Chipawgo's dog training expert, Wendy DeCarlo and her canine pals have pricked two ears up for a training video collection by Dr. Deborah ]ones, which demonstrates the effectiveness of dog training with a clicker.

CLICK & GO: Clickeir Fun with Dr. Deborah Jones, produced by Canine Training Systems; $29.95.

Deborah Jones is a psychologist specializing in learning theories and social interactions, behaviorist and obedience instructor. She is owner of Planet K-9 in Dayton, Ohio, and a board member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, an organization which promotes dog-friendly; positive and humane training methods. Deborah begins by tracing the derivation of clicker training from the learning theory called operant conditioning, and notes the influence of John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner from the scientific side, and popularizers such as Marion and Keller Breland, Bob Bailey and Karen Pryor. Deborah states that clicker training is the "quickest, easiest, most effective method I've seen for training animals." -She then discusses primary reinforcers (food, toys, games, etc.) and how to charge up the clicker by pairing it with primary reinforcers to become a powerful conditioned reinforcer. She then presents these easy, rules for clicker training: 1. Click when you see behavior you like. 2. Always treat if you click (the click is a promise). 3. Give reinforcement soon after you click.

Utilizing the above rules, now it gets even better, as she shows ways to create behaviors by 1) Shaping - reinforcing behaviors which lead to the goal or target behavior. 2) Luring - using an item of attraction (food treat) to move dogs into positional changes (sit, down, stand.) This includes a nice presentation of fading (removing) the lure to achieve an empty-hand cue or signal. 3) Targeting - getting the dog to approach and touch pieces of cardboard, paper plates, margarine lids or a target stick. There are innumerable applications here for training obedience, agiiity, tricks and service or therapy dog tasks.

A distinguishing characteristic of clicker training is that after you obtain the behavior, you put a cue or signal as an antecendent. There is a discussion of that as well as continual and variable reinforcement. Initially, the clicker marks every rewardable behavior, then gets more responses (2 or 3fers)-the dog performs more behaviors for fewer clicks and reinforcements.

The tape itself is of the high quality Canine Training Systems is known for-excellent camera work, music and graphics. As promised in the title, all the animals (including the humans) are definitely having fun. A joy to watch from start to finish!

CLICK & FETCH: Clicker Fun with Dr. Deborah Jones, produced by Canine Training Systems, 35 minutes, $29.95 f you already have a dog who is a compulsive retriever of anything under any circumstances, don't even bother reading this review. If not, this is one of the best, investments you can make. Retrieving has an important place in open and utility obedience, field and hunt trials, tricks, therapy and service dog applications. And if you've been put off by dog trainers insisting that compulsion- based methods of retrieve such as ear-pinchingi cutting off the dog's air with a strangle collar, or other techniques of coercion are the only possiblities, you'll be very happy to find clicker training, where a fast, accurate retrieve is achieved using no force.

Starting with games: treat games, toy games, a trade game, variety of objects, ball-in-glove game, the open obedience exercise of Retrieve On the Flat i§ taught. This exercise is a behavior chain of 8 different individual behaviors. All parts are shown and discussed. Common problems in retrieving are: anticipation, poor pick up, mouthing and refusing; all are shown and positive solutions are provided. Other obedience retrieves are shown such as the Retrieve Over The High Jump and the untility obedience exercise of scent discrimination. The video closes with some fun and useful retrieve tricks such as bring me the phone and put your toys away.

The same outstanding production values mentioned, in the CLICK & GO video are here also. Another winning video all around!

CLICK & FIX: Clicker Fun with I)ir. Deborah Jones, produced by CanineTraining Systems, 45 minutes, $30.00

The third video in this series focuses on positive methods for dealing with what we humans consider to be problem behaviors in our dogs, and like the two previous tapes, it's a gem! Deborah discusses why the reactive approach of punishment is counter productive, and presents positive, proactive suggestions for dealing with behavior problems, including analysis, environmental control, behavior modification and management. She shows the benefits of crate training, using a houseline, Gentle Leader, attention exercises, attention as a default behavior (a behaviorthe dog soes as a conditioned response over time.) The roles of exercise, boredom, lack of mental stimulation, toys, smart toys and games as contributing factors. She then provides suggestions for the nine most frequently owner-reported problem behaviors in dogs.

If you can afford all three of these tapes, get them. And you can get them at a discount from Dogwise at 1-800-776-2665, fax # 1-509-662-7233, E-mail: mail@dogwise.com or visit their website at www.dogwise.com; www.dogwise.com. Be sure to request their wonderfull catalog.

For caretakers who are getting a puppy or a dog, or already have one or the other, order tapes 1 and 3 for sure, and get tape 2 (CLICK & FETCH) when you can. Icing on the cake!

There is another video yet to come out in this series - I don't know what it is, but if I had to guess, I would think it involves tricks, since Deborah has a wonderful clicker trick book out, which is also available from Dogwise. Based on the first three videos, I'm automatically getting the next one, whatever it is, and will report on it at that time. Happy, training!