I am sure you have heard of clicker training before. I often wondered what it is all about and did some research I would like to share with you.
Back in the 60ies clickers were children’s toys that where made mostly of metal. These pieces a tongue that made a clicking noise when pressed. I only remember them too well. Some were sold in animal shapes and real cute looking. Today, clickers are mostly made for use in animal training. It’s used to trigger exactly what behavior the animal is being rewarded for. The click communicates to the dog that that specific behavior was expected and that a reward has been earned!
Combining the click and the reward the dog learns that the click means something positive Most dogs understand the idea after 10 to 20 tries. Since the clicks are associated with being rewarded, the rewarded behavior will increase. Keep in mind that the click signals the end of the behavior that indicates that the reward is coming. For example, if you click for stays, the number of stays will rise, but every time you click to stay, that stay is over and the dog may to receive his reward.
If the dog is capable of doing it, you can train the behavior with a clicker. Clicker training generally do not include positive punishment. However, it uses a reinforcement trigger that decreases a dog’s unwanted behavior such as a jerk on leash.
The reason why clickers are so unique and work better than our voice is that dogs hear our voices all the time, and thus often ignore them, as you probably have found out the hard way already The clicker is asound that has no other meaning to the dog. And people can usually click faster than they can verbally praise the dog.
Clicker training is great for one on one obedience training but it doesn’t work well with groups and just causes confusion amongst the dogs and handlers.