Absolutely! Baby steps is right! Here's a couple of suggestions. Try wrapping the clicker in masking tape. It really mutes the sound. They also make different clickers that make different amounts of sound. We've even had some people that have to use the click of a ball point pen for a while. Be sure you aren't clicking too close to his ear too. Have you "charged " the clicker? To do that click for no reason. Your dog will naturally turn to see what it was. Give him a treat. Click and treat a few times for no reason several times a day. Soon he will whip his head around whenever you click. That's when you know the clicker is "charged".
If you just can't get him to accept the clicker you can use a very short "yes" to mark the behavior. The beauty of the clicker is that it marks the exact split second you get the behavior you want. Timing takes some practice but it's a great marker. Good luck and let me know how it's going! Also if you go to my user page there's a little video of me working with Sadie when she first started agility. I made a bunch of mini equipment for her.
__________________ Karen and the Kids  Sadie and Beemer |