Copyright (c) 2010 Lena Carlson

Clicker Dog Training

No matter what sort of dog you have, training your dog with a clicker is one of the most successful and impressive methods for controlling and dictating a dog's behaviour when trying to teach them basic commands. It takes very little time to grasp clicker training and with a good quality clicker, you'll be able to train your dog just about anything.

How Does Clicker Training Work

The overall concept behind clicker training is that you're teaching your dog to relate to the noise that the clicker makes - a strong, sharp sound that can be heard by the dog from 20+ yards away - with a specific command you give. The objective of the training is to mark specific desired behaviour and then reward it with the sound of the clicker.

Needless to say, clicker dog training does not start with a clicker. You need to first train your dog that the clicker is a reward for good behaviour. This can be done with a bag of treats and a simple, two dollar clicker from your local pet store.

It is crucial that you utilize a clicker in this situation for quite a few reasons. To start with, a dog won't ever heed that clicker for any reason other than to tell them that they did a good job and that a treat is on the way. A word or verbal command may be given in different situations and the association in their head is not quite as strong as a result of it.

How Clicker Dog Training is Done

When you commence teaching your dog to respond to a clicker, there are three very basic steps. Primarily, you'll get the behaviour - persuading your dog to do something that you want them to. It may be sitting, dropping, speaking, staying, rolling over, or any number of other tricks you're trying to teach. When you've succeeded in getting them to perform their behaviour, mark it with the clicker and a treat.

It usually only takes two or three markings before a dog understands what the behaviour they did actually was, and starts repeating it each time you use the clicker. Training your dog with a clicker works very well because they're going to immediately respond, allowing you to reward them and instantly instil it in their minds. A spoken command will take time to get through..

As soon as the dog has completed the behaviour and received their treat, continue doing it to strengthen the behaviour as much as possible. You you should not need to employ rewards every time. Reward and petting work just as well and can eventually substitute the behaviour.

Making the Transition from Treat to Command

As soon as the dog has learned the behaviour well, clicker dog training will have you transition to a spoken command that can be used anywhere, even when you don't have a clicker. Each time you are going to use the clicker, utter the prompt and then click, followed by the treat. Your dog will quickly learn to associate all three.

In time, with good clicker dog training, a dog will respond to a vocal cue and praise for their response and then they will simply learn it. The necessity for treats or reward will be gone and your dog will simply understand that the action pleases you.

As you might imagine, clicker dog training has a variety of applications. It can make teaching your dog so much simpler in many ways. With a simple, sharp prompt, you can mark and reinforce just about any behaviour.