Now He's Afraid of the Clicker!

[Animommy]

Ive already written some posts here & gotten great advice, which has helps me to identify some things we need to brush back up on again or identify in regards to training our dogs again.

My Boxer, Bentley, is 5 yrs. old & had been initially clicker trained. I guess my hubby & i took for granted that he was such a good dog & got lazy with it & hadnt used it in quite a LONG time!

Recently, we've decided to go back to clicker training, however, despite giving him treats with it, he is terrified of it! He wont even take his treats & is being leary of me (im REALLY hoping i havent sabotaged any training with him or future training!)

Ive since stopped using it. Despite his front of occasional bravado, he really IS a "big baby"! Usually, howver, by tomorrow for example, he will be fine with me providing i dont use it again.

This may sound like a stupid obvious question but, im wondering if i should just use the treats alone for training or persist in trying to show him that the clicker is a GOOD thing! (he has issues ignoring me ) so i thought clicker training would be good to go back to.

Any advice at all is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[ouesi]

You don't have to use a clicker to clicker train :D
People with deaf dogs use a flashlight, you can use your voice (but be careful to use the same tone every time), you can use a retractable pen (usually quieter), all sorts of ways you can mark the behavior.

 

[SnowDove]

I've also seen deaf dog owners use a "thumbs-up" or "hand flash" signal in lieu of the click; the main downside is that the dog must already be looking at you to catch it, but it's worth a shot.

Also, not all clickers have a loud clicking sound. If yours is one of those cheaper ones from the pet store, try looking at $5 clickers. The sound is MUCH less pronounced, but plenty loud enough for the dog to catch.

Hope you figure out something that works well for you AND Bentley!