Customer Reviews

Quick Clicks: 40 Fast and Fun Behaviors to Train with a Clicker

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In our facility/therapy work I am constantly looking for ways to can get my dog closer to our students, because I know that closeness time and time again will pay off in independence for the child. The better I can facilitate that close relationship/position between the dog and child, the more the child seems to accomplish. This means I need to know how to get the dog to perform a behavior in the most efficient manner. In addition, it is important that the dog enjoys what he is doing. As we all know, it isn't much fun being around a person or dog who is doing something because they have too.
Enter Clicker Training! I am awed at how much fun clicker training is for both my dog and I and how quickly we can get a useful behavior for a special child. However, I have struggled. Clicker training has called for me to make a mind shift-one where I ask what do I want the dog to do rather than what don't I want him to do. I have taken classes and read books but until now haven't found a really good daily resource.
Enter Quick Clicks! This book is SUPERIOR! I highly recommend it for beginners and for those of us who are "in process" clicker training. I even think seasoned clicker trainers would find this book valuable.
The organization of the book is probably its number one value. The authors have made it easy to use and find things. One of the important lessons I've learned in clicker training is the need to break down a behavior into small little steps. This book does a wonderful job of breaking down the 40 behaviors into simple, bite-sized steps. All I have to do is follow along. This not only saves brain time but aides in that shift in thinking that needs to occur-what do I want my dog to do. Another plus is the Index of Behaviors which gives a description of the behavior and points to the Chapter where it is outlined enabling me to find a behavior quickly. Included as well is a great list of websites, supplies and recommended reading.
The 40 behaviors presented include clicker fundamentals, basic obedience, tricks, games and even some exercises that make it easier to clip toenails and visit the vet, for example. I consider all the behaviors of value and worth to us as a working facility/therapy dog team.
And, the best part-No Jargon-just clear, forthright, everyday language!
Editors of The Healing Paw
A newsletter for everyone interested in using trained dogs to enhance the therapeutic and rehabilitation process

This book is a great resource for both beginners and experienced trainers. It's well organized, easy to read, and loaded with fun and useful information. I've used it as a reference guide to review specific behaviors and flipped through it looking for new things to try, just for fun. I've even been able to make my (4 year old) daughter an active part of the training, strengthening the bond between her and the pup. Most important from a mother's standpoint, though, is that the training we're doing models many of the qualities I want to instill in my daughter: patience, kindness, problem-solving, respect for animals, using your imagination, trying new things, not giving up if something doesn't work immediately. It has been a confidence builder for both of them. Quick Clicks is the best training tool I've come across - for dogs and humans!

This is a great book for the serious clicker trainer, or for somebody who is serious about becoming a clicker trainer. Each behavior is broken down into tiny increments, so there's no chance of lumping (from my own experience, the downfall of novice clickers). The instructions are easy to follow, fun to carry out, and provide a basis for creative clicking for the reader.

The book was recommended to me because my "granddog" has a spinal injury and has to be crated for several weeks. I wanted to find some "quiet" exercises to keep him occupied and mentally stimulated during that time. My daughter has never used clicker-training with any of her three dogs; so I wanted something that would produce fast results without requiring much movement on the part of the dog.

I was somewhat disappointed when the book arrived and I gave it a quick look-through. There's nothing "quick" about any of the behaviors described in the book. I'm sure that some clicker-savvy dogs can be lured or shaped to perform the activities more quickly than a newcomer to clicker training. But following each step for each behavior requires a lot of time and patience. As with every lesson taught with a clicker, the only way to be "quick" is to take as much time as necessary to master each step before moving on.

I won't give this book to my daughter right away. I think she'd be frustrated by trying to follow each step while her stir-crazy pup begs for something safe to occupy him. I'll give her something that explains more about behaviors that can be captured rather than taught.

While I don't think that the title of the book truly indicates the contents, I believe that the results of the training, as described in "Quick Clicks," will be near-perfect. I wish I had read this book before I started clicker training my dog. Maybe I would have learned right off the bat how to break down what I'm teaching into tiny steps that the dog can readily achieve. Maybe I would have realized that "quick" means slow and thoughtful.

There's another reason why I don't want to give "Quick Clicks" to my daughter at this time: I want to use it first to go back and re-teach the behaviors to my own dog.

After reading five clicker training books (including Clicking with Your Dog, Clicker Training for Obedience, and Click for Joy!) and still feeling like I had no idea what I was doing, I finally found this book. This is the only book I've read on clicker training that SPECIFICALLY TELLS YOU WHAT TO DO DURING EVERY STEP. For those of you who want to do things RIGHT and don't want to put your dog through an ordeal of bad training techniques while you decrypt your training book, Quick Clicks is the book for you. It's true there are very few pictures. However, a lot of pictures doesn't guarantee clarity. Reading a book like Clicking with Your Dog, which is overrun with pictures, is terribly confusing. You'll get a picture of the starting position for the exercise and then a picture of the ending position, along with some very basic explanation. What ends up happening is you have no idea if you are using proper technique. It's akin to reading a chapter in a book about hitting a baseball with only a small bit of text and two pictures, one with the hitter with the bat on his shoulder and the other of the follow through and the ball leaving the ballpark. Useless.

Quick Clicks is different. It tells you everything you have to do during every clicking exercise. A wonderful book!

In two months of working with this book, my Rhodesian Ridgebacks have gone from being the dunce of their obedience classes to teacher's pets.

By simply working through the book on a step-by-step basis, we have achieved fantastic results. Not only do my dogs and I succeed, but we enjoy our training sessions much more. Instead of feeling frustrated and physically tired after an obedience class, we now feel refreshed and confident. It's side-splitting watching the things they will try in order to get more treats out of me. My dogs like me better: rather than lying on the other side of the room, they prefer to stay in constant contact.

The instructions are clear, informative and presented in a logical format. The methods and outcomes are so clever that I wish I had thought of them myself. I keep discovering new ideas with each reread that fuel me with new enthusiasm. Only one improvement necessary: I would like to see more photos.

The instructions for clicker training are easy to follow. Even owners with pooches that are middle-aged may enjoy the fun of teaching Fido new behaviors. The authors also describe how clicker training can correct behavior problems, such as too much barking, fears of loud noises, and shyness. Clickers come with the book.

A new, revised edition with more info and more pictures was released late in 2010.

Maybe I'm just lazy...but a 250 page book with no pictures and just list after list of instructions with little format and order? I couldn't get through it, much as I wanted to. I have yet to find "the" clicker book as far as teaching behaviors goes (Click for Joy! is an exceptional primer).

Easy to read and follow. Loads of fun. My dog is a model citizen now!

Great little clicker cookbook- really helpful breaking down the behaviors for us natural "lumpers".

Handy and clearly written.