1. Horrendous Histories - rescues come to us with a little history, some come to us with none. Shredder of Shreddie.co came to us with an amputation done to his tail due to a serious infection. The vet assessment was that the tail was burned, possibly with a lighter. Someone burned his tail. Someone burned his tail to the point of infection. We know this, but that's all we know. We have to treat our rescues like they all have horrendous histories; that way we won't cause them any damage or trigger any fear responses. What if the abuser wore a baseball cap - there can be a negative association with baseball caps that we wouldn't understand. We have to do nothing that can cause harm/fear reaction.
2. No Cons - there's no downside or cons to clicker training. None. Aquarium animals are clicker trained and that's obviously because a choker chain or pinch collar just wouldn't work with a dolphin. They learn spectacular tricks for human entertainment and they are trained with food. Yes, food. Food is a necessity for our dogs too. It's not being spoiled or bribing, it's controlling what they need most and using it in a healthy way. Bribery and being spoiled are human words & emotions. They don't belong anywhere near dog training. We measure out Shreddie's food intake for the day and then feed him that all day with the click.
3. Generalize - it's a known fact that dogs don't generalize very well. Learning a sit in the living room doesn't necessarily mean they can sit in the kitchen, right away. Clicker training helps speed up this process of generalizing because there's nothing more consistent on a reward level than a click and treat.
4. Kids & Seniors - to train your rescue shouldn't require strength and brute force. Kids, seniors and other family members can all engage in clicker training and games. It's hands-free and safe. So many games and tricks can be taught with clicker training that can be fun for the whole family. The dog is tired, the kids are tired - what is better than that?
5. Pawsitive - training can be frustrating, for both the dog and the family. They don't understand what you want and you don't understand why they won't listen. Taking the human emotion, voice tone and epic energy levels out of training will actually filter down to your dog. A click sound is consistent. Saying "down" "down" "DOWN" "DOOOWWWWN!" creates confusion. Confusion for your dog.
Take care, be well and pet your new rescue!
