I've been going back and forth with the clicker training. It is a method that I want to keep using, but I'm noticing some things that I'm not sure how to correct.
Blake is quite treat inclined. It's a good thing that he is responding to the treats I give him as it makes clicker training easier, but I'm finding that everytime he sees me now, he's expecting treats and he begins to get excited and hyped up over it, sometimes to the point where he's actually bullying me to give him treats (ie. nipping at my feet, legs, pulling on my skirt, etc.). I need for this behaviour to stop and I'm not sure how. It's gotten to the point where I've taken a break from clicker training so that he stops associating me with treats. It's great that he's eager to be trained (or so I think) but I sometimes wonder if anything I'm doing is sticking to his head or if he's just obedient out of expecting a treat.
Sitting is something he knows how to do and he listens/responds well when he knows I've got a treat in my hand. I usually have his full attention and if I don't, it's really easy to get it back. I've tried asking him to sit without any treats or clicker and his attention is not on me at all. If he knows there's no treat there he will continue going about his business. How do you wean a dog from the treats and how do I get him to understand that it's not about the treats but that it's about listening to me? lol
Please forgive me as I'm new to all this. I'm currently reading a book on positive dog training, but I know feedback from other people will help too.
Thanks for reading!
Abbey
Teach self control
Wonderful that he's so enthusiastic! Use his enthusiasm to teach him things. If he's mugging for treats, ask him to do something he knows so that he can earn a treat; or use the opportunity to teach him a new skills. When using a lure I find that using it only a few times and then doing exactly the same motion without the treat in my hand works well. The puppy still gets a click and treat for doing the behaviour, but the treat can be in another place such as the kitchen where the two of you can run to go get it! Don't forget that you can use other things your dog likes as rewards too. For example give him a good ear rub and then give him his reward.
TREATS!!
As far as the behavior of 'bullying' you for treats, focus on the behavior you want. He is nipping at your hand... ignore it. Wait until he is calm then click and reward for being calm. If he gets too extreme in his behavior and you can't stand it anymore, you can always ask him to sit. He can't sit and pull on your skirt at the same time, plus sitting is an appropriate behavior. Do not wait for him to break the sit and do it again. Instead, a few seconds later reward for still sitting.
Weaning treats:
Something you have to remember is that the treat is their pay check. Now, with that in mind, start teaching him on a variable scedual of rewards. I, personlly, would only start this on behaviors which are solid as. In my opinion, when learning something new they need that feedback that the behavior they did was correct. Anyways, back to variable schedual of reinforcement, I am paraphrasing Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor. It has to be variable. Try not to get into any predictable pattern.
Sit-reward
Sit-no reward
Sit-reward
Sit-reward
The coolest part about doing the variable schedual is that you can begin to select for certain behaviors, faster sits for example. Eventually, you can slowly go longer and longer times without a reward. And then only a few rewards to maintain a behavior. You will get there! =)
If you are afraid of getting into a pattern, a fun trick is to put rolled up pieces of paper into your treat bag. If you pull out a piece of paper... no reward. Just remember to put the piece of paper in a different pocket so the ratio remains the same. Also, you can make the ratio of paper to treats at your dos level. In the begging you can start off with 2 treats to 1 piece of paper. Then 50:50 then 1:2. Remember, if you make a breakthrough or are selecting for a certain behavior reward for those.
Good luck! I would love to know if my advice helped.