Puppy Care

Clicker Training for dogs is one of the more systematic methods in dog Training. It’s based on research done in behavioral psychology and the method is referred to by psychologists as operant conditioning. But you don’t need to know technical terminology in order to benefit from the method.

This method was first used with dolphins. With the dolphins, a whistle made the sound rather than a clicker. You can imagine how difficult it is to train a marine mammal compared to a dog. This particular method is based on positive reinforcement. It was very difficult to give a reward to a dolphin at the moment the dolphin performed the behaviour you wanted. However, you could blow a whistle immediately. Then you could follow that with some fish as soon as possible afterwards.

In order to positively reinforce a wanted behavior, you need to reinforce it at the precise time it occurs or very soon afterwards or the animal will not relate the reward with the behavior. The whole reward process is made so much easier and clearer by using a sound from a whistle or clicker to mark the action.

Firstly, you must positively associate the clicker sound with getting a reward. This is easily done by repeatedly clicking and then immediately giving a treat dozens of times. Once this relation is made, the clicker sound itself becomes a reward in itself since it’s so closely related to treats in the dog’s perception. This repetitive process is called charging the clicker by trainers who use the clicker.

When the clicker has been charged, you use the clicker when the dog does a desired behavior and you always follow the action with a treat. In true clicker Training, you allow the behavior you want to occur naturally and click and treat. In order to do this more complicated behaviors must broken down into smaller pieces. A tool which helps the trainer in doing this is the target stick.

One of the first exercises in clicker Training is to train your dog to touch his nose to the target stick. Once your dog accomplishes this, the stick can be used to direct your dog to a particular place. This is really useful in Training other behaviors.

Getting your dog to contact the stick is easy. If you put it in front of his face, he will almost certainly touch it. Then you click and reward. Make sure you let your dog to touch the stickof his own free will! Repeat this for a couple of minutes. Then take a rest.

It can take some time when a dog is introduced to clicker Training, especially if he is an older dog. So you need to be patient. You may need to repeat the target stick session a couple of times before he gets the connection. But once he’s got it, the learning will stick.

Another tool which is very useful in clicker Training is a computer mouse pad or something similar that you train your dog to stand on with a front foot. You can get your dog to do this easily by just putting it down on the ground near him and waiting for him to stand on it. When he does it, click and reward. As with the target stick, repeat until the connection is firm. As with the target stick, this tool can then be used to guide your dog to a particular place in subsequent Training.

In clicker Training, a behavior is trained first as with the target stick and mouse pad and only then is a cue added. A cue means that you assign a verbal request like “sit” or “stay” to the behavior. You do this by saying the cue word just as you notice the dog is about to do the wanted behavior. As usual you click and reward the behavior. Then, by repeating this, the command becomes associated with the reward, just like the clicker sound is. Please note that when you start Training with the cue, you only click and reward when the behavior follows the cue. You don’t click or reward when the dog offers the behavior without you having given the cue.

This is an introduction to the way clicker Training is used. You will want to read much more about it if you are interested in trying clicker Training. What I love about it is that it’s very systematic and all that’s needed is consistency and patience. Read more about clicker training with dogs, a review of the clearest clicker training book, and also reviews of other dog training guides.