Clicker Training Is Excellent For Dog Obedience

Clicker training is an excellent way of training your dog. Animal training is all about effective communication. The more precise, consistent and accurate that communication is, the quicker the animal learns.This is where dog clicker training shows excellent results.

Communicating with your dog with a clicker, teaches it that when it does the right thing, at that exact moment it hears a click. It signals to the animal that they are about to be rewarded for what they did.

There are all sizes of clickers. It is an inexpensive toy that makes a cricket-like sound. The clicker makes a sound like a cricket and look like small plastic matchboxes.

How Clicker Training Works

The Canis Clickertraining Academy run by Morten and Cecilie, explain it really well. To have the dog associate the clicker with your training; you need to connect the clicking sound with a reward. The reward to associate with the clicker can be a valued piece of food, such as chicken liver treats, or cheese and when you make the clicking sound your dog will soon learn it is going to get a treat for good behavior.

There are a couple of ‘primary reinforcements’ and food is the one dogs respond to readily. Physical affection, playtime and water are other primary reinforcements. If you click and give your dog a piece of food and repeat this ten to twenty times, the clicker now becomes associated with the food.

This process is called classical conditioning and the clicker now becomes known as a “secondary reinforcement”. In the dog’s mind, the click has actually taken on some of the quality of the primary reinforcement, in this case – the food.

Training can begin with the clicker being used, once your dog is responding immediately to the click sound. This method of training is called operant conditioning.

Whenever you want to say ‘good dog’ after your dog has done something good, use the clicker instead of talking. If your dog puts its behind on the floor, for example and you click the moment that happens, it learns that what it did earned a treat.

So now your dog will more readily repeat that behavior in the future. The click, good behavior and a reward, becomes your dog’s understanding of your needs.

The clicker is quicker and more precise than saying ‘good dog’ because people have a tendency to remember to click with more consistency and precision, than when using verbal praise. People say ‘good dog’ so often throughout the day, this phrase often has less value than the special clicking sound..

Clicker training has proved successful for many people, and you will find a clicker training review will most certainly give it a good rating. When your dog is more advanced and responding well to the clicker, you can reduce the times you give a reward and offer praise instead.