Target stick tutorial
One of the first lessons you train your guinea pig to do will be target stick training. The target stick can be one that is made for dog training that you purchased online or it can be one that you made using a wooden dowel. Target training is a foundation skill that you can build into several other behaviors. You can also use it to build confidence in a piggie who is a bit fearful or shy in new environments.
Start with your guinea pig in a place where she is comfortable. Such as her cage or a training area. If this is your very first lesson with clicker training, make sure that there is a barrier separating you from your piggie. This keeps you from trying to coerce or force her to interact with the target stick. It also helps your guinea pig feel safe and confident enough to interact with new things in her environment if she doesn't have to worry about you touching her or bothering her.
1. Click for orienting towards the stick, even if it's accidental.
Orienting towards the stick would be behaviors such as approaching, looking at, or even facing in the general direction of the stick. Your guinea pig should be fairly active during training if you conditioned her to the clicker according to my instructions in How to condition a training marker. Take the target stick away after you click so that she can very quickly make a connection that the stick is important for earning treats.
2. Click for direct interaction with the stick.
Your guinea pig should get to this step on her own and should start to sniff or mouth the stick because she knows it's important for making clicks and treats happen. You can now increase criteria. This means that you will a little bit more picky about what you click for. Click her for touching the stick, whether it is by biting or sniffing or nibbling. After she eats the treat, present the stick again fairly close to her so she can touch it very easily.
3. Click for seeking and touching the stick.
Keep the stick still once you pick a spot for it, but now, after clicks, present it further from your guinea pig so that she needs to walk in order to touch the stick. Once she's good at that, bring the stick closer to her head but towards one side or the other so she has to turn her head in order to touch the stick. Eventually, you'll want to be able to present the target behind her and have her find it, walk to it, and touch it.
4. Click for following the stick.
Up until now, your guinea pig got to approach a stationary target stick. What happens when you move it? The first step to get your guinea pig used to following the stick is to move it slightly as she approaches it so she has to take one extra step than she was expecting. Since this is a new criteria (follow), relax your other criteria (touch). If she doesn't follow it right away, relax criteria further and click for continuing to look at the target even though it moved. You can build up to a follow and then a touch.
5. Alternate touch and follow
Ask your guinea pig to follow the target stick sometimes and click for a good follow. And sometimes, ask for a touch with a stationary target. You'll soon blend these two criteria so that she has to follow the target and then touch it at the end of a good follow.
6. Using the target stick for other tricks
Using this foundation skill, you can teach your guinea pig to load into a carrier, spin, beg, and other tricks. Whenever you use the target stick, don't focus on the guinea pig touching the stick, but rather on the behavior you are trying to build with your guinea pig. For example, when training a beg, click for nose up and then for paws off of the floor.
Be sure to practice targeting with the stick once in awhile so your guinea pig stays sharp!
