# Dog is scared of clicker - advice please



## alundy (Aug 17, 2006)

Our dog Scout is 5 months old and we adopted her a month ago. 

Her training is coming along well but I thought I might get her started on clicker training for more effectiveness. I tried "loading the clicker" yesterday by clicking followed immediately by a treat, of which she took a couple, and then suddenly she looked nervously at the clicker, darted off, and hid in a corner. I tried to give her some treats, talking happily to her, but she was staring at the clicker in my hand and shaking. She again ran off to another corner of the house and wouldn't let me near her. At that point I put the clicker away and it took a good 10 minutes before she was back to normal. 

She has never shown nervousness around any noises or objects before. I don't know if a previous owner used the clicker in a negative way?? 

Should I bother trying to desensitize her to it, or should I just forget it and go back to saying "YES!" during training? I feel so cruel subjecting her to that again and I don't want to do any permenent damage to the relationship she has with me.


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## yorkieagility (Aug 30, 2006)

It's not uncommon for dogs to noise sensitive and, therefore, is afraid of "the clicker". Teddy my yorkie was deadly afraid of the clicker when we first started to use it but he loves it now. 

The two tricks that seems to work to desensitize the dog to "the Clicker" is:
1. Buy a softer sounding clicker. or
2. Muffle the clicker sound by clicking the clicker in your pocket.


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## Melos (Aug 24, 2006)

I would say just forget it. Why torment your dog with a noise she is afraid of just to train her? That won't make training a happy thing.


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## opokki (May 30, 2006)

Here are some suggestions from Clicker Solutions  - 


> *What do I do if my dog is afraid of the clicker?*
> 
> Some dogs are afraid of the sound of the clicker. There are a couple of solutions to this. One solution is to put several strips of adhesive tape over the dimpled end of the clicker. The more layers of tape, the softer the click. As the dog becomes used to the sound, you can begin removing layers of tape. Another solution is to use a different marker. Click the end of a ball point pen. Use the "bubble" on the lid of a baby food jar. Use a whistle or a flashlight.


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## puppy girl (Oct 1, 2006)

what a nice name. Scout. My dog's name is Marley. Anyway, you shouldn't use the clicker. When I trained Marley to sit, I always held a treat in my hand, then I would say "sit" and gently push her bottom down. Try that about 12 times a day, and if you keep it up, Scout will be a sitting master, and soon you won't have to use a treat! 
Rachel


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## scott (Oct 6, 2006)

Sorry, was surfing couldn't resist replying.

So your dogs afraid of the clicker?! This happens quite often. In clicker work we talk of forced obedience, a term that really upset me personally at first. It took me some time before I was able to let myself grasp the concept. I thought I had been training my dog, I thought we were having fun! It never crossed my mind that I could possibly be pushing my dog a little too hard. I never thought of testing the willingness and enthusiasm to perform, so to speak.

If your dog was having fun with their obedience work wouldn't they repeat the lessons without being asked? Wouldn't they come up to you and initiate the behavior. Maybe it's not enough that we love them, that we offer them food, theirs still pressure to grasp, perform the unknown. The bribe, our voice, our touch are really all just distractions away from our attempts to communicate what it is we wish our dogs to repeat. After all we never even taught them the alphabet, yet we jump start to “put on your shirt!” 

Please don't get angry, but the real question is "why is your dog choosing to be afraid?!" If she hears a noise outside doesn’t she alert, even advance and maybe even bark? Yet at the sound of the bending of a piece of tin, she's terrified?

Don't be so nervous about it yourself. Try muffling the sound of the clicker by putting the clicker in your pocket when you click. Try raising the anti, give her excellent treats and make sure she's hungry! It may take a few days, she’ll get used to it.

The best visual practitioner of clicker training that I have seen can be found by searching Mary Ray England. She has an excellent DVD which is well worth the investment. One could learn from it for many years. After all, in clicker training, at first it's the handlers that are learning and the dog well they're just showing us what they've learnt!

Why do we clicker train? Clicker training when added as a new subject to our obedience regiment builds attention, willingness and enthusiasm to perform, and confidence in our K-9 friends in how to behave. A dog that understands the communication concept of clicker training can easily grasp up to 16 new concepts in one training session. In our old style of training, we are lucky to communicate one or two new ideas a week. With clicker training we are also seeing kinder, gentler dogs, with fewer behavior issues and less aggression problems!

It is truly amazing how bright our K-9 friends are and how foolish we have been.


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## Yonmoore (Aug 12, 2013)

I muffled my clicker and even switched to a clicking pen, which is very quiet but he still gets nervous with the whole concept and loses interest in ttreats that are normally like crack to him. I'm going to try to first desensitize him to the clicking noise and then try to load it again later. Are there any other options? I'd love to be able to clicker train my beloved Skwisgaar.


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## RabbleFox (Jan 23, 2013)

Use your voice. I can use a click or my yes word which is coincidentally "Yes!". Using the same word, in the same tone, when the dog performs correctly is the same as using a click.

Or you could use a quiet whistle or a snap of your fingers or a kazoo or a kissy noise or any object that makes a distinctive, consistent noise. It can take a little bit of searching seeing as your dog is so fearful of the click, anything will be better than that.


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## Yonmoore (Aug 12, 2013)

RabbleFox said:


> Use your voice. I can use a click or my yes word which is coincidentally "Yes!". Using the same word, in the same tone, when the dog performs correctly is the same as using a click.
> 
> Or you could use a quiet whistle or a snap of your fingers or a kazoo or a kissy noise or any object that makes a distinctive, consistent noise. It can take a little bit of searching seeing as your dog is so fearful of the click, anything will be better than that.


Oh ok, thanks so much fo the advice!


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