So Stella and I have been working with clicker training, and she's really coming along fast. It's great to do a little training to calm her down when she's antsy and bored, and a good thing to do right before a meal or bedtime. She gets really focused for a 3 month old puppy.
I wasn't sure if she was really associating the clicker with good things though. Until last night.
I brought Stella upstairs with me so I could install new light bulbs and fold some laundry. She tore around sniffing and exploring and then fought with the big dog bed I put up there for her. She loooooves to be upstairs, it's like the cool hangout. Maybe she equates it to the bathrooms in high school where all the cool kids smoke and hide out. I don't know.
I do know that she doesn't quite understand that it's part of the house, and therefore peeing isn't allowed. So I after about 30 minutes I knew I needed to take her outside.
She was having none of it. I lured her downstairs with some treats. She tried to dash back upstairs. I grabbed her and tried to get the gate in place so I could put my shoes on and not chase her all over the house. She made break for it and was up the stairs before I could even reach for her. I wasn't about to race up there and chase her while she peed all over the floor. The clicker was on the shelf next to me.
I clicked one time.
I have never seen that dog move so fast (and that's saying a lot!). She flew down the stairs in about 4 seconds and sat right in front of me expectantly, ears up. I had a jackpot of treats at the ready and gave them all to her and took her outside.
I know I'm not supposed to use the clicker to get her to come to me, it was a moment of desperation. But I was shocked at how well it works and how she associates that clicker with such good things that she came running the second she heard it.
It's so much fun watching this puppy learn!
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