over. It’s easy to forget that dogs don’t have a concept of language. So the word “sit” doesn’t mean anything to them until we teach them to connect it to the action of putting their rear end on the floor.

4. Once the dog understands that “butt on floor” means click and treat and associates that behavior with the sound “sit,” then you can refine the behavior. You can use the clicker to say that a good sit gets a reward and a sloppy sit gets a “try again” (not punishment, just no reward). It’s a natural progression and ends with no need for the clicker at all, unless you’re trying to teach something new.

5. Make the training fun for you and the dog. Dogs are simple-hearted creatures who really enjoy being with their people and interacting with them. With infectious enthusiasm, you can persuade your dogs to do amazing things.

A clicker-trained dog expects good things from life. If your dog is confident and happy, he will love to learn to do what you want to teach.

Click here for more information about clicker training.

Fetch vital advice about house train a dog - make sure to go through the web site. The time has come when proper information is really only one click away, use this opportunity.

Understanding Black Labrador Puppies

It is a puppy that has bonded with his “pack” and fits in well. It has been socialized – but how do you socialize a black Labrador puppy?

Socializing the Black Labrador Puppy

All dogs are social creatures, but few are as social as a black Labrador puppy. A black Labrador puppy loves attention, and wants to get it from everyone and everything. A black Labrador puppy does not want to share, however, and must learn that every member of the “pack” shares. He must learn how to respond to both human and animal members of his new pack.

Understanding black Labrador puppies involves 7 simple steps that help puppies become well-rounded.

1. Puppy Pats

Your black Labrador puppy needs to be patted, touched, and caressed. Most people do this instinctively from the time they get the puppy. Children, especially, touch the puppy in every possible place they can. The more children there are, the more puppy pats your black Labrador puppy will receive. Even if yours is a gun dog, and children are not playing with it, it still needs puppy pats. Let it feel your hand on its ears, its nose, and its paw pads. Get your black Labrador puppy accustomed to being touched and patted. It will help him fit into his new life. While you’re at it, teach children how to treat the puppy.

2. Puppy Playtime

It is important that you and your black Labrador puppy have several playtimes each day. If possible, give him at least one in the morning and one in the evening, as this will establish a pattern for future exercise times. Teach your black Labrador puppy that you are his friend. Play fetch. Take a toy away, teaching the importance of sharing. Do not let him take it back in an aggressive manner. Hide a toy and let him hunt it.

3. Puppy Rolling Game

Every black Labrador puppy needs to be involved in frequent bouts of the puppy rolling game. This game shows the puppy that his position in your pack is one of submission. When playing with your black Labrador puppy, roll him on his side now and then. Hold him there as you silently count to 10. When you reach 10, remove your hand and let the puppy get up. If he struggles while you’re holding him, do not let go. You must not let your black Labrador puppy overpower you, or he will believe he is the pack’s dominant member.

4. Share-a-Puppy

A big part of understanding black Labrador puppies is recognizing that they need a wide circle of acquaintances. When you get your pup, note his age in a notebook. Subtract it from 24 weeks. If your puppy is 8 weeks old, you would subtract 24 - 8 = 16. In those weeks (whatever number you wrote), you need to share your puppy with at least 100 new people. If you wrote 16 weeks, set a goal of having your puppy meet 6-7 new people each week. Keep track so you know it is happening. Simply have strangers hold your black Labrador puppy, and touch it. Hand it back and forth carefully so it does not fall.

5. Share-a-Meal

A black Labrador puppy can quickly learn to be protective of his food dish. If left to natural instincts, he may become hostile when others come near his bowl. To avoid this, share a meal by sitting or standing close to the bowl when the pup is eating. Have other family members do the same. Teach your black Labrador puppy that his food is safe even when someone is very near.

6. Puppy Home School

From the time you get your black Labrador puppy, teach him every day. He is old enough to learn basic commands such as come; down; drop it; leave it; and sit. Avoid yelling at the puppy or punishing it. There are good Labrador training courses available on the Internet. Order one and use it faithfully.

7. Puppy Support Group

Please understand that a black Labrador puppy needs the constant support of everyone in his home. Life is full of exciting things, as well as frightening things. When a garbage truck comes banging down the street, he will tuck his little tail between his legs and run for cover. What do you do. You – and everyone else present – act as though nothing happened. Your black Labrador puppy will notice that he is the only one running. He will soon decide that, if no one else is afraid, the sound of garbage trucks is not important.

Understanding black Labrador puppies is an ongoing process, but these 7 steps will give you a good start.

By: Anna Hart



By: Anna Hart

About the Author:

For More Articles Of This Author Visit :: http://www.thearticleinsiders.com/