We're dabbling with teaching Cinnamon a number of fun clicker basics as it turns out she really (really REALLY!) enjoys it and is very quick at picking things up! Such a clever little bun!
Here she is learning to target the tip of the target wand by touching her nose to it. This is a very basic 'touch' and still has a way to go to be fully refined.
Target wands such as this are a versatile training tool as they can be used to teach any number of behaviours and tricks, as well as allowing you to lead the animal where you want it without having to lift, force or coax it. EG into it's pen, into a carry cage, over jumps etc. You can put the target upright in the ground to teach them to go away from you as well on a 'send out' as well. The possibilities are endless! The training is positive reinforcement based and 100% force free.
In this video I am using a short target wand, actually a large sized knitting needle. Longer wands exist to allow targeting while the human is standing up or further away or you can use stationary targets such as a small jar lid or similar. The reward I am using here is very a small bite of carrot, which she likes because it's so sweet. (Not good in big quantities!) I also use rose petals and leaves, bites of fresh herbs and strawberry leaves and TINY amounts of raisins (eg 1 sultana cut into about 8-9 pieces, no more than 1 piece per session as it's VERY sugary!)
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