Clicker SA

Clicker SA is run by Maxine Quinton
Maxine has been working with dogs since the 80s. She started handling & training her own dogs for shows & it wasn't long before she began teaching others to work with their dogs as well. She initially started using Positive Reinforcement, combined with some compulsion - which was the conventional training method at that time. After a while she became concerned t

hat the use of this method was not optimal, as many of the dogs did not seem to enjoy their training. In response to what she had observed, she began researching other training techniques, discovering Clicker Training in the late 80s. Since then, Maxine has stuck with this method, convinced that is a far more effective animal training method and communication technique. She uses the technique whereby a click is followed by a reward, to reinforce positive behaviour, believing that positive reinforcement is far more effective than negative punishment. Maxine has been teaching various dog-training classes since the early 90s, using Clicker Training. These include: puppy, obedience & agility classes, as well as police dog training, man work, tracking & working trials. She is currently endorsed by Royal Canine South Africa, as one of their preferred puppy socialisation trainers. In addition, she has owned and competed with a number of different breeds, including; Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Rottweiler, Jack Russell Terrier, Malinois, Border Collie, German Shepherd Dog, Boxer and various cross breeds. Maxine has also successfully competed in a variety of dog sports such as:
• Agility
• Breed Working Trials
• Classic Working Trials
• Dog Carting
• Dog Jumping
• International Tracking Trials
• International Working Trials
• Obedience

Once Maxine observed how effective Clicker Training was, she decided to try it on other animals. Over the years she has used it to train a variety of animals, including:
• Training a friend's pot-bellied pig (in three 20 minute sessions) to heel, target a stick, back up, kneel, back up whilst kneeling, spin (in a very wide circle because his girth was somewhat large) and come when called. She then went to a game reserve & taught a wild warthog to back up when approached.
• Training a chicken to spin, target, go in to a crate, as well as discriminate between various colours. Since then she has trained numerous chickens.
• Training different animals for TV adverts, such as cats and birds.
• Training various zoo animals to do different activities like walking onto a scale to be weighed, teaching a bear to hold its mouth open so its teeth could be examined, getting a tigress to stand on her back legs so that an injury under her leg could be attended to, coaching a giraffe to lower its neck in order to have blood taken, etc. Maxine has also trained puppy litters from their early days, resulting in well-behaved puppies transitioning accordingly to their new homes. She has also engaged in numerous private sessions with animals and their owners, addressing problematic behavioural issues.