Training Izzy Day 1: Load the clicker.

I noticed that Izzy always appeared when I was training dogs in the living room. She's also very interested in food. I decided to attempt to clicker-train her.

First I had to load the clicker. I started by clicking while she ate, to associate the sound with the food. I presented small hard treats but she didn't like to take them from my hand. She'd sniff around my hand but not take them. I put my hand on the floor which was better, but she still took about 10 seconds between treats. I wanted her to really WANT the the food. She's been known to paw at my hand at mealtimes when I'm too slow loading her Egg, so I know she can be really excited about food. She'd already eaten this morning so I knew that she wasn't hungry. So far, I learned that 1) the hard treats were taking to long for her to chew and I wanted to present rewards rapidly 2) the hard treats were not high enough value, and 3) Izzy doesn't like to take treats from my hand. I decided to try soft food from a spoon.

The spoon was less intimidating than the hand, but she was still reluctant. Since the most important thing at first is to associate the click with the reward, I used a small tub of food and set it in front of her, clicking while she ate. Next, I began to click and present the food to her. She was eating rapidly when I presented the food in the tub, so this was progress. Click, present food, let her eat, remove the food. Repeat.

Things that are different from dogs: Izzy looks around at the floor when the food is removed. She doesn't readily look to me to get the food. I began to wait to present the food until she looked in my general direction after I removed it. My hope is to associate my face with the source of the food. I realize that I may be trying to shape behavior a bit early but I think it's important that she realize that the food is coming from ME.

Also, Izzy will walk away in the middle of a training session, to groom or to sniff the floor. Lesson to me: Keep the sessions really short and quit while she is still looking for the food.

I don't think we have gotten to the point where she knows "click means food is coming" and "Nancy is the source of the food". I will present her regular meals with a click as well. Next, I need to find stinkier soft food!