Developing Clicker Skills

To compliment the popular Clicker Trainers Courses, a selection of Workshops to keep your skills up to date, look at exciting techniques to broaden your understanding.

Introduction to Clicker Training:

Feb 7, May 16, Sep 13

For those who have heard a bit about "clicker", seen a few folk use it, but want to understand a bit more before plunging into the Clicker Trainers Course. Try out a few techniques, watch the masters training and experience communication at a new level.

Clicker training is the most exciting, innovative teaching method to come into the world of dog training. It can be used to all types of teaching and training. Fee: £50.

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Clicker Skills Top Ups:

The WHEN and WHAT Workshop:

Feb 22, Jun 27

Some skills seem trickier to accomplish than others. As we develop we realise that more questions remain unanswered - WHEN do I click the behaviour I want, and WHAT part of the behaviour needs to be reinforced? Learning to recognise the key moment is an essential skill, and depends on your ability to set up the dog to give you time to anticipate when to click.

Often we can teach a dog a new behaviour but begin to realise there is a subtle difference between clicking for the way a behaviour is carried out, or the outcome of carrying out the behaviour. You start to realise that not all "sits" are the same. You can click for butt-hitting-floor, or click for the way the dog does the action of sitting. How do we decide?

I day workshop. Fee: £50.

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TARGETS Workshop:

Apr 26, Aug 22

Target training forms the bones of Error-Less learning. We teach the dog a target for part of their body: nose, chin, eyes, left paw, right paw, all the feet, a target associated with an action: stay, follow, go around, climb on, and a target for a location, to my left side, on the table, in the kitchen etc. This gives us a clear and consistent vocabulary to communicate with the dogs.

Good techniques for teaching targets are the equivalent of learning good English: grammar, syntax and spelling. The more skilled we are to easier it is for our dogs to learn.

I day workshop. Fee: £50.

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The WHY and HOW of REWARDS Workshop:

Mar 28, Jul 25

Most of us learn to love teaching of new behaviours, the acquisition. That exciting moment when the dog "gets it" is quite unique. But after that point the ground becomes a little greyer: how long to we go on paying the same reward for the same behaviour? Is the behaviour the same, or by regular practice does it become easier, but we still pay the same value? The reward needs to be sufficient "to maintain or strengthen the behaviour", overpaying can cause as many problems as underpaying. We want to move the behaviour forward, extend it and add more behaviours for everyday reinforcers.

Learn to see reinforcement patterns, change the value of reinforcers, avoid reinforcer hurdles, keep behaviours strong, interesting, enjoyable and lifelong. £50.

I day workshop. Fee: £50.

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