waggi Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 got my funky target stick - so i had to have a play i spent ages sat on the floor with Cleo - randomlly clicking and treating just to get her used to what the clicker was all about got out my little target sticki thingi - struggled to find a way to hold funky sticki thing - clicker and yummys once i had worked it all out Cleo thought my brand new colourfull exiting target stick was sooooooo dull and just wasnt intrested in it (GGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) so i pushed a load of treats in it and sort of moved it about a bit - this got her attention and she sniffed it (C&T) then she stared at me for ages so wiggled stick again got a sniff (C&T) after that she was more intrested in the stick she would offer the behaviour about 4/5 times then look at me like i was a nutter so i moved the stick again and got the behaviour again - after a few mins she started offering the behaviour quite regularlly - didnt start using a cue word YET because i thought we had done quite well for 1 quite short session. Cleo isnt really into training - with her she has to know what she is doing is right and needs a lot of praise along the way 2 things that i think i got wrong was - i had the wrong treats - because we had a high rate of C&Ting going on she didnt have time to chew - got a tube of cheese spread which may have been easier however im not sure how i can co-ordinate that quick enough along side the stick and clicker as well secondlly - i dont like the noise of my clicker !!! i dont think its loud enough for me - i have one of those I Click thingis and also one of those multi-clickers i find the I click to quiet but easy to use and perfect size and the mulit-clicker to bulky theres no way i can use that and co-ordinate everything else as well. The other problem i have is motivation and time - at the moment im really struggling to find the motivation to do anything therefore i am not making the time to train either - i promised myself yesturday that i would have a short training session with Cleo, Meg and Brock only getting round to doing Cleo - THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH HELEN any tips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cb96 Posted March 30, 2006 Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 I got a Mary Rae stick at crufts and my lot (including cat!) have taken to it really quickly and love it. Problem is, I would like to take it a lot further but cant find any books on the subject. Most books have a wee bit about target training, but dont really tell me anything I dont already know (usually how to introduce stick). I would like something more advanced - equivelant the various clicker books etc. I dont want to try and do more advanced stuff myself in case I get it wrong and confuse them! Anybody seen anything out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted March 30, 2006 Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 she would offer the behaviour about 4/5 times then look at me like i was a nutter Mollydog does this all the time! Everytime I teach something new it's the same: she does it perfectly twice, very quickly and I think 'wow what a clever dog' then she goes into 'you are a nutter' mode. If pressed, she then runs through all her trained behaviours, then sits there looking disappointed when you don't want any of those. It takes ages to get back to getting it right again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vikinggirl Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 We have the stick - just a piece of gardne cane actually with an end that I have painted and smudge some cheese spread on - Lucy is happy to follow it lovingly with her gaze and I click and treat when she touches the end with her nose................... but what should I be doing and what can I teach her to do with this???? sorry for being a dozy dork!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophie Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 You can teach all sorts of things with the targeting. If the dog will reliably touch the end of the stick, the next thing to do is to get your dog moving to touch the target. Then get the dog to follow the target - when the dog goes to touch it, move the target slightly so the dog has to follow the target. Then, some ideas of things you can teach: Spin - get the dog to follow the target stick around in a circle. Stand on two legs- gradually raise the height of the target, until your dog has to stand on it's back legs to touch it Walk on two legs - from stand on two legs, move the target gradually forward until your dog steps forward to touch it Jump - raise the height of the target so the dog has to jump to touch it If your dog pulls on lead, you can also use the target stick to work on loose-lead walking. Hold the target stick where you want the dogs head to be in the heel position. Start with just a touch, then move on to as the dog goes to touch the stick take a step forward - you'll have had one step of heeling. Gradually increase to moving a greater distance, then make the target stick shorter and shorter until it is no longer needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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