Can we talk about clicker training not working for some dogs?

I tried it with my border collie, and he just got scared of the sound. All the training videos say it's the best way to teach tricks, but it made him hide under the table. We had more success when I just used a happy voice to mark good actions. Maybe some dogs are too sensitive for loud noises like clicks. It's okay to use what works for your pet, even if it's not popular.

4 comments

4 Comments

rodriguez.jana1mo agoMost Upvoted

My dog had me scared of the clicker first.

paulw531mo ago

Totally get that @rodriguez.jana, mine made me rethink the whole thing.

max_johnson1mo ago

Yeah, same here with my rescue Booker! That first click made him jump and hide under the table. I felt so bad, I switched to just saying "yes" really clearly instead. Took him a week to even look at the clicker again without side eyeing it.

barnes.seth1mo ago

Funny how you used to hear it was the only "right" way to train. My own dog would flinch and tuck his tail at the click, it totally broke his focus. Switched to a soft "good" and suddenly we were getting somewhere. Really makes you see that the "best" method is just whatever your dog actually responds to without fear.