Clicker Training

Can I have an idiots guide to clicker training please.
Has anybody had any success using it on rabbits? If so, what can it be used for? What have you trained them to do/not do? I don’t really know much about it other than you click to reward good behaviour, what exactly does it involve?
In theory it sounds like it would be a good idea for Cinders, she's very smart and she can be a real handful at times, so I think a bit of positive reinforcement would really help her. Any advice would be appreciated as I'm a bit unsure about it and don’t really know what it's all about.

Hmm..

What we class as sometimes 'naughty' behaviour in bunnies is usually something that is completely natural to them, such as chewing, digging etc. I'm not sure whether I would want that to be chnaged to be honest. I would rather channel the behaviour so chewing is chewing sticks and balls nto skirting boards and digging is in a nice big mud pit.

What is it that your bun is doing?

xxx

charl86 said:

Can I have an idiots guide to clicker training please.
Has anybody had any success using it on rabbits? If so, what can it be used for? What have you trained them to do/not do? I don’t really know much about it other than you click to reward good behaviour, what exactly does it involve?
In theory it sounds like it would be a good idea for Cinders, she's very smart and she can be a real handful at times, so I think a bit of positive reinforcement would really help her. Any advice would be appreciated as I'm a bit unsure about it and don’t really know what it's all about.

Click to expand...

I clicker trained my budgies so that I could get them back in their cage quick smart (in case of emergency) and thought, ooh I'll see if I can clicker train the buns to come to me when called (again, only in case of emergency) .... but they were scared of the click noise so it lasted all of 2 mins! :lol:

I find bribing them with food works just as well!

I've never actually tried it to get an animal to 'perform'.

I know you have to charge up the clicker. Click, treat bun, click, treat, click, treat. SO they know the clicker means they'll get a treat. Then you can try and get them to do a trick. Lets say stand up and walk on two legs.

You can hold your hand above their head and if they look at it click then treat. The clicker is so they get an instant reinforcement so they know exactly what it's for. Then you'll want them to lift their front paws off the floor to get a click, then lift them even further and you slowly work your way towards the desired behaviour. I'm not sure how long you'd want to make each session with bunnies though. But that's the basic idea.

Thanks everyone for your replies
Dont get me wrong I know she's just only what comes naturally, and she's not being "naughty" as such, she has digging boxes and chew toys ect to keep her occupied. She's just easily bored and I was just reading somthing that said it can provide mental stimulation. Also she learnt very quickly that chewing her toys etc doesnt usually get her attention whereas eating the walls etc gets her the attention that she wants (she runs off binkying as soon as I stand up to move her) so I was just thinking that a bit of positive reinforcement when she's chewing her things, playing in her digging box etc might be a good idea, but not sure if it can be used like that? It's not a massive problem I just though it might be somthing that she enjoys and could benifit from so thought I'd ask for your thoughts.

Why not teach her some tricks? It's fun for both of you. My sister just teaches her rabbits with pellets. Dexter will spin around for a treat and stand up and walk on two legs. She's teaching him to jump now.

I can't teach mine though, Smoo gets so obsessed with food she goes silly and it's all she focuses on and Grim always finds another way to get it without doing what I want. :lol:

Here is how I did it with mine.

I started using their pellets or some very small pieces of carrot. As they were eating them out of my hand I would click. To make the clicking sound I used a dog clicker from the pet shop. I then put my hand behind my back. When I put it out again and they came to eat from my hand again they got a click. I did this about ten times a few times a day. Long enough for them to get the idea without them getting bored.

I then introduced them to a target - a small kong stuck on the end of a willow stick. (doesn't need to be anything special!). Being inquisitive they came to investigate it and when they touched it with their nose they immediately got a click then a treat. The idea is that you can click at the exact moment you see the behaviour you want and they know they've done the right thing and their reward is coming.

I was utterly amazed at how quickly they came to associate the target and treat. Once they came to it in one place I started moving it around and they would follow me. We've also been teaching them to stand on their hind legs which came in useful for checking my girl's scar after her op without having to lift her.

Today was the first time I tried it outside and I was amazed that they still came. I did use banana to give some extra encouragement!!

aliduncan1 said:

Here is how I did it with mine.

I started using their pellets or some very small pieces of carrot. As they were eating them out of my hand I would click. To make the clicking sound I used a dog clicker from the pet shop. I then put my hand behind my back. When I put it out again and they came to eat from my hand again they got a click. I did this about ten times a few times a day. Long enough for them to get the idea without them getting bored.

I then introduced them to a target - a small kong stuck on the end of a willow stick. (doesn't need to be anything special!). Being inquisitive they came to investigate it and when they touched it with their nose they immediately got a click then a treat. The idea is that you can click at the exact moment you see the behaviour you want and they know they've done the right thing and their reward is coming.

I was utterly amazed at how quickly they came to associate the target and treat. Once they came to it in one place I started moving it around and they would follow me. We've also been teaching them to stand on their hind legs which came in useful for checking my girl's scar after her op without having to lift her.

Today was the first time I tried it outside and I was amazed that they still came. I did use banana to give some extra encouragement!!

Click to expand...

Oooh that could come in very handy for bum checks!!

Were yours not scared of the click sound at first?? I may try again with my two now they're outside (they're used to more/louder noises) it may not bother them so much! Would be sooo handy to be able to train them to go into their carrier etc.

No they didn't mind the clicker. Having said that they live in a house with three children so noise is pretty normal to them.:wave:

My daughter (bunlover) "clicker " trained her bunnies - but without a clicker- just by clicking her fingers.

It's brilliant because when they come to stay with me I just have to click my fingers and they go back in the hutch.

bunlover used this method in preference to calling them as her husbands tone of voice is different from hers(and mine) so by clicking your fingers it doesn't matter about who is putting the buns to bed.

It works every time and no clicker needed- you always have your fingers!!

How she trained them I don't know?-perhaps pm her?

sue:wave:

sdf76 said:

My daughter (bunlover) "clicker " trained her bunnies - but without a clicker- just by clicking her fingers.

It's brilliant because when they come to stay with me I just have to click my fingers and they go back in the hutch.

bunlover used this method in preference to calling them as her husbands tone of voice is different from hers(and mine) so by clicking your fingers it doesn't matter about who is putting the buns to bed.

It works every time and no clicker needed- you always have your fingers!!

How she trained them I don't know?-perhaps pm her?

sue:wave:

Click to expand...

Wow, that's very impressive!! Thanks!

Thanks everyone your advice has been really helpful, and certainly given me some ideas! I think I'll give it a go, I'll teach her some basics at first and see how she goes, I think she'll enjoy it as she's very clever and active so I think she'll like having somthing to think about and do, and hopefully it will show her that there are other ways to get a reaction from me, other than destroying my house!:lol:
I'll try it with Sooty too but I cant imagine that going too well, he's too lazy and set in his way's to be bothered with the fuss I think :lol:
I'd love for them both to at least be better when I call them, they both know their names and react to them, they just dont necessaraly come to me :roll::lol:. It would make life a lot easier if I could get them to follow me if I needed to move them from one room to another etc. At the minute it's hit and miss at to whether they think there's anything in it for them if they do as I ask :lol: We'll see how it goes anyway....