Too Eager for Clicker Training?

[pinknfwuffy]

I have been using clicker training with Olaf for a year now. He’s always been a delight, picking up new tricks quickly. I recently started training him to give paw on command, holding out my palm. I started with my hand on the floor, leading him with a treat until he reached out. Now he will put both paws in my hand when I hold it out and ask for them.

Weirdly, this trick seems to have made him a little more aggressive than usual during training time. What started with him lifting his paws slowly and gently has become almost like lunging. He clenches his nails in my hand and, while it doesn’t actually hurt, I worry over time he’ll start digging in too hard.

I’ve tried withholding the click (and treat) when he does this and only rewarding gentle paws but it seems to confuse him to the point of not knowing what to do at all. I’ve also tried to wait for training time until after his dinner so he’s not ravenous.

Any ideas as to how to keep him from being so intense about it? His other tricks (come, jump, spin, tunnel) don’t require any contact so I’m wondering if it has something to do with having to interact physically with me.

I’m thinking about changing it from a palm facing up (like you’d offer to a dog) to a palm facing out, more of a high-five situation, to see if that is less of a problem.

[Shadow13]

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[Azerane]

That is interesting. Part of shaping training is progressively rewarding for a behaviour the closer it gets to what you want and as you mentioned regarding how keen he is and how you’re trying to reshape the training, is that you inadvertently may have trained such an eager “claws in” response, simply without realising it. I think you’re doing the right thing, or at least the right thing in terms of how shaping is trained with dogs, in only rewarding for softer paws, however I’m not sure how well those subtle changes are picked up on by rabbits. How well does he know to try new behaviours when you stop rewarding him? It’s natural for their to be confusion, but if he’s only confused and aggravated, and not offering alternative behaviours, you may have reached a dead end.

I do like your idea of changing the way the palm is facing, I would even suggest changing the command if you use one so that it’s easier for him to differentiate and treat it as something new, rather than continuing the same behaviour and not getting rewarded because he doesn’t understand what is wanted from him when you withhold treats.

[pinknfwuffy]

Thank you, Azerane. I will definitely try your suggestions. I think you’re right -web probably went to fast. I’m going to start from scratch and make it “high five”. Fingers crossed!

Also, he makes me laugh. Spin was the first truck he learned. When he’s confused or frustrated, he spins wildly by default, hoping that’s the ticket. :]

[Q8bunny]

[Author]

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