# Should I Have Clicked and Treated for This?



## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

I've been doing the 2 cookie game that Karen has a video of plus the name game. Willow is doing fine with those games. Yesterday I moved her bully stick and wanted to show her where it was so I called her name (using the same voice and inflections as in the 2 cookie game). She came right to me. Then I thought perhaps I should have clicked her and treated! I did praise her and show her the bully stick. Should I have clicked her for coming to me?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Jackie from Concrete said:


> I've been doing the 2 cookie game that Karen has a video of plus the name game. Willow is doing fine with those games. Yesterday I moved her bully stick and wanted to show her where it was so I called her name (using the same voice and inflections as in the 2 cookie game). She came right to me. Then I thought perhaps I should have clicked her and treated! I did praise her and show her the bully stick. Should I have clicked her for coming to me?


There are always times like that when you COULD click, but it really wasn't necessary. You DID reward her by giving her the bully stick, after all! 

Most people who do a lot of training develop a "marker word" that they can use if they don't happen to have a clicker on them. The rules are the same for he marker word as for a clicker... If you say it, you must follow up with the cookie. So pick something that you don't use all the time. Some people use a tongue cluck, but coming from a horse background, that means something different to me, so didn't seem natural. So my marker word is "Yessss!!!". While I might say "yes" in other contexts, I never say it with this inflection except as a marker, and the dogs seem to catch on to the difference quickly. But use whatever word or sound you want, as long as it's something that you can say quickly. (so it should, ideally, be one syllable) I know some people who use "yup!" to keep it from being confused with "yes". That's another option.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Karen, you are a fountain of information. Thank you so much. :smile2:


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