Why Clicker Training Works
Clicker Training makes training fun!
What is Clicker Training?
In a nutshell, Clicker training is positive reinforcement training, however, the clicker is a very unique mechanical sound that dogs can clearly associate with a reward. When dogs are clicker trained, you are focusing on your dog’s “good behavior” and rewarding it so that your dog will want to repeat that “good behavior” so he can get more rewards.
Rewards are basically anything your dog wants! We generally start out with treat rewards, but we can quickly move from food based rewards to “life rewards” which are non food rewards and can include praise (like “Good Dog”), Play (such as fetch or tug), Going outside, Being fed their meals, or learning new things such as tricks. Rewards are by far a stronger motivator, than focusing only on the bad things your dog does. And clickers harness the power of motivating your dog, by marking the “good behaviors” and rewarding those behaviors. This makes your dog want to repeat those good behaviors more often.
How to use a Clicker
When you use a clicker, you must first teach your dog what the clicker means. This is done by simply performing a simple exercise where you click the clicker and immediately give the dog a super high value treat. Repeat this process a couple of times throughout the day with 5-6 treats and by the end of the day, your dog will understand that when he hears the click, a reward (primarily a food reward) will quickly follow. Now the clicker can be used in to train your dog ANYTHING! And I mean anything. It can be used to teach your dog simple obedience commands like Sit and Down. It can also be used to teach your dog more complicated obedience commands, like Come or tricks like Shake or Riding Skateboards.
This is done by using the clicker to “mark” the dog’s behavior you like. It is generally combined with “luring”. So if you want your dog to lie down (or put his belly on the floor), then you can show your dog the treat, slowly lure the treat down to the floor and when your dog’s belly touches the floor, you click and give the dog the treat.
But what if your dog doesn’t put his belly on the floor? That is when you need to have a “negative marker” that means, oops, that is not what I am looking for, try again. To learn more about “markers” checkout Fundamentals of Dog Training – Markers, Cues, Release Words.
Why Clicker Training?
Clicker training marks positive behavior and marks the moment that the dog is getting rewarded for. The unique sound a clicker makes it a very clear signal to the dog that he is doing something that is going to be rewarded. Can we use a different positive marker such as a work like “Yes”, or snap our fingers or simply praise our dogs for good behavior? Absolutely! But the signal is not as clear to the dog. We praise our dogs for all kinds of things. And our praise is not always when the dog is doing anything that we are rewarding. So praise can be a little confusing to our dogs. As an example, our dog is simply laying on the floor watching us, and we walk by and say “Good Dog”. There is nothing wrong with doing this, but what does this mean? Or we just stating that our dog is a good dog in general? Are we trying to tell the dog that he is good because he is calmly lying on the floor? And what is the dog getting out of this exchange? Does he really care if he is a “good dog”? But if we ask our dog’s to lie down calmly on the floor and then click that behavior, then that is more clear communication to the dog, that you are happy that he is lying calmly on the floor and you reward him for that behavior. This helps the dog understand that you like when he is calm and lying on the floor and that will motivate your dog to perform this behavior more often.
Dogs who are clicker trained tend to love to learn because, the signal is clear when they will be rewarded for behavior you ask them to do. This also motivates them to work harder to get rewards. And from the dog’s point of view, it becomes a game for them – What can I do to get a reward from my owner. This takes a lot of pressure off of you as the trainer because you are looking for clickable moments instead of punishable moments or focusing on mistakes!
Clicker training has so many other benefits in that it boosts your communication with your dog, it helps build and strengthen your bond with your dog and simply makes training more fun for both you and your dog!
Getting Your Dog Started with Clicker Training
Getting started with the clicker is easy! Just sign up for a obedience class that uses positive reinforcement methods (or clicker training) or sign up for a Click A Trick class that uses clicker training to teach your dog fun tricks. Trick training combined with obedience training that uses clickers sets the foundation for life long learning that is fun for both of you and the whole family.