[IloveJaxon]

So I've started clicker training Jaxon.  Our first session I spent charging the clicker.  Click - Treat - Click - Treat - Click - Treat

The next session, I repeated the charging process a few times before beginning any commands.  Jaxon already was sitting so of course this came easy.  The down command was slightly difficult.  He did eventually respond with the lure method and once he got the hang of getting down, then getting clicked and treated it came a little easier.

My question...how long or how many training sessions should I repeat before moving to the next command.    Also, Jaxon sits so readily that as soon as I say his name he sits.  Should I click and treat as I am capturing this behavior?  And if so, how often?  Every time I would be continually treating.  I guess I'm asking should I click and treat this behavior only when I am in the process of working with him.

One more...what should I expect from a 14 week old puppy?  He seems to be doing well to me and we've only been working for a few days on click training, but I would guess any delays would be on my part more than his since I'm still getting the hang of this.

Sorry I've got so many questions!  Jennifer..you helped me so much before...any thoughts?

 

[Newcastle]

You want a high level of consistent response before moving on to the next level of a behavior - for example, you want him to sit when you ask 8 or 9 out of 10 times in the kitchen before you start asking him to sit in the back yard.   You can teach different behaviors in the same training period - say you've got 10 minutes for training, you could spend five minutes on sit and five on down (though it might be least confusing to take a one-minute break between, so you'd need 11 minutes, or do four-and-a-half minutes each ).  

If Jaxon is sitting when you say his name, then it's possible that he's learned "Jaxon" means "put your butt on the floor" - which, of course, is not what you want.  I'd avoid saying his name during a training sessions unless you're working on attention - and I wouldn't click/treat sits that are a response to his name outside of a training session.  If he's offering a sit during training sessions, then you probably don't need to capture it in any case, actually.  

As far as how often to click/treat, it depends on how you're teaching the behavior.  If you're capturing, then you want to c/t as often as you can until the dog is offering the behavior - once they're offering it, that means they've figured out it will make you click, and that's when you want to start putting it on cue, and only c/ting for the behavior when it is in response to the cue.  

At 14 weeks old, you can't expect too much from him, of course.  Keep training sessions short, increase criteria (especially distractions) slowly, and be prepared for some plateaus and some backslides - you may need to back up a step sometimes, but just work through it and he'll get back on track.

 

[IloveJaxon]

Thanks Jennifer.  I'm going to avoid using his name and see what happens.  He's definitely not ready to move on to a new command but I think he's doing pretty good.

 

[samsonsmom]

Sounds like he's doing pretty good for a pup..High fives to Jaxon...Definitely, like Jennifer said, keep sessions short, I even do that now, to keep their attention from wandering...As you add more commands, you can vary it up more, do a sit, then a sit wait, etc.....Keep it interesting and fun...