What is Clicker Training? Is It Effective?

Training your dog can be a lot of fun as it is also an opportunity to establish the kind of relationship that most dog owners want. You would want your dog to be your best friend and at that same time, he or she would be obedient and easy to handle. It is through effective training that your dog may be able to learn several tricks through several verbal commands and even verbal markers.

Now, as far as verbal commands go, it could be the most convenient way to make an obedient pet out of your dog. When he starts getting used to the tone and inflections of your voice, that’s the time when your communication with your dog sort of deepens and becomes more reliable. That being said, there is also one other way to train your dog to follow your cues by not having to yell and strain too much when he is physically far away from you. It’s called clicker training.

What is Clicker Training?

Clicker training is a method of marking and reward-based training that uses a mechanical device that emits a clicking sound to signal to your dog that he did the right thing. This method of training was made famous by Karen Pryor an animal trainer and advocate of clicker training. Incidentally, she used clickers on other animals too, like dolphins.

What is the Point of Clicker Training?

A clicker can help you train your dog more efficiently and effectively since it only makes use of simple and consistent clicking sounds that are not only more audible to your dog but may also be familiar to him for some reason.

Dogs have a way of responding to clicking sounds just like some of the animals mentioned above. Added to that, a clicker creates more emphasis and catches your dog’s attention due to their sensitive hearing. It is like a non-verbal tap to the shoulder of your dog telling him that he did well. And as a result, a treat will follow.

The clicking sound is different from your usual “yes” marker in a way that it produces a curt, distinct, and consistent snap which in theory could help regulate and maintain your dog’s attention.

How Does a Clicker Work?

A clicker is a small handheld device that has a button that you press to create the clicking sound. You may use it by hiding it behind your back just with your hands on your sides, or inside your jacket pocket. All it needs is your dog must be able to hear it. The device itself makes two unique clicking sounds, the first one occurs when you press the button, and the second click comes when the button is released. These two clicks make for a consistent signal to mark any desired behavior during training.

Note: Always make sure that a treat follows after the clicks.

The clicker enables you to click and mark precisely that very moment your dog is making that small or large movement, heading towards the desired behavior. It also helps you and your dog to train faster and easier since it only requires minimum energy on your part as a trainer to establish lasting discipline. This is made possible through the use of positive reinforcement as the main technique of teaching.

The Pros and Benefits of Using a Clicker for Training

Clicker training is considered to be highly effective as it motivates your dog to become more curious, enthusiastic, attentive, and wanting to learn more.

It also enhances and strengthens the bond between owner and pet. Testimonial evidence from many trainers both professional and otherwise shows that clicker training improves communication which results in better performance and a strengthened relationship between you and your dog.

Clicker training gives the owner a better vantage point in making evaluations about his or her dog’s performance since it allows him to focus on minute details such as something as subtle as a small movement of the leg going onward to the desired behavior.

Through the consistent use of the clicker and reward method, your dog tends to learn faster and retain it better.

It is a positive type of reinforcement that focuses on the right behaviors and subsequently almost eliminates the need for punishments.

It is useful for strengthening known behaviors and teaching new ones.

The Cons of Clicker Training

You will have to be carrying the clicker all the time, probably even when you are not with your dog. This is so that you can be ready anytime instead of having to scramble back to your room every time you encounter a training opportunity.

A clicker can make it difficult for you to be flexible with both of your hands since you will always be holding the clicker on one, and everything else on the other. It is recommended that you toss the treats on the ground instead.

A trainer/owner who is having a hard time getting the precise timing might reward the wrong behavior, or risk rewarding an unrelated action. He or she will have to do some practice to achieve consistency and timing.

Scientific Basis Clicker Training

Most studies on clicker training up to the most recent times are almost always connected with the Pavlovian theory. This theory was born out of an experiment that was conducted on dogs. The theory states that “Classical Conditioning” (aka Pavlov’s theory) creates a response that associates one event with another. In his experiment, Pavlov associated the ringing of a bell with food for the dogs.

