Thanks, lukkirish. My dog is a 12-lb. long-haired chihuahua mix. She'd probably be better at 10.5 or 11 pounds, and I'm trying to get her back there. So food as a reward is questionable, but perhaps I could feed her less during meals and use the rest as a reward. Yes, I want her to relate to me. I'm very interested in hearing opinions,

If you decide to use treats, remember that dogs are usually happy with whatever treat they get. In other words, you can break a treat into several small pieces and puppy won't care.

Edited to add: I've used the kibble samples from the pet store as treats. Smells different from the usual kibble, so "it must be special!"

I am confused why you think using a clicker would mean that she is not relating to you. The clicker is just a tool. It just signifies that she is doing the right thing, whether that means responding correctly to your voice, your hand signal, or whatever. The reward the dog receives after the click is up to you, it could be food, a pat on the head, being allowed to jump in your lap, anything the dog would see as a reward.

Awe, sounds sweet. I appreciate your concerns. Labs are prone to weight gain and hip conditions so it's a constant battle for us as well.

Yes, using a little bit of their daily kibble is a good option, it doesn't take a lot, just one little piece can suffice. Also, we have a store in the area called Healthy Dogma, they sell sugarless dehydrated banana and apple chips and I would use those as training treats. They're a bit pricey but the container lasts a long time. They sell their stuff on Amazon and at other privately owned dog stores. Carrot pieces are another I've heard of a lot of dogs liking though I've never tried them.

Are you starting out with classes or do thing on your own? If you are not considering the classes and have never participated in one, I'd urge you to reconsider. They're fun and really great at teaching the dogs' people how to work with them.

Healthy Dogma

Thanks for your responses. With respect to why I think that responding to the clicker means she's not relating to me, it's probably just my lack of knowledge so far about clicker training. In my mind, it'd be better for me to ask her to do something and then praise her for doing so. I really need to learn more about it, which is one reason I started asking here. Thanks for the info!

Lukkiirish, my dog adores carrots. In fact, I can't say the word out loud unless I'm going to give her one.

I'd not try to do clicker training without classes; heck, I realize that most of the training would be for me! Ha. So yes, I think I'll enroll and see how it goes for us.

Happy 2016!

Suzieque

There are some great training videos on YouTube that can give you a basic idea of how using a clicker works. There's a specific trainer whose channel is called Training Positive that seems to be really great. I've watched a handful of his videos in the last few days in anticipation of getting our new puppy in two weeks. Regardless of what method you use to train your pup, I'm sure you'll both have a wonderful time working on it!

Oh, super! Thanks, jbald.