# Clicker Training



## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

When Finn is old enough, I would like to clicker train him to keep his mind stimulated, plus because it's just cool. Does anyone know of any good books, websites, youtube videos, etc. that can offer help? I would to study up on it and understand what I'm doing before I start. Right now he's too young, so now is the perfect time for me to research it.


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## Meezer_lover (Apr 19, 2011)

I've been thinking about doing clicker training, too. There is a book I had heard about by Karen Pryor I believe. Check out THIS.

I'll be curious to see who else here as done it and had success.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

I've used clickers with all my cats and we love it! I highly recommend it to keep any naughty kitten busy, and to teach them some cute things. I'm pretty sure Rachel's Magneto was trained with a clicker, but I know his list of tricks is pretty impressive!

I've looked at that Karen Pryor book and to be honest it wasn't very good. You can get the same info from any clicker book for dogs, or free online! I'd suggest if you are brand new to clicker training doing a few things:
1. Go to your local petsmart and check out their selection on dog trick books, clicker books specifically. They have a better selection than most book stores (that's true where I am anyways).
2. Check out this youtube channel. I know she's training dogs but it works exactly the same, especially if you have a kitten!
3. For info on cats, and the beginning steps of clicker training, check out my video. How to Teach Your Cat to 'Touch'

Btw if Finn is old enough to eat solid food and visually follow something you can start clicker training..  They start guide dog puppies before they even open their eyes! They don't use a clicker at that stage ('cause the pups can't hear yet), but they get the idea of luring down early.

I'd start asap! just do something easy and do lots of short sessions.


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## konstargirl (Feb 4, 2011)

I saw clickers at petco for like $10! I didn't buy it though and it works a lot better than the petco brand( I didn't buy that either.) The petco one didn't "click".

Misa is only 3 and I'm trying to teach her some tricks too and she kust won't hold still. ><


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

Thanks, librarychick! I've actually seen kikopup's channel. That's how I got into it. I was super impressed, so I'm glad to see that it's pretty much the same way you teach a dog. I'll look up your video too!

I didn't know if they had to be older, but I'll start soon. Right now I'm caring for his sister as well, so it'd be rather hard for me to keep his attention (and his sister is far more needy than him), but as soon as she's gone (she leaves in a week), I'll start. He'll need more attention then anyway since he won't have his sister to play with any longer.

I'm so excited. I've always wanted to train a cat. My previous cat was trained to come and stop, but I never went further than that. And I didn't do clicker training (though I did click my tongue). I just need to find some treats Finn'll actually eat for a reward.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

It is lots of fun to train them. For treats when my boys were young I just trained right before a meal and used wet food on a spoon, lol. I've also used cheese and hot dog (cut very small of course), salt and vinegar chips, kibble (since they're raw fed they get really good kibble as treats ), and cooked chicken breast.

If you don't want to use a clicker, or if you can't find one you like, you can use a marker word instead. You would just say a word like "Yes" or "Good" then reward. I prefer clickers, at least when you are just starting with something, because the sound is consistant. But once they 'get it' you can use a word instead too.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Here is a link to a thread Librarychick posted a little while back that explains a lot of it. 

http://www.catforum.com/forum/37-behavior/142326-clicker-training-cats.html

She also has links in there to a previous thread she created on teaching cats manners


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Thanks Mowmow! I totally forgot about that post.

I also posted the clickertraining to my blog, along with the other training posts.


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

I just got done reading them. Some of it I learned from my psychology classes, so it's nice to see that it translates in cats too. Finnick is about six weeks old now. I've just now got him able to pay attention to one thing (aka the laser pointer) for more than a nanosecond, so I'm going to start sometime this week I think, after I get paid Thursday so I can go get him some nifty treats. Thank you so much for all of this information! It's extremely helpful!


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## praline (Jun 3, 2011)

I am a HUGE fan of clicker training. My golden is clicker trained and we are very much planning on clicker training the new kittens. 
With kittens ... you have to have patience and lots of it. They have the attention span of an 18 month old child if your lucky lol

Short short lessons and find a treat that won't fill them up. With my golden this isn't an issue but with little kittens (and cats) you have to find teeny tiny sliver treats no bigger then the nail on your pinkie toe IF NOT SMALLER.

