Dog Clicker Training

Clicker training has been used to train many animals, not just dogs. The technique of using sounds in this way is an application of behavior analysis. The method was originally developed over thirty years ago by Keller Breland, Marian Breland Bailey and Bob Bailey and was first used training marine mammals. In this case a whistle was used rather than a clicker.

Before reading on, I wanted to let you know:
Here is my recommended dog clicker training guide: Clickertraining: The Four Secrets Of Becoming A Super Trainer.

Here is my recommended comprehensive dog training guide: Secrets To Dog Training guide.

The clicker is a small mechanical device that makes a distinct clicking sound. The problem with using treats as a reward is that it is difficult to always give a treat at the same instant as the desired behavior occurs.

In order to get around this problem, behavioral psychologists began to use a sound to mark the desired behavior. As soon as possible after the desired behavior, a treat is given. The dog quickly associates the treat with the sound and therefore with the desired behavior which the sound marks.

In training other animals a whistle has been used but the clicker has become the usual tool in dog training. To begin the training you can sound the clicker and immediately give a treat several times so that the clicker and the treat become closely associated for the dog. During subsequent training, the sound of the clicker becomes a signal for an upcoming treat.

The treats used should be small and tasty and not treats that are used regularly outside of training.

Using the clicker makes positive reinforcement training more effective because the reinforcement is more clearly connected with the behavior. The clicker acts like a bridge between the behavior and the reward.

The clicker is used to teach new behaviors to your dog but it is not something that you need to keep using forever. Once the behavior is learned, the clicker is usually not needed.

The timing of the clicker is crucial - it should be sounded during the desired behavior. The click is more effective than your voice because it is only used for one purpose: to mark a correct behavior and to signal an upcoming treat.

You can begin with actions that your dog is likely to do on its own. When it performs the action, click and give a treat. For example, the dog is bound to sit at some point. You only have to watch it and wait until he sits.

You can break a behavior into parts and start to reward when a part is completed. For example, if you're teaching the dog to come, you can click after a few steps towards you.

Once your dog knows he will get a treat for a certain behavior, he will start to do it to get treats from you. At this point you can add a verbal cue to elicit the behavior. Start giving a cue (such as "Sit"). From this point you only click and reward when the dog does the behavior after the cue, not when he does it on its own. He will quickly learn that he only gets the click and treat after the cue word.

I hope this introduction to dog clicker training has been helpful.

Do you know the four important secrets about training dogs? If your answer to the above question is no, then I strongly recommend that you check out Clickertraining by Morten Egtvedt and Cecilie Koeste, the married training team from Norway. They are members of Karen Pryors ClickerExpo faculty and are Scandinavia´s leading authors on clicker training. Click here to check out the Clickertraining website.