I just posted this to Clicker Solutions, but I realize that it's true enough that I want to keep it handy. :-)
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Does clicker training ease the pain of raising a puppy?
Oh, yes. I think so. Oh, yes, yes, yes!
(Warning! Shameless proud mommy babble follows!)
Laev is my poster child for this concept. Laev was called "the crocodile puppy" for the six months before she was born because I knew what she would be genetically. Laev has been called "high," "strong"
and "irrepressible" by experienced working dog folks.
Laev is naturally an, er, energetic dog. (I actually took her to the vet clinic once and begged them to find what was wrong with my dog. "What are her symptoms?" they asked. "She's walking," I said. "Down my
hall, she walked. I've never seen her walk before.") She has a high pain tolerance and does not startle easily. Training with aversives would require some strong, strong P+.
I received a huge compliment (at least I took it as one) when someone recently incidentally remarked, "You know, Laev could be a really nasty dog if she were with someone else." She's smart, she's lightning fast, and she enjoys a fight; I wouldn't think alpha-rolling her would be a good idea. But I'll take her almost anywhere and she's just fine.
BUT -- she loves training, she's quick to offer a behavior if she's not getting what she wants, she's lovely to train. She chains faster than any dog I've seen (usually when I'm *not* looking for it!) and her
single biggest problem is too much enthusiasm, so duration behaviors are tough. But you want an active behavior? Name it and come back in five.
Now, I do put in a fair amount of effort, but I am not *that* good. I'd love to take credit for being awesome, but it wouldn't be true. I actually slack off a lot, unfortunately. I could put in the same amount
of effort or more with different methology and I don't think I'd be getting these results. (Heck, I used to do just that, only I lacked a lot of trainer skills I now take for granted. At the time, though, I didn't know what I didn't know! and I thought I was happy with what I was getting.) But with the clicker methology, I have a foundation of trading behavior for access and of thinking/evaluating rather than waiting for help or instruction, and I think that has really paid off.
With OC, I know how to split; Laev knows how to lump. I know how to set up for success and how to proactively reinforce good behavior *before* bad behavior occurs; Laev knows how to evaluate feedback and consciously offer behaviors which have been rewarded in the past. I know how to plan; Laev knows how to make intelligent guesses for behavior in an environment she hasn't seen before.
Right now, I have an uber-drivy, working-bred, over-the-top, actively-reinforced-for-berserker-behavior dog who can think clearly and proactively. I have had said super-oral dog for 16 months or so, during
Of course, she's only 18 months old. I hope I didn't just jinx myself to a horrific remaining adolescence!
