Ranger and Clicker – Coat Conditioner
Ellen decided it was time to try another clicker project with Ranger. Every Sunday, she puts him in the crossties, cleans his feet and then sprays coat conditioner on his coat. Ranger thinks she is actually spraying battery acid or some other caustic substance. He dances all about. This has been going on for years. He isn’t any better for bug spray, which we will be using very regularly, shortly.
She decided to see what clicker could do to solve the problem. It isn’t so much that she minded him dancing, but she didn’t like him getting upset.
First, she held the bottle towards his neck. His head went up and he moved away. She didn’t move, but waited until he stood still. At that point, I clicked and treated. She then moved to another spot and did it again.
She pretended to spray his whole body. Soon, he wasn’t moving at all. She added a small squirt, and he didn’t even flinch. We clicked and treated as she sprayed his whole body. He started to relax—and shine.
This all took less than 5 minutes in one session. She was able to show him that it wasn’t battery acid, it didn’t hurt at all and he could get some treats out of the deal. We will practice more in the days to come to see if he can change his attitude about being squirted with stuff and form a new habit.
Clicker is sure amazing.
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2 comments:
Hi! Thank you so much for your kind words on Fin's passing. :-)
Meg
Oh I have no doubts it will improve his attitude over being sprayed! Clicker is what taught Chrome to accept being sprayed. I have noticed recently that he doesn't want me spraying him when he's loose because it stings in his tick bites I guess so I may need to bring the clicker back out myself. :D Keep up the great work!
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