The Dog Blog

Clicker training for dogs is one of the more scientific methods in dog training. It’s rooted in research done in behavioral psychology and the method is referred to by psychologists as operant conditioning. But you don’t need to know technical terms in order to get a lot of benefit from the method.

For an excellent clicker training guide, visit Clicker Training.

The method was first developed with marine mammals. In this case, a whistle was utilised rather than a clicker. You can visualise how difficult it is to train a dolphin compared to a dog. The clicker training method uses the idea of 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 easily blow a whistle at the precise time. Then you could follow that with a fish as soon as possible afterwards.

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

The first step is to positively associate the sound of the clicker with getting a tasty treat. You do this by repeating the process of clicking and following the sound with a treat. Once this connection is made, the clicker sound itself becomes like a reward because it’s so closely linked with the treat in the dog’s mind. This repetitive process is called charging the clicker by trainers who use the clicker.

Once the clicker is charged, you sound the clicker when the dog does an action you want 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 behaviors which are more complex should be split up into smaller pieces. A tool which helps to do this is the target stick.

One of the first tasks 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 get your dog to any place where you put the target stick. This is really useful in training other behaviors.

Getting your dog to touch the stick is easy. If you position it in front of his nose, he will probably touch it. Then you click and treat. Be sure to let your dog to touch the stick: don’t touch it to his nose! Keep repeating for a couple of minutes. Then have a break.

It can take some time when a dog is new 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 stay.

Another tool which is very useful in clicker training is a computer mouse pad or something similar that you train your dog to step on with one of his front feet. You can get your dog to do this easily by just placing it down on the ground near him and waiting for him to stand on it. When he does it, click and reward. As before, repeat this until your dog gets it. As with the target stick, this tool can then be used to guide your dog to a particular place in further 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 use a word or command prior to the behavior – for example, “fetch” or “sit”. You do this by saying the cue word just as you notice the dog is about to do the action. As usual you click and reward the behavior. Then, by repeating this, the word becomes associated with the treat, 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. Obviously there is a lot more to learn. What I particularly like about it is that it’s very step-by-step and all that’s needed is patience and consistency. Read more about clicker training with dogs, a review of the best clicker training book, and also reviews of other dog training ebooks.

Related Websites

• Cat Clicker Training In Action | YouTube UK
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• Dreaming of Danger « Social Psyche | Behavioral Psychology Blog …
• Clicker Training
• Dog and Puppy Training Tips For the Beginner | Paralegal Training