Preparing Your Dog for the New Baby

You’re expecting your first baby – how wonderful! There are so many things to start thinking about and planning for, including preparing your dog for all the changes that will occur when you bring the baby home. The best time to start training your pet for this new lifestyle is today. Using the positive reinforcement clicker training method will reinforce the strong positive bond between you and your dog and make the transition much happier for you and your dog.

Obedience Training
This is the time to make sure your dog has been obedience trained to respond to your commands: sit, stay, come, down. Clicker training is one of the most successful methods for obedience training, and once you’ve mastered the simple clicker technique, you’ll be able to teach your dog to do these basic commands. Once you’ve fine-tuned these skills, you can clicker train your dog to walk with a leash.

Crate Training
Make sure your dog has a safe place to go, a place just for him when he needs to get away from all the baby activity or for you to put him when he needs to be out of the activity for a few hours. Clicker train your dog to go to the crate, where his bed, food, water, and toys are kept, and he’ll be much happier when you need him to stay there for a while.

Behavior Training
With all the attention shifted to the new baby and all the new smells and noises, your dog may feel threatened or overwhelmed. As early as possible, start clicker training to address issues such as barking, growling, and other aggressive behaviors; and chewing, jumping up on people or furniture, and other destructive behaviors.

Environment Training
All the noise and commotion may make your dog skittish, aggressive, or withdrawn. You can help him learn to stay calm by introducing him to similar environments. Clicker train your dog to lie down and be calm when children approach her. Take your dog to visit friends with young children and clicker train him to learn to stay calm with all the strange noises and smells. Introduce these for short periods and increase the time as he becomes more comfortable.

You’ll find a number of blog posts on this site with information about clicker training techniques and tips. Clicker train your dog early, reinforce the training often, and make him feel loved and important. You’ll be able to enjoy this exciting time of your life with your new baby and your happy, well behaved dog.

911 Dog Hero

She may be retired now, but Red was one of the four-legged heroes in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.

Red was among hundreds of other dogs who worked in New York and Washington, D.C. after the attacks, according to the video below from Reuters. She searched through the rubble at the Pentagon in 12-hour shifts in the hot sun, helping to recover dozens of bodies over several weeks.

Now 12-years-old and retired, the Labrador occasionally tags along on search missions. She "still has the same love of the search," according to the video report.

Her trainer, Heather Roche, said "I never thought she would be a successful search dog," she told Reuters. But no matter what I asked her to do ... she did it every single time and she did it perfectly," Roche added.

There are organizations that work to train dogs, such as the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation,which helps train dogs mostly from shelter s to save human lives during disaster.

Listen carefully towards the end of the video...hear the Clicker?

Thank you to Red and Heather!

The Clicker Company

Dog Vs Sheep Clicker Trick Showdown

LOVE this great show of clicker training with different animals!

How a Clicker Trainer Changed My Dogs Life

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!”

Clicker Training Can Help Your Dog Stay Calm in Loud Summer Storms

Dogs have heightened senses, so summer storms with thunder and lightning can be scary for dogs, especially those that are sensitive to loud noises. They may start panting and drooling, barking, peeing on the floor, or even becoming destructive while trying to run away and hide. You can manage your dog’s fear of loud noises with clicker training.

It is totally natural for your dog to seek your reassurance during a thunderstorm when he starts panicking. But surprisingly, what seems “natural” can be the wrong thing to do. Cuddling and comforting your dog reinforces the dog’s fear by confirming that the loud noise is something to be afraid of. A better approach is to remain calm, speak to him gently, and lead him to his special place where he can relax and feel safe.

If you have previously used the clicker for obedience training, then your dog can be clicker trained to go to a special, safe place to relax – a special rug, a mat, or some other area. You want him to go to this safe place when he’s scared so he can calm down.

A little advance planning is needed. During quiet times before storms, use the clicker training method to train your dog to identify the special spot as a relaxing, safe place. Start by conditioning the area: put one of his favorite treats there, and when the dog approaches the area and bends down to eat, click and praise him. Continue this for a few minutes every day for several days.

Your dog will likely start sitting or lying down when he goes to the area and is rewarded with treats. If not, clicker train him to sit or lie down here. Every time he goes to the area and sits or lies down, click and treat. Continue this clicker training for a few weeks so he will be totally conditioned and able to respond correctly to your command even in a noisy thunderstorm.

