I got the Clicker Kit on Tuesday. I quickly read the first chapter and skimmed the rest of the book. I didn't have time that night to try it out, but I was eager to try it Wed.
After reading the book I decided to take over the feeding of the cat. My husband was doing that and he was just filling her bowl and letting her eat as much as she wanted. I'm now giving her the recomended amount in two servings. Once in the morning and once in the evening. That way I she should be hungry just before meal time and I can get in a bit of clicker training.
Since the kit came with liver treats I decided to try those with the kitten. She played with them but never ate the piece I gave her. So I quickly decided those would not be a good treat for clicker training. I then decided to see what she thought of deli sliced ham. So I took some of the lunch meat we had the the fridge and cut off a tiny piece. Sucess, she liked that and ate it quickly. So I then cut up a bunch of little pieces.
I then got ready for training by pulling out a chop stick I had in a drawer.
I had to lure her into the living room by jingeling her toy, but once she was there I started clicking and treating for a bit. Then I stuck out the stick and when she touched it gave her a treat. I did this a few times. Some times she would get distracted and go for the treats, or for the clicker in my hand (rather than the stick).
I didn't count clicks or anything like I've seen some do, that seems like too much for me to keep track of at one time.
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Later that evening we came back and tried some more clicker training. This time I called her name to get her attention and then when she saw the stick she came right over to touch it. That was very encouraging. We did that for a bit. I tried leading her a little and she slowly got it. But she got a little confused if I put the stick up high (so she would have to jump on the couch to reach it).
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This morning before breakfast I did another training session with her. She got a bit better at following and finding the stick if it wasn't near the floor. I also started clicking her if she came towards me even when I wasn't showing her the stick. I figured the next thing we should learn would be "Come". I clicked her once when she jumped off the couch, as that will be a useful thing to train as well.
