Excited for our very first clicker
training session together, I gathered some tiny snippets of roast
beef, picked up the clicker and called Dennis over. And we were ready
to go!
My first aim was to get Dennis to
associate the click with a reward.
I kept the clicker in one hand behind
my back and picked up a treat with the other hand. He sat down and
stared at me, licking his lips and jiggling excitedly. Then I clicked
just before giving him the treat, which he gobbled up eagerly.
I managed to do this twice, noticing
that he twitched a little at the sound of each click.
The third time I clicked, there was a
very different outcome – instead of eating the piece of beef being
offered to him, he ran away and hid under the table in terror!
I purposefully didn't make any fuss
because I didn't want to make his fear seem justified or reward his
anxiety with attention.
When he eventually returned to me, I
smiled and praised him, giving him a couple of treats by hand to
reassure him that nothing sinister was going on. But as soon as I
reached for the clicker, he darted back under the table.
Great – my dog is scared of the
bloody clicker! My guess is that it sounds similar to the nail
clippers, which he hates because I once accidentally grazed the edge
of his quick (the sensitive part inside the nail, which isn't visible
in dogs with black nails).
On his second return, he ran back under
the table the moment I even tried to offer him a treat. I'm
slightly ashamed to admit that the merits of his sudden aversion to
food did cross my mind.
So as to end on a positive note, I
waited for him to come back to me and gave him plenty of cuddles and
eventually a treat (no clicks!)
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