Clicker-training the kids

At the end of the summer, we bought a puppy. 

As these things tend to go with us, we had one or two “maybe” conversations about it first, then just decided to do it one day.

Yep, bought a puppy on impulse. Here’s my advice to you: never do that.

If you’re at all interested in dog breeds (and I wasn’t before this) you’ll know that the kind of puppy we got was a ridiculous choice for our family.

“A Husky?? That’s way too much dog for you,” said my beloved Auntie H. 

And she was right. 

I spent the first month cleaning up toilet training messes, extracting the puppy’s jaws from my son’s shirtsleeves and pant legs, then sewing said shirts and pants. Then sewing them again when my terrible sewing job came apart in the laundry. 

And walking and walking the dog. She needed a lot of walking, and was crazy on the leash. She would zoom into the street, jump up, strain forward and cut in front of me to go after a smell.

At night, exhausted and full of regret, I would pour a glass of wine, cry and watch Cesar Millan’s Dog Whisperer shows on YouTube.

It was kind of like having a new baby. Except the regret part! I have never regretted having more kids.

I fantasized about taking the puppy back. Thing is, she was so beautiful. Way prettier than any of us will ever be. She would really make our family look great in a Christmas picture. And the kids were having so much fun with her…what could we do?

Take her to obedience school.

At our local pet store, we signed up for a class. On arrival, our puppy was already out of control with the smells and new puppies to play with. 

“Tssht!” I said, correcting the dog. But the trainer, Izabel, was having none of it.

“None of this Cesar Millan stuff,” she said. “No ‘Tsssht!’ Only Cesar Millan is Cesar Millan. You need you use a clicker.”

She explained the basics and we got to it. Click, treat. Click, treat. Then you say the dog’s name, and when she looks at you, click and treat. In this way, she learns she’s done something right.

It worked. Within a week, she had learned to sit on command and to come when called. The next week she learned lay down and shake a paw. Our walks to the park calmed down.

It was a revelation that a beast could be controlled with a click. So I immediately thought of how it could work for our children.

Our middle child had been struggling with homework. She absolutely hated it and refused to do it, week after week. 

“Let’s try the clicker!” I said to my husband. He looked at me sideways.

“Yeah, no. But I get your point.”

He went to the cupboard and found a stash of chocolate chips.

“Now,” he said to my daughter. “You are going to do each one of these math problems. And each time you do one, you’ll get a chocolate chip.”

Guess what? It worked. Within ten minutes she had done her homework and had a big smile on her face.

It’s no less busy now that our puppy is seven months. I still need to keep training her, and her exercise needs eat a huge chunk out of my day. I still sometimes regret taking on this new responsibility but I have to admit she has brought a lot of joy to our family—not to mention the miracle of clicker training.

I’ve still got to get that Christmas photo organized, though. Just as soon as I’m finished walking the dog.