I have some friends that clicker trained their tea cup poodle mini whatever (TEENY MUTT OK about 3lbs) using a wooden spoon dipped in peanut butter. Whenever she did the behavior she got a lick from the spoon :love2 just a taste so not to fill her up.

Go to clickertraining.com if you want to know more.

For the person who said $10 for a clicker hahahahahha get them from here:
i-Click Clicker

You can get like 5 clickers for $10... and you will need them as you will misplace them and also wash a couple when left in pants pockets lol


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Yeah, the petco brand clickers are less than 2.00. They have them in tubs near the counters I think. Super cheap.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Sorry for double post and slightly off topic but I just checked out that iclick page and love this toy! Stimulo Cat-Feeding<br>Station and Activity Center 

Now there's a way to keep a couple of kittens busy! I may buy one for MowMow this month.


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

MowMow said:


> Sorry for double post and slightly off topic but I just checked out that iclick page and love this toy! Stimulo Cat-Feeding<br>Station and Activity Center
> 
> Now there's a way to keep a couple of kittens busy! I may buy one for MowMow this month.



I saw that too and was like, "I need that!" I wonder how it works. Do the cats have to pick up the food or do they knock over the tubes or what?

Oh, and unfortunately, where I live we don't have a Petco. We only have a Petsmart and a mom & pop store. I was thinking about just using a clicky pen because I like the noise they make.


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## praline (Jun 3, 2011)

Clicker trainers are all about stimulating the brain of animals. They will have some really cool things on many clicker training websites.

I saw that food dish too and wanted to get it for my Golden Retriever to keep his behind busy lololol


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

praline said:


> Clicker trainers are all about stimulating the brain of animals. They will have some really cool things on many clicker training websites.


Yep, that's why I want to do it. Finnick will be an only cat (and only pet) for most of his life, so I wanted to do something for the both of us since me and my SO will be his main form of entertainment/companionship. I checked out clickertraining.com. I like the clickers there too, so I might go with them. It depends on what my SO thinks. She's the one with all the money right now, so I want to get her okay before I delve into anything. I'm going to need to teach her too.

This is what I eventually want to get to, as well as be able to tell him to come, stop, and just basic behavioral adjustment such. 

YouTube - Cat training: Marie learns basic commands

It's going to take a bit, but I have all summer to do this


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Braxen said:


> I'm going to need to teach her too..


:wink You're going to clicker train you girlfriend? If it works, please don't let my SO know!!:cool You should try chocolate as the reward!


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

MowMow said:


> :wink You're going to clicker train you girlfriend? If it works, please don't let my SO know!!:cool You should try chocolate as the reward!


Hahaha! No, I meant I have to teach her the commands and such! But that was great. And her treat would be those Just Dipped Ice cream cones or pickles. Those are the treats she gets now whenever she thinks she deserves a reward.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

lol...does anyone watch the Big Bang Theory??? There is an episode where Sheldon uses positive reinforcement on Penny. I laughed SO hard!!!

As far as teaching your SO how to clicker train there's a lot of good videos on youtube and there are informational write ups everywhere. So basically no matter which way you learn best there's a resource out there for you! 

Some if it also depends on your choices. For example Kikopup (on youtube) believes in never using any sort of negative marker or correction. Personally I start without negative corrections (aka just redirecting to something else) but once the animal clearly understands the behavior (aka once they offer it in many different situations and circumstances at about 90% reliablility when cued) I add in a negative marker and correction. My corrections though pretty well max out at either a time out or a squirt with a water bottle. I find it works well.
Whatever you do the main thing is understanding and communication. 

Listen to your pet, don't just expect them to listen to you because you say so.


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

Yes, I've seen that episode! It cracked me up too! My SO is a psychology major though, so any kind of psychological such I try on her, she automatically knows what I'm doing and will either turn it back on me or will go into depth on how/why what I'm doing is effective/ineffective and the many different possible actions/reactions that can stem from it. Seriously, I know more about psychology from getting in trouble with her than from actual classes.

