Zeppelin's First Clicker Training Session! With Video!

I had my first clicker training session with Led Zeppelin this morning! He did so great. He's still nervous and sometimes shies away if I move too quickly, but he gets more and more comfortable around us everyday. I have a video to show you because it's easier than explaining it, but in case you can't watch videos I do have a couple of pictures. We worked on target because target is the best way to "charge" the clicker with our equine friends. He very quickly figured out that the target turns me into a vending machine. You can see in the video how quickly he figures that out. Now I'll just wait for him to recognize the clicker. It took Chrome quite a few sessions before his ears started pricking at the sound of the click, so it might take a few days with the donkey. I have to say though I think Zep might possibly be smarter than Chrome . . . is that a bad mommy thing to say? :D

Propping up against the tree puts me closer to his level and so less threatening.

*Click* He quickly learned how to earn his treats. :)

And now for you clicker training fanatics that have high speed internet here is the incredibly long, boring video hehe. At the end Zep checks out the camera man (my husband). It's cute, so try to hang in there lol.


And since this is Chrome's blog I will mention that we had a quick clicker session before supper, working on smile. He did pretty well considering he had his mind on supper and was a bit distracted. I still have no idea how to go about fading the target . . . At one point I accidentally let him bump the target and he immediately started looking for his treat even though I didn't click, so I don't know if he knows it's the lip I'm looking for yet . . . I'll keep plugging away. Maybe it's time to look for a YouTube video on teaching smile with a target stick. :)