Dog scared of Clicker -finger click ok?

[Suzie R]

I bought the quietest clicker that I could find, with the lowest tone. And still my 1 year old, small mongrel dog is terrified of it.

She's absolutely fine with my hairdryer and vacuum cleaner, but seems to be too nervy for high, sharp noises. I just now realised that before I even thought of training her, I've been institnctively clicking my fingers when I say Down when she jumps up with muddy paws or to beg for food at the table. It's click then say Down and point down. It works!

So, do you think it's advisable to finger-click train her, instead of clicker-train? Is the sound not quite consistent enough?

Thanks to you all - I appreciate your collective wisdom. I've only had cats before, and they trained ME.

Suzie