Anyway, I think I want to do the time out method. Negative reinforcement can be bad in some instances (like for those who beat their animals), but I would never overreact or harm him, and I think a time out would be good once he understands he's doing something he shouldn't.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Time outs work great as long as you do them right. You can start now, but not the way most people think. If he does something naughty to you, or another person (bite/scratch/pounce you/ ect) you can give him a time out by either standing up and walking away or ignoring him.

At 6 weeks putting him somewhere for a time out won't work. By the time you got him in the box he'd have forgotten why you put him there! At his age the best thing to do is to teach him that doing naughty things means no more fun and no more people. For about 30 seconds, lol. Then you grab a toy that he CAN wrestle and claw (like a big stuffie, or a wand toy) and offer that as a replacement.

This worked great for my boys and they are awesome with their claws and teeth now. IME real timeouts don't work until they are about 5-6 months old, depending on the cat. You can always put him in a kennel just to get him used to being in the kennel, or if he needs to settle down a bit, but neither of those are really a timeout.

I think I explained that in one of my other posts about behavior as well.

I think Finn is going to be the sweetest boy ever with how much thought and effort you are putting in to him  He's a lucky boy!


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

librarychick said:


> Time outs work great as long as you do them right. You can start now, but not the way most people think. If he does something naughty to you, or another person (bite/scratch/pounce you/ ect) you can give him a time out by either standing up and walking away or ignoring him.
> 
> At 6 weeks putting him somewhere for a time out won't work. By the time you got him in the box he'd have forgotten why you put him there! At his age the best thing to do is to teach him that doing naughty things means no more fun and no more people. For about 30 seconds, lol. Then you grab a toy that he CAN wrestle and claw (like a big stuffie, or a wand toy) and offer that as a replacement.
> 
> ...


Right now what I do is whenever he bites/scratches me is I pick him up and place him on the ground and move away. He is always in my lap, so standing up immediately is hard. I don't put him in a room or kennel as, like you said, it wouldn't really work. His attention span is short as it is. He's pretty good about not scratching or biting. He does it now and then when he gets super excited from playing with his sister, but he immediately licks me to apologize when he realizes that he bit me and not his sister. He even knows that when I wear shorts, he needs to move to the side to jump onto my lap instead of getting on my knees because he'll scratch me. He taught himself that one; he's so smart! And thank you! I really want him to be the best cat ever. He's super smart and curious, so I know that training him is going to be a great thing for him.


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

Okay I am preparing to start his training. What kind of treats should I use? I bought some treats when I first got him in order to lure him out from the bushes, but he didn't eat them then and hasn't seem interested in them at all. I'm not really bummed about it as they are full of wheat gluten and corn. I would like to know of good treats that will keep him interested without making him feel full and are as healthy as possible.


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## praline (Jun 3, 2011)

I am finding these to be really helpful. They are extremely thin like goldfish flakes and melt on their tongue so as not to fill them up. I struggled trying to find the perfect treat for kittens 
PETCO Tuna Flake Cat Treats - Dried Bonito Flakes from PETCO.com


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

praline said:


> PETCO Tuna Flake Cat Treats - Dried Bonito Flakes from PETCO.com


MowMow won't eat them.  He gets excited when he smells them but when I offer it to him he's all "No really, where's the tuna?" I even tried putting them on his food and he pushed them out of the way.


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

praline said:


> I am finding these to be really helpful. They are extremely thin like goldfish flakes and melt on their tongue so as not to fill them up. I struggled trying to find the perfect treat for kittens
> PETCO Tuna Flake Cat Treats - Dried Bonito Flakes from PETCO.com


We don't have a Petco here, only Petsmart. Thus far, all I've found (at Petsmart) that I've liked are freeze-dried such, but they are $7 for not very many. I'm going to check them out tomorrow to see how big each piece is. If they are big, I can easily pull them apart into smaller pieces. I still would like something better though. :/


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Yep as someone already mentioned, I trained my Magneto with a clicker and it works like a charm. It's a tremendously good idea to consider, it helps with so many things- mental stimulation, bonding, opening up doors of communication between you and the cat... In Magneto's case, after the first three tricks he learned, everything sort of just "clicked" (excuse the pun LOL) for him. It's like he suddenly understood, and teaching him new things became so easy. He realizes when I am looking for something new and works with me, and once he gets it he learns quickly to do it on command. When we train, he is purring the whole time, looking me straight in the eyes, waiting to do his skills and loving every moment of it. He is so smart  

But yes, if you are looking for a great way to bond with your cat, stimulate their mind, and have fun at the same time... clicker training is the way to go!


