Clicker Training is Effective Training
Article written by Nancy Settecasi
“Clicker training” is the term used for a form of training which has become very popular due to its kind and effective methods of teaching. The proper term for clicker training is “operant conditioning.” This is when an animal is prompted to act out a specific behavior in order to receive positive reinforcement, such as a reward. Clicker training is used to teach one behavior at a time. Because the clicker has a unique sound, the dog is able to associate that sound to a specific behavior. The main reason why clicker training is so effective is the fact that the clicker maintains the same sound and the same tone consistently, whereas humans can repeat the same word over and over again and never have it sound the same twice. Our voices can vary in pitch, tone and sound.
The clicker is a small hand-held device that makes a click sound when the button is pressed. Before you begin clicker training your dog, you must accustom him to the fact that every time he hears the click, he will receive a treat. So spend some time clicking and treating throughout the day so your dog comes to understand the idea. Hear a click, get a treat.
- First, provoke your dog to perform a behavior to be taught, such as sitting.
- At the very moment his butt hits the ground, you click and give him a chewy, bite-sized treat.
- At this point, every time your dog sits, you will click and reward him with a treat. You don’t have to reward him with a treat every time. You can use praise or offer him his favorite bone. If this doesn’t work as well, continue the treat until the behavior has been learnt, then wean him off the treat by replacing the treat with praise. Of course, a treat gives a dog more incentive to perform the behavior.
- Once he starts to understand this concept, you will then add a command to the click and treat, such as “SIT.” Click, Command, Treat. The command should be said only once. Do not repeat the command too many times as this will get your dog used to hearing it that way.
- The clicker will then be reduced and eventually eliminated along with the treat, leaving you with a specific command for a specific behavior.
Once you’ve taught him/her this new trick and are no longer using the clicker, you can now use clicker training to teach your dog yet another behavior.