Training

As I said, my first two goals in training Coolio are to get him walking on a loose leash, and to teach him "down." I plan to do this with positive reinforcement, using a clicker. Here's a brief overview for those who aren't familiar with clicker training.

A reinforcer is something that the trainee (Coolio) wants. Coolio seems to be perfectly happy to work for food. I've been using Natural Balance rolls, cut into small pieces. The treats are referred to as "primary" reinforcers, because they are something the dog wants naturally.

In the beginning, a clicker means nothing to the dog. You establish the clicking sound as a "secondary" reinforcer by pairing it with treats. Click once, and give the dog a treat. Click again, and give the dog a treat. Repeat as necessary until the dog expects a treat each time he hears a click. That means the dog understands that when he hears a click, a treat is coming.

Now, you can use that clicking sound to mark the behavior that you want to see. The clicking sound creates a picture in the dog's mind of what it was doing when it heard the click, and it knows that a treat is going to follow. This increases the likelihood that the dog will do that behavior again, knowing that it will earn treats.

Once you have gotten the dog to perform that behavior reliably, you can put the dog on what's called a "variable schedule of reinforcement" in order to maintain the behavior. This is more effective than rewarding the behavior every single time. (Think about slot machines -- you don't win every time. But you keep on playing, hoping that this time will be the "lucky" time that you get rewarded.)

Clicking is also helpful in teaching a chain of behaviors. Clicking-and-treating at each step can interrupt the dog's concentration. Say you want the dog to sit, then lay down, then roll over. You can click when the dog sits (but not give a treat), then click when he lays down, and click when he rolls over, and then give a treat at the end of the chain.