Clicker training is a friendly, fun, quick and effective way to train your dog. It can be used to heal unwanted behaviors, as well as to teach new behaviors. It is easy to learn, your dog will love it and best of all, your training will last. When a dog learns using clicker training, it learns faster and retains its learning much better than any other method. Try it and you'll see ...
- What is it?
- Why use it?
- How does it work?
- What's good about it?
Clicker Training is an effective, safe and friendly way to teach your dog any behavior. Even children can train puppies and dogs using Clicker training!
What is clicker training?
Desirable behavior is marked by the use of a "clicker", a mechanical device that produces a short and distinct "click" sound that tells your dog exactly when they are doing the right thing. This clear form of communication, combined with positive reinforcement (a reward) is an effective, safe and humane way to teach any animal any behavior.
When we use clicker training, we look for situations that encourage the dog to teach himself what to do. We all remember the self-taught lessons for life! The difference between an animal that behaves with a purpose, instead of habit, is enormous. The animals trained with clicker try to learn new behaviors. They remember behaviors even years later because they were aware of them as they learned them, instead of acquiring them without conscience or force.
This is a process that will improve and deepen your relationship with your dog, through greater understanding, good communication and with absolute confidence. Dogs are very, very good learners throughout their lives. They welcome learning, enjoy solving problems and end up with happy and satisfied dogs.
Clicker training is also an excellent technique to solve problems related to boredom, such as hyperactivity, chewing, barking, etc. The mental stimulation it provides is so intense (when used correctly) it allows your dog to relax and relax after having done a "job". Many behavioral problems of dogs have boredom as part of their cause and, with a little careful planning and organization, clicker training can provide an extremely good solution for this type of problem.
Why use a clicker?
With the click, a trainer can "mark" the behavior precisely so that the animal knows exactly what it was doing at the time it obtained a reward. That's why click coaches call the click an "event marker". The click also unites or connects the behavior and its reward, so it is also called "bridge signal".
How does Clicker training work?
The coach clicks at the time the behavior occurs: the dog sits down, the coach clicks at the same time. Clicking is like taking a picture of the behavior that the coach wants to reinforce. After "taking the picture", the trainer gives the animal something he likes, usually a small portion of food, but sometimes plays, caresses or other rewards.
Very soon (sometimes with two or three clicks), an animal will associate the sound of the click with something that it likes: the reward. Since you want to repeat that pleasant experience, you will repeat the action you were doing when you heard the click. Any behavior can be trained with any animal by following these three simple steps:
- Get the behavior.
- Mark the behavior.
- Reinforce behavior
Asking about behaviors?
Clicker coaches differ from traditional coaches in that they wait until the animal understands the behavior well before using a verbal command or "signal". A signal is the name of a behavior, such as "sit" or a hand signal.
Until a dog knows what the behavior is, any name for him would not make sense! for example: ask an untrained dog to sit down, he will look at you without understanding, teach him to sit first, then associate the verbal signal 'sit down' with the behavior he has taught and that's it! Your dog understands your signal and will respond with a seated behavior.
Do you have to click and try forever?
Once the behavior is learned and at the right time, usually no more clicks are required because the dog understands the behavior now. Clicker trainers can sustain the behavior by substituting very good rewards with occasional and less intense rewards, including a slap or a compliment. Keys and learned behavior are also preserved through real rewards: for example, quietly staying at the door is rewarded by opening the door to the dog. Clicker coaches then keep clicks and prizes for the next new feature they want to train.
What's good about clicker training?
- The clicker allows you to separate the behavior (leaving the rabbit hunt) from the reward (come back with you for a big hug).
- The clicker works the same for all family members.
- The clicker allows us to teach complex dog behavior chains that we would never have imagined
- In fact, it works for all animals, including fish, rats, dolphins, orcas, horses, pigs.
- We say clicker training is easy but not easy. The principle is simple, it can take some time to apply at full efficiency ... but it's fun to learn!
- The clicker training is SO EFFECTIVE that dogs can learn very quickly, giving owners a great sense of achievement in no time and encouraging them to teach more and get their dog to learn more.
These are some of the most important things to learn obedience training your dog. If you want to train your dog successfully, you must always be patient and persistent.
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