ips wrote:
it was "presumably" much quicker to train than any form of force hold training
No. Some dogs can be trained a so called "force hold" within 5 minutes. There are different kinds of force training and if the right one is chosen for a particular dog then it is very easy to train. It's when the force type of training used does not suit an individual dog that really big problems can arise .....big time ! Clicker training at least does no harm.
The first dog I ever trained a click/treat delivery to had previously been delivering very well. Then he ceased to deliver completely and I could not understand why. A month or two later I did discover why. My wife had been tossing him treats when he played "keep away" with household articles he'd got hold of and when he dropped the article to eat the treat she snatched up the article.
Then he began to drop the article, grab the treat and then very quickly snatch up the article again in order to continue this very rewarding game ! That had quickly and easily transferred itself to the dummies I threw for him. He was about 7-8 months old at this time and at 6 months he'd already won a puppy test so I just did not understand why he'd suddenly stopped delivering dummies !
I "had words" with my wife when I saw what she'd been inadvertently "teaching" him and then tried to cure this problem using a clicker for the first time in my life. About 3 days later I'd "primed the clicker" and began to train for a good delivery. Two to three days was all it took to have him doing any kind of delivery I wanted. Out of curiousity I had him free shape his deliveries in order to get his click-treat. He ended up rearing up on his hind legs , placing his front paws on my chest in order to carefully place the dummy into my mouth !
I "retreated" and had him revert to a previously offered behaviour , a sitting present. I found all this very easy to do and was very impressed by the clickers ability to completely cure the behaviours my wife had taught him.
All the same, I still prefer not to train with clickers and treats. It feels unnatural to me and too mechanical. I still prefer to use more old fashioned methods but not necessarily harsh ones. I do not think putting a dog on a lead is harsh and nor is checking it on the lead...........everyone who has a dog does these things for one reason or another and dogs ain't bright enough to know when it is being done to train them or is being done for safety reasons. All the dog knows is that it is on a lead.
Wullie
.
trainer enjoyed it, dog enjoyed it, it was "presumably" much quicker to train than any form of force hold training and I suspect much more reliable as the behaviour has been offered not forced... What's not to like ???
.