Introduction to Clicker Training - PART 2: Teaching Tricks (by Honey the Great Dane)

[sethrd]

Should you be charging the clicker before each "session" of training?

[hsinyicohen]

@sethrd No, once the understands the meaning of the "click" (ie. you got it right and a reward is coming), you don't need to keep charging the clicker. But for the first couple of sessions, it's doesn't hurt to charge the clicker a little bit before you start - just to remind the dog what the "Click" means. Once you have been clicker training for a while (depending on how often you do it - a few weeks +) - you can stop because the dog will have learnt the association and won't forget anymore.

[hsinyicohen]

@sethrd But even after you've been training for a while. it's still sometimes good to start a session with clicking & treating for something really easy (eg. SIT) - just to get the dog excited and into the groove and wanting to work for the click - sort of like whetting his appetite - before you move onto the new, difficult stuff.

[asubjectiveopinion]

Great video, you inspired me to get a clicker.

It's brilliant and has changed the way that I interact with my dog.

:)

[threebadfish]

The pawing behavior was really distracting and is an issue that should be addressed. Rewarding her for pawing when you aren't asking shouldn't be desirable. That can be very dangerous in a home with small children.

[Dabstaar]

Do you need targeting for the spin trick?

[32888999a]

What is the targeting for? is it just another trick or it comes after charging the clicker?

[swanfae]

I´m learning a lot with you, thanks lots!!!

[giantsfan245]

Do you have to reload the clicker before each training session forever, or just load the clicker once, and then the dog understands what the click means, since even when doing something for the click, he's still being rewarded.

[Photoshoplilli]

what a gentle giant a great dane is.

[albertelias2000]

To all the experts/Great Dane owners. Any recommendation for Great Dane training material. I'm considering buy a Dane soon, need to get my self ready. Thanks in advance

[vidgirl4444]

can we use a paper or something else then a hand?

[hsinyicohen]

@vidgirl4444 - yes, of course, you can teach your dog to target to anything - you just have to decide and make it consistent.

[vidgirl4444]

@hsinyicohen I will try a white paper and see what happens Thanks. I will let ya know what happens.

[rukadams]

@vidgirl4444 what's the best way to clickertrain two dogs? One is more of an issue and needs some help with behavioral issues around other dogs. My second dog is fine around other dogs so clicker training not as much as an issue

[ineedalover2]

where can i get a clicker?

[hsinyicohen]

@ineedalover2 - If you go to the "Clicker Training & Tricks" page on Honey's website (URL is in the video title page) - there is more info there on clicker training & where to get clickers, etc.

[musicofnote1]

Do you have a video showing how you fade the clicker during training, so that neither the clicker nor the treat are necessary, for example when preparing for your amazing Dog Dancing Choreos?

[ankh428]

@musicofnote1 that's on the 1st part of this series, buddy, look for it on the list of videos on the right ;)

[DantesPop]

I also have a great dane, you can get the dane to hold that beg position and they are quite capable of it. In order to do that I had to teach him the beg position and then teach him to do it while I was at a distance, when I was not as close he seemed more confident to sit up in that position without worrying about hitting me with his feet when he came back down. With that same method I managed to teach him to stand straight up and hold it like many small dogs will. great videos, thank you

[ldyTOXIK]

this is great advice. ive been looking into the breed because i want a great dane

for my birthday. are they agressive at all?

[pantera3628]

YOUR DANE IS GORGEOUS!! What do you feed her?

I will be getting a dane in a couple weeks and want to do the clicker training. Is it okay for me start the clicker training after he is potty trained and crate trained? or should I wait till he is a bit older?

[canica005]

How about to get the dog to walk beside you is the clicker effective for that?

[cJw314]

I thought luring with food wasn't part of clicker training...?

[hsinyicohen]

You don't use it if you're just doing "pure" shaping but you can use it with a food or toy lure if you're showing the dog what to do (as opposed to waiting for the dog to accidentally do it himself and then capturing that, which is what you do in free-shaping). You can use clicker in comobination with other training methods - it is simply a way of marking the right behaviour and communicating with the dog in a way that he can easily understand. Ultimately, you should be phasing it out anyway.

[hsinyicohen]

The 'purists' in any method always like to make strict rules about how to do things but I think in real life, using a combination of things is often more practical. The food lure is simply to show the dog initially what to do/where to go - should be phased out very quickly once dog understands the required behaviour.

[hsinyicohen]

You can often achieve the same things just by shaping but it will take a lot longer and requires more skill as a clicker trainer as you have to be very quick & accurate at capturing each closer approximation to the final action. Eg, to shape a Down, you need to first click the dog looking down, then head slightly lowered, then lower, then bend in elbows, then elbows on floor and then hopefully finally all the way down.

[hsinyicohen]

In shaping, you are not giving the dog any guidance at all and just hoping to capture him doing it naturally so much harder and takes longer. Useful for certain action & tricks (I free shape a lot of stuff with Honey) but for some simple things, it is faster and easier just to use a lure initially. eg, luring a Down usually only takes a few attempts for the dog to understand. What's important is the end result - not being a purist about the method - why do things the hard way just for theory?

[cJw314]

@hsinyicohen Holy cow thanks for the effort in that answer. :p

I'm researching clicker training in preparation for a puppy soon and was wondering how else aside from luring you could even DO some things - a "down" for example.

Great vids; Honey is a gorgeous Dane. Thanks! : )

[jb348]

can you use something else other than the clicker?

[hsinyicohen]

Yes, you can use a marker word (or any other marker sound) which is short, distinct and consistent (always sounds the same every time, same tone, same pitch, same length). A lot of people use the word "Yes!". But studies show that the clicker is more efficient coz it is interpreted in a different part of the brain, whereas words have to 'processed' in a diff part of the brain and so slows down learning.

[ResistTU]

very good 5/5

[killerkowalczyk]

Awesome, I plan on clicker/crate training my dane when I get him in the spring. Thanks for the tutorial!!!!!

[JesstheBorder]

great tutorial! 5*

[krolicik]

thank you two...good girls :-)

kri kri

[sprintbass]

i have a dog that is very similer to yours..

she is a great dane mixed with english mastiff. I dont have a clicker but i snap my fingers very loudly because im a bass player...

the clicking thing really works because when im working with my dog the association of the click and the treat become 2nd nature...she is 113 pounds..but i dont mind her size..i personally think that these dogs are amound the best in the world for trainning.., wonderful vid as usual

d

[mpdispirito]

I absolutely love your videos, both training videos and videos of honey being silly. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! God bless!

[melissagreatdane]

I just bought a click today..

[BakaniBoko]

This made perfect sense and you explained everything in a way that was simple, yet got all the necessary information across.

As someone with a small dog, yes, they do learn beg fast. Blossom learned to "dance" (stand on her back legs and twist around) as her first trick. Now though, every time my hand is over her head and I have the clicker, she thinks this is what I want! It's a bit tough since she is small & my hand is practically always over her head when I am training her! But shes learning!