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## praline (Jun 3, 2011)

LOL MOW ~ your cat, I have decided, is weird =p

Braxen ~ try some baked chicken breast or ground up lean beef. cook it up then cut it up SUPER tiny. The trick with treats is to use the least amount you can get away with at one time. Example ~ I would rather give my dog 10 super cut up tiny treats then one large training treat. This way I can slam dunk the behavior without filling him up and he loses interest.

I knew someone who used Peanut butter on a wooden spoon and let their dog get a little lick as a reward (they had a super tiny dog)

With baking the chicken be careful of storage due to food born illnesses, only keep a small amount with you and the rest safe in the fridge.


Heck my trainer uses cut up hot dogs for training dogs LOL
He says he figures with all of the health food dog craze ~ he can get the best results from junk food :?


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## praline (Jun 3, 2011)

Day 1 of clicker training kittens ~ total bust lol

they were all for me charging the clicker and fell in love with it so I guess not a total bust. The second I would wait for a behavior or do anything other then constantly click and treat their minds were off in kitty land.

I think things are still really new and so many distractions. As long as they learned the clicker is a good thing I guess that is good enough for me.


I might do this a few more times, just charging the clicker and wait a few weeks before working on target. Kitten ADD is much worse then puppy ADD lololol


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

You need to condition them to the clicker first. It's gonna be at least three days and multiple sessions of *click* and then *treat* before they are conditioned. To test- click when there are doing something else. Does the cat look and you and immediately expect a treat? The click has to mean something before you can use it to train a certain behavior.


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## praline (Jun 3, 2011)

Oh I know. That is what today was, getting them used to the sound and charging the clicker. I wasn't expecting much more then that at all.


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

Started my first day of training! I bought him some freeze-dried shrimp (they were on sale for a $1 so they immediately won), but he couldn't figure out how to eat them...so I gave him bits of canned food instead since it was lunch time anyway. I'm not sure he gets it yet, but that's all right. We'll work on it some more tomorrow.


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## Meezer_lover (Apr 19, 2011)

I started clicker training Yoshi today. Picked up a Premier clicker (just over $2), some Zukes treats (which I cut into each into 4 pieces), and a treat pouch.

I did the click-treat, click-treat thing over and over. Did it about 20 times repeatedly. He still doesn't get the concept yet, but I'll do it again either later or tomorrow. I just don't want to end up giving him waaaay too many treats.


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

I've given up on it until Katniss leaves. He just can't focus with her here, so I'm waiting patiently. I figure 8 weeks is just as good as 7, right? He's still a baby practically...


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## Meezer_lover (Apr 19, 2011)

Yesterday's first session w/ Yoshi was just that....a first session. He was kinda climbing up on me to get the treats. 

Today we had session #2. Much better. He sat in front of me and waited for the click and treats. Towards the end, he got up and walked behind me. I redirected him back to the front of me, then he started to go for the treat I had in my hand. I put my hand up, said "sit".....he actually sat down and waited! Then I used the clicker and gave him the treat. Also he gave me his undivided attention today, whereas yesterday half way through he walked away and I had to get him to come back.

So today was definitely an improvement over yesterday. Progress already!


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## Viljaana (Oct 6, 2010)

Has anyone thought their cat(s) the command "silence"? Ours have learned couple simple commands ("sit" and "come here"), but I'm tempted to make the younger one to stop meowing when asked. What I don't want is to create a game where he gets the treat by first meowing and then stopping it, but only reward stopping. Any advice?


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