Clicker Training, A Modern Training by Beatrice Stephenson
Clicker training is nowadays an established form of dog training, and has, despite the critique its been getting, become popular among many dog owners. The badmouthing about it has basically been about the myth that it takes huge amounts of treats to work, but that is not at all the fact. It can, just as with any other form of reward training, be combined with toys or whatever your dog enjoys. And, by the way, not any training should be used with only one form of reward. This won't keep your dog focused and eager to obey with all sorts of distractions, you have to swap them once in a while, or combine them. A clicker devise costs a about two dollars, so it's not a big cost if you are curious to try it.
The advantage of the clicker is, that you can communicate with your dog exactly when a good thing is done. You can't possible be that quick with verbal encourage even if you try. So that means that the dog will get your intentions faster, and that will make the training more effective. When you have clicked a good demand, the dog gets a treat, affection, toys, or food, depending on the level of the training. That's the basics of it. Another good thing is that it differs from your voice, and will be easy for your dog to recognise as a training device. The dogs hear a stream of alike sounding words from you every day. If you don't learn to use your voice very effective when you work with your dog, it might be easier to get the dog to clearly recognize the click sound instead of you. Besides, if you are using your voice, you have to remember to use a word only in that situation, and not in other every day situations. If you for example use "good boy" as the word to recognise good behaviour, you shouldn't use it in other situations, or it will loose its purpose and will be very confusing for your companion. The click is only there for the dog, clearly meaning good news for it, and can't be mixed up with anything else. So if you are having problems with achieving a distinct voice and tone in your training, the clicker is very effective.
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You could think of the clicker as a camera shot of the good behaviour, taken in just that moment. Not before, too late, or during. The results can be very good in a short amount of time if you learn it correctly. You have to start with some basics, so that your dog will fully get the clicker. A good way to start is to just learn how to get you dogs attention by saying its name. Say your dog's name in a clear voice. When the dog turns his head to look at you, you click the device. And then give it a reward. At first keep the reward in the palm of your hand, but as you develop the exercise, keep the reward visible. Teach the dog that it has to look at you, not the food or the toy on the counter. He will get it soon enough. This is a good basic way to start, and you can develop that to other training exercises, like sit, lye down, tracking, etc. You can also train your puppy for unwanted behaviour with the clicker as soon as it understands the pattern of the device. You add a "wrong" to the exercises when he is doing something unwanted, and use the clicker the same instant he is following the "no".
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Learn more about clicker dog training, get free tips and learn about different dog training devices at www.dogtraining.efven.com
Beatrice Stephenson is a freelance writer on pets, recreation and health.
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