ARTICLES  

THE CLICKER RETRIEVE EXPLAINED

Blinking

Buying a crate

Chasing

Clicker training

Clicker retrieve

Clumber spaniels

Crate training

Daily stay

Delivery problems

Finding a puppy

First nine months

Fucosidosis

Growling whilst eating

Gundog care during the shooting season

Gunfire

Hip Dysplasia

Holding an area

House or kennel

Irish red & white setters

Optigen testing

Protecting hips

Puppy recall

Puppy retrieve

Raw food

Recall

Resource guarding food

Scurries

Should a beater’s dog retrieve?

Spaying

Stop to flush

Trained retrieve

Working trials

Sometimes, somewhere along the way, the retrieving process will go wrong. Delivery problems are amongst the most frequent reasons that we are approached for help, and a common cause of frustration for those who are trying to make the jump from 'pet dog'  to 'gundog'.  Even amongst those handlers that have good technique from the beginning, and have received plenty of expert advice, problems are not uncommon.

In some cases it is possible that the dog's lack of progress in this respect is partly genetic. Ideally of course it is best to begin the training process with a dog that demonstrates a clear desire to carry objects in his mouth.  Having said that, some people have a dog that does not exhibit this natural instinct but would still like to teach him to retrieve.

The clicker retrieve can be used to train any dog to run out, pick up an object, hold it in his mouth, and carry it back to place it in your hand. Because it includes a precise delivery procedure it is also a useful solution to poor delivery. It is not a 'quick fix' and may take several weeks to complete.  Nor is it a substitute for natural 'retrieving desire'.  Whether or not it is the best method for your dog depends on a number of factors.  You might find it helpful to read our article on delivery problems before making a decision.

For owners whose dogs do not have much natural retrieving instinct, it is helpful to know that the full retrieve can be trained just as we train ‘heel’ or ‘sit’.   A dog trained in this way may not have the flare and style of a born retriever for whom fetching is a passion, but he will enjoy his new game, and it will give the two of you chance to have some fun together.

For those owners whose dog's natural retrieving ability and progress are hampered by persistent delivery problems,  the clicker retrieve can provide a welcome respite and a chance to move forward together.

Although we can train a ‘hold’ in the dog who persistently drops the dummy, by inserting the dummy into the dog’s mouth and associating this with a command, it is quite a skilled job best left to more experienced trainers.  Carried out clumsily, there is a risk of really putting the dog off retrieving altogether.   Neither does it solve the problem of the dog that will not pick up the dummy from the ground,  and may even trigger this problem where it did not exist previously. 

In this article we will show you how to train a full retrieve from the ‘pick-up’ backwards using clicker training.   This approach is gentle and unobtrusive. 

It will not interfere with any other training you are currently doing with your dog, and you can still carry out your normal obedience sessions. Keep your clicker sessions separate.  You can do much of the early work indoors.  The clicker retrieve instils steadiness as part of the process.  Therefore, if you are using this programme to correct the faulty delivery of a natural retriever,  be sure that your dog is retrieving keenly before you begin and is ready to be steadied. 

Clicker training is an effective method of establishing a new behaviour.   It is based on the science of operant conditioning and was developed for use with animals who cannot be corrected/punished or who do not respond well to correction.

The clicker itself is a small plastic box with a flexible metal plate on one surface.  The piece of metal makes a distinctive snappy clicking sound when pushed.  Unlike the human voice this sound can mark very precisely the tiniest movement of the dog. The dog can therefore be made aware of the most fleeting behaviours and rewarded for them, to increase the likelihood that he will repeat them in the future. The benefit of this precise marking is that behaviours can be progressively shaped, as we will see.

The clicker itself is not intrinsically rewarding to the dog but we make it so by conditioning the dog to associate the click with food.   This process is known as ‘charging’ the clicker.    It takes place over the course of a few days, and is essential before clicker training can begin.  Once the clicker is charged you never have to do it again.

You can read more about clicker training and its relevance to gundog training in general here

The purpose of charging your clicker is to condition your dog to associate the click with an edible treat.   This association rapidly becomes so strong that the click itself is rewarding to the dog.  However this effect is temporary so we continue to pair the click and the treat throughout the training process.  The great thing is that, once properly conditioned, the treat does not have to exactly mark the behaviour we want to reinforce; it can follow afterwards when we have a spare hand or can get to the dog.   The click marks the behaviour and continues to reinforce it, provided that we continue to follow the click with a treat.  We will use the abbreviation C&T for click and treat from now on.

How to charge the clicker

1.   Shut yourself and your dog in a quiet room alone together.  Make sure you have somewhere to sit and a table on which to put a small container of treats.  Keep the clicker in your hand.

2.   Press the click and immediately throw the dog a treat.  Wait until he has lost interest and repeat.

3.  C&T (click and treat) randomly for several minutes.  Each time you repeat the C&T make sure the dog is doing something different from the last time.  You do not want him to associate the C&T with any of his actions, or with any specific pattern in time, at this stage.  You are focusing on the link between the click and the treat.  

4.   C&T at least 20 times and then put the clicker and treats away.

5.   Wait at least two hours and repeat the session.

Complete several sessions until the dog is clearly expecting a treat immediately he hears the click and no matter what else he is doing.

Your clicker is now charged.  Every time you press the clicker the dog will ‘feel good’, and he will now expect a treat to follow.   Don’t disappoint him, though you can allow the gap between click and treat to stretch out by a second or two if necessary.  It won’t lose its power provided the gaps do not become too long.   The fact that the dog ‘feels good’ about the click makes it an effective way of marking behaviours you want him to repeat.

Click here to read The Clicker Retrieve Part One