While flying home from vacation recently, I engaged in conversation with a young woman sitting next to me, Jennifer. In the course of conversation, I learned Jennifer had a five year old basset hound, Waldo. She described Waldo as a sweet, lovable dog who enjoyed hour after hour of lounging in the yard, watching people walk by. But Waldo wasn’t always so easy with people.
As a puppy, Jennifer used clicker training to teach Waldo basic obedience skills. She was so excited about how quickly Waldo learned to obey simple commands and how easily she paper trained. But Waldo was so afraid of people that any time someone came to the house, or even walked past the house outside, Waldo ran and hid. “Taking Waldo for a walk was not fun. If someone came toward us, Waldo was on a leash and couldn’t run away, so he started barking and growling. It was so strange to see my sweet puppy become so scary.”
At her wit’s end, Jennifer called a dog trainer who assured her that fear of people is not uncommon and Waldo could be trained to relax around people. The trainer explained that teaching Waldo to associate something especially positive with people may help Waldo change his reactions. To do this, the trainer suggested using the clicker since Waldo was already familiar with and enjoyed this method.
Jennifer began clicker training Waldo to sit when he saw people, and she rewarded him with a click and his favorite treats. She was told to limit Waldo’s time around people initially, so she started training him in the house and yard with a friend for two weeks. When Waldo was ready to be around more people, she started taking him for walks, and eventually to the park. It took about three months of clicker training before Waldo would let people come up to him, but the training paid off.
A clicker trainer gives a dog positive reinforcement when he behaves correctly. This training method allowed Waldo to associate people with something special. “I can’t believe what a different dog Waldo is around people now. We couldn’t have fun at the park or even just going for walks. That clicker really changed Waldo’s life!”
As a puppy, Jennifer used clicker training to teach Waldo basic obedience skills. She was so excited about how quickly Waldo learned to obey simple commands and how easily she paper trained. But Waldo was so afraid of people that any time someone came to the house, or even walked past the house outside, Waldo ran and hid. “Taking Waldo for a walk was not fun. If someone came toward us, Waldo was on a leash and couldn’t run away, so he started barking and growling. It was so strange to see my sweet puppy become so scary.”
At her wit’s end, Jennifer called a dog trainer who assured her that fear of people is not uncommon and Waldo could be trained to relax around people. The trainer explained that teaching Waldo to associate something especially positive with people may help Waldo change his reactions. To do this, the trainer suggested using the clicker since Waldo was already familiar with and enjoyed this method.
Jennifer began clicker training Waldo to sit when he saw people, and she rewarded him with a click and his favorite treats. She was told to limit Waldo’s time around people initially, so she started training him in the house and yard with a friend for two weeks. When Waldo was ready to be around more people, she started taking him for walks, and eventually to the park. It took about three months of clicker training before Waldo would let people come up to him, but the training paid off.
A clicker trainer gives a dog positive reinforcement when he behaves correctly. This training method allowed Waldo to associate people with something special. “I can’t believe what a different dog Waldo is around people now. We couldn’t have fun at the park or even just going for walks. That clicker really changed Waldo’s life!”
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