Some dogs are nervous about the clicker. It does happen from time to time, and almost all dogs will get over their fears, given the chance. So you have one of those dogs? Here’s what to do.
If you have a dog who is sound sensitive and you haven’t clicked yet with her, do the steps below anyway. Do NOT point the clicker at the dog like a remote control. It’s a bit scary and not necessary.
Read all of this through before trying it.
Your first step is to use something much quieter than the clicker. You will start to make the quieter click predict food for your dog. A pen makes a very quiet clicking noise, so start with that. Don’t require her to do anything to earn the food, just click (with the pen) and then give her a treat. Do make sure she’s not doing something you don’t want, like jumping on you, when you click. Do that several times throughout the day. If she’s okay with the clicking pen, you can use it for training. Otherwise, use “yes” in place of the click when you are working on a skill for class.
After a day or so of randomly clicking with the pen and treating, your dog should start to look for the treat after you click the pen. At that point, you can move up to the clicker, with it *very* muffled in your armpit or pressed into your stomach. As the sessions go by, muffle it less and less. By the next class, your dog will probably be used to the sound of the clicker.
If your dog is reacting badly to even the quiet click of a pen, try muffling the pen, or use a verbal marker, like “yes” instead of the clicker.
By the time class rolls around, if your dog isn’t ready for hearing a bunch of clickers in class, then you may want to attend without her for a session, and bring home the activities to work on. If she’s fairly okay about the clicker, bring her to class, but arrive a bit early. You can have the instructor seat you in a more quiet area.
Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, SeattleLiked This Article? Please Bookmark It!
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