# clicker......



## ken71 (Jun 15, 2018)

I would give him the ball and then just observe him. When he drops it of his own choice, mark with the clicker and reward with a treat.

You can later add the command “drop it” at the same time as using the clicker.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

How many days have you been working on this? Remember, you are working with a GOLDEN - they are retrievers and there is nothing more rewarding for them than having an item or special toy in their mouths. This will take more time and patience than something simpler. And you may need more rewarding treats. IF you have him on leash in the house to work on this, it may help take some of the excitement out of the game. There is an excellent video on teaching a formal retrieve by Jackie Mertens, it's called "sound beginnings" and is worth every penny. I will never own another retriever in my life that I don't teach a formal retrieve where they come to sit at heel and give the ball or bumper back to you and then wait to be released to fetch again. It's the best. If you have a bad back, I can't recommend this highly enough.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

He likes the ball better than the treat so it won't work
Bring more than one ball
problem solved


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

All good suggestions but have a question... Did you start with basic clicker training before starting trying to teach a command? Does he understand the clicker is to mark the moment he did something you liked that will be rewarded? You might watch a youtube video on how to begin clicker training.. I like kikopup but there are many people that use clicker. 

Just saying, he has to understand what you want and know the clicker is followed by a reward so he can remember the behavior you clicked. Once they figure out the process clicker training is very effective and very quick way to learn for a golden. So if this training isn't working you need to work on your timing so you click the moment he does the behavior you want. Then start on the "drop" game with a toy in the house before moving on to the ball in the yard. Happy training!

You might try turkey lunch meat  He can't eat if he has a mouth full of balls. Sit in the house, take a small piece of lunch meat and see if he drops the ball. As soon as he does, CLICK and offer the snack. Repeat until he figures out that dropping the ball is what gets him the goods.


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## wrampling (Apr 29, 2017)

tried 2 balls he just holds them both in his mouth


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## jenherrin (Apr 15, 2018)

But eventually he'll drop the balls; he can't keep them there forever!  As Puddles said, as soon as he releases them, that's when you click and treat. Don't add the "drop" command yet because it means nothing to him at this point. And remember that the clicker is only a marker that he did something you want; the clicker isn't to be used as the "drop" command itself.

This Kikopup video uses a slightly different approach, putting the treat by the dog's nose:


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