By using a calm voice and training your dog to be relaxed in his special, safe place, you teach him that a thunderstorm is no big deal and he’ll be just fine.

Frisbee Fun for You and Your Dog With Clicker Training

Teaching your puppy or dog to play Frisbee is a fun game and wonderful bonding activity for you and your pet. There are lots of videos showing dogs doing all kinds of tricks with a Frisbee, but how did they learn to do them?

One of the best ways to train your dog to enjoy playing Frisbee is with clicker training. If you have used a clicker for obedience training, you can use the same skills to clicker train your dog to catch a Frisbee. Before you start, be aware that dogs should be at least 12-14 months old before they are physically mature enough to jump and catch mid-air without possible injury. Frisbees made especially for dogs are best; they should have rounded, soft edges and be light enough to catch.

1. Start by sitting on the floor with your dog and rolling the Frisbee. Tell your dog to “catch” and when he catches it, click and treat.


2. To train him to return it to you, basic fetching skills are required. Roll the Frisbee on the ground, tell your dog to “fetch,” and encourage him to return to you. When he comes back with the Frisbee, click and treat. This may take a few days, so be patient.


3. When your dog has learned to fetch and return it to you, try using a second Frisbee to roll immediately after he brings the first one back to speed up the game. Click and treat after each returned Frisbee.

Now it’s time to start throwing the Frisbee in the air. Always throw the Frisbee away from the dog so he will not get hit in the face and become afraid of the Frisbee.

1. Throw the Frisbee just a short distance in the air and tell the dog to “fetch” or “catch.” When he catches the Frisbee, click and treat.


2. Give your dog a chance to become proficient in fetching the Frisbee thrown a short distance before throwing it farther. Every time he catches the Frisbee and brings it back, click and treat.


3. You can also clicker train your dog to drop the Frisbee when he returns it to you. Tell him to drop it, then click and treat.

Remember that clicker training is positive reinforcement. Never reprimand your dog for not doing what you ask; just keep working with him until he finally understands what you want. It may take your dog several weeks to get this all figured out, so give him time, lots of encouragement and praise, and you’ll both learn to love playing Frisbee. And once your dog learns the Frisbee basics, you can start working on all those cool tricks!

Teach an Old Dog New Tricks – With a Clicker!

Whether you have adopted an older dog that needs some behavior modification, or you just want to teach your adult dog some new tricks, rest assured that mature dogs can be clicker trained. Just as people continue learning throughout their lives, so do dogs.

Video: Teaching an Old Dog

Clicker trainers suggest that older dogs may be a little slower in learning what clicker training is all about. An adopted dog may need to unlearn old behaviors as he is learning your new desired behaviors. And older dogs have developed interests, such as sniffing the ground or chasing other animals, that may distract them from clicker training. So just have a little patience as your dog tries to figure out what you want and becomes familiar with the click-and-treat method. The more skills and tricks he learns with the clicker method, the faster he’ll be able to learn.

Adopted dogs need to know basic obedience skills to have a harmonious relationship with their new owner. If your older dog has not learned sit, come, stay, down, and heel, you can teach him with clicker training. However, he may have had negative training experiences and will not want to pay attention to you. To get your dog’s attention, watch the dog and pay total attention to him until he looks at you. Click and treat. Repeat this several times, and your dog will be ready to focus on you and clicker training.

Retraining an older dog can be challenging, because they are not only having to learn what not to do, but also learn what you want them to do. With time and patience, you can successfully retrain your dog by clicker training. Instead of reprimanding him for behaviors he has learned in the past, use positive reinforcement clicker training to teach desired behaviors. For example, if your dog wants to jump on your bed to sleep at night and you want him to sleep in his own bed, do not reprimand him for jumping on your bed. Instead, lead him to his bed and tell him “down” and “stay.” When he does, click and treat. Each time he comes to your bed, calmly lead him to his bed and tell him “down” and “stay.” Repeat the click-and-treat training as many times as necessary until your dog understands he’ll be rewarded for staying in his bed but he won’t be rewarded for jumping on yours.

Be consistent and confident, stay positive, have patience, and above all, have fun training your older dog new skills and activities. You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!