Firing up the Clicker

I had two plans for today. (1) Take Parker out! (2) Fire up the clicker.

It’s not possible to have a dog for two weeks without some kind of training going on. We’ve been doing loose leash walking, at which Parker is a natural, and some sitting, at which -- he’s not. He will sit, s-l-o-w-l-y, if I ask and then put a hand under his chin and lift, lift, lift, until his butt just kind of goes down. Not the best way to train -- I don’t want to have to muscle him into a sit! Best way is to use a clicker, but that requires knowledge of a dog’s currency, and I couldn’t find out what Parker’s was. He didn’t eat anything for the first several days he was with us, and turned up his nose at each and every treat offered. Thrown sticks got a curious sniff only, toys were foreign to his experience.

However, he’s now eating well and shows a predilection for chicken. So we just had a session of click/treat with a handful of yummy chicken. Emmy, of course, heard the clicker and came running, throwing behaviors at me like crazy. Parker, who has heard me click for two weeks without startling, liked the experience just fine. We’ll do it several more times today before trying to pair it all with rules.

When we met Parker, I saw that he would put his paws on his breeder. No, he didn’t jump. it was a very gentle thing. So when he started doing it to me a couple of days ago, I took it as a sign that he likes me (his breeder agreed). Now, when I see that he’s in the mood, I ask for a hug and I get two paws on my waist and, sometimes, a kiss on the cheek. I’d really like to couple this with a command -- I think it would go over well with the grandgirls, and he’s so gentle about it, I wouldn’t worry about him knocking them over.

Besides, who could resist a doggy kiss on the cheek?