# Canine Clicker Training **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 15, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canine-clicker-training/543336 "2010-06-15T19:15:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canine-clicker-training/543336/1 "2010-06-15T19:15:52Z")
Anyone have experience with clicker training their dog? Our new dog [Kali (cutest dog in the neighborhood)](http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv174/kayaker01/jollyball.jpg) started puppy kindergarten last night. The trainers are into clicker training, and things went _very, very_ well. In fact, if I owned any of the other dogs there, I might be a bit jealous of Kali’s excellent demeanor and desire to excel.😃 Anyone ever done clicker training? Pros/cons? Did it work? Gracias. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canine-clicker-training/543336/2 "2010-06-15T19:31:51Z")
I am a very big fan. My girl picked it up pretty quickly (after she got over her initial fear of the sound.) However, I soon found that she is so eager to please, she really only needs me to tell her “good girl” and that is enough. I like it a lot, but with this dog I just don’t need it. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canine-clicker-training/543336/3 "2010-06-15T19:45:28Z")
Yes. We used it to help with a certain behavior problem with our previous dog, and it worked very well. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canine-clicker-training/543336/4 "2010-06-15T20:24:24Z")
Cool!! Good to hear some positive reinforcement.😃 ---
**Author:** ![toodlepip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@toodlepip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toodlepip)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canine-clicker-training/543336/5 "2010-06-15T21:35:42Z")
I’ve clicker trained horses, and they respond extremely well. I’ve found it most useful for nervous or easily distracted horses, they focus very quickly on the click, and the clicker makes it completely clear to them when they have achieved their goal. I’ve tried clicker training my dogs, but it seemed pointless, we had already established other training methods. They’re too keen to please for the clicker to be necessary, it becomes a distraction. The click is just a bridge to let the dog know a reward is coming, and it seems my dogs read me well enough by now to know when they’ve done something right. I would be keen to try it with a new puppy, though. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canine-clicker-training/543336/6 "2010-06-15T21:40:13Z")
Yes, it is fun with our puppy. We have played around with our adult dogs, but they are already pretty well trained and the clicker is unnecessary. What do you use as a reward for a horse? Ours like peppermint sticks, but they take their time eating them. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canine-clicker-training/543336/7 "2010-06-15T21:44:43Z")
Yeah, we taught our pooch stupid pet tricks with a clicker. It worked really well. I was actually trying to teach him to dance as a goofy birthday present for my girl (no, really!), but he had too much trouble figuring out his left from his right. ---
**Author:** ![toodlepip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@toodlepip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toodlepip)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canine-clicker-training/543336/8 "2010-06-15T22:43:00Z")
Horses are easy, at least mine are, they’re extremely food oriented. They love mints, but a clicker training session would easily go through three or four packs, so I usually just fill my pockets with pony nuts and hand out a few pellets at a time, and use mints or fruit as a special reward. Horse treats are way too expensive for the amount you end up using. And as long as you don’t reward pushiness, they learn very quickly that messing around and chewing your pockets is pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canine-clicker-training/543336/9 "2010-06-15T23:42:07Z")
Let me be the first to say that clicker training sucked for us. I took our pooch (a bichon) to dog school for something like 6 or 8 weeks and she never got it, and it made ME feel stupid. This dog was just way too interested in what all the other dogs in the room were up to, and when I tried reinforcing the behaviour at home with treats she just did not care one bit. We still have the dog, and she’s grown into a wonderfully smart companion. She “understands” lots of words, but the clicker just did not work at all. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canine-clicker-training/543336/10 "2010-06-16T00:26:29Z")
Guide Dogs for the Blind has started to use clicker training for raisers, so that is an endorsement. I haven’t used it myself since our last puppy was before they started. Since she stayed with us as a breeder, we haven’t started any other dogs since.