So, every time he rings the bell, the dog begins to salivate in anticipation of food coming. It then transitions to “Operant Conditioning” which means that your dog will likely repeat a behavior when they know that there is a reward in the end. Pavlov’s theory has become a foundation of sorts for training models, even in humans. It is based on the principle that the trainer will be able to elicit any desired behavior from the trainee provided that the association is followed by some reward.

Fast forward to the year 2005, Karen Pryor a well-known clicker training advocate and dog training scientist suggested in a hypothesis that the clicking sound might just be the reward itself. Ms. Pryor, together with a German scientist named Barbara Schoening, infers that a certain part of our brain-limbic system called the Amygdala is responsible for processing fear, anxiety, and the fight or flight response to stimuli.

They suggest that it may be the sharp and sudden sound from the click that bypasses the cortex or the thinking-filtering part of the dog’s brain. It then goes straight to the Amygdala which elicits a strong emotional response in dogs or even in humans. This kind of reaction creates stress that enhances memory retention. Suffice it to say, if your dog can remember pleasurable and happy times, he can also remember emotional surges from stimuli like the clicking sound of a clicker.

As the sound enters the Amygdala without it having to go through the cortex or the thinking part of the brain, it almost unconsciously produces a heightened response from your dog making him more attentive and retentive. Here’s the kicker though, Karen Pryor presupposes that the clicking sound is a “joy” stimulus that produces happy effects on your dog.

Simply put, the clicking sound in itself becomes a reward as it gives your dog that rush of pleasant emotions when he hears it. That happy moment goes through his brain every time a clicking sound bypasses his conscious thought and goes straight to his limbic system. But then again, this is as far as she went on in trying to explain the science behind clicker training. Ms. Pryor maintains that it has to be a combination of research of other related sciences to corroborate her theories.

In the meantime, clicker training is growing in popularity among dog owners nowadays.

How to Use Clicker Training for My Dog

Anyone who is opting to do clicker training must first understand that it is not a trick nor is it a stand-alone skill. It is an alternative to the marker “yes” as well as an add-on method of marking your dog for doing the desired behavior. Just like the treats, it will also fade once consistency is achieved. A clicker can be used on all kinds of training on both basic and advanced skills for your dog, particularly as an effective substitute for the marker “yes”.

Step 1: “Charge” Your Clicker First

Before you start incorporating the clicker into your training sessions, you will first have to show your dog what it is for. This is where “charging” your clicker comes in.

Here are the steps as follows:

Put your dog on a leash and lead him onto the training area. Indoors or outdoors is fine provided that it is relatively quiet and there are no major distractions.
While holding him loose on the leash, allow your dog to stand beside or in front of you.
Hold the clicker on one hand just to the side of your body, or behind your back, with the other hand holding the treat ready. Click, then immediately throw him a treat or two.
Click and treat your dog several times randomly and in different positions to make sure that he associates the reward with the click and not any offered behavior.
Repeat the exercise at least 15 times or more for retention. Then rest.
After 3 hours on the same day, do the click-and-treat exercise again. You might notice your dog quickly getting the hang of it.
“Charge” (click and treat) for 2 more days before including the clicker in his basic training. You may also want to slightly extend the gap between the click and the treat by a few seconds to proof your dog. Not too much though. Be consistent with the follow-through of the treats.
Check if your dog already fully associates the click with the food. If he does, he is now ready.

Step 2: Things to Do and Remember Before Adding the Clicker to the Training

Timing

Click on the exact moment that the skill or trick is being performed. Not before, nor after.

Put a Gap between Click and Reward

Allow at least 3 seconds to pass after clicking. This is to avoid confusion for your dog.

Practice with a Friend

If you are having a difficult time clicking to the exact moment, practice first with a friend first. Ask your friend to bounce a tennis ball while you click every time it hits the floor.

Repeat the exercise until you no longer have difficulty clicking at the right moment.

Things Not to Do When Using Clicker Training

Always remember, do not point the clicker at your dog like a remote control, otherwise, your dog might think it is a hand gesture. Instead of responding to the clicking sound, he might respond to the movement of your arm. It may consequently delay your dog’s response, or he might not respond at all.

Do not click on your dog’s face up close, as it could potentially hurt your dog’s ears given that it is already sensitive enough even from afar.

Step 3: Using the Clicker in Teaching Basic Skills

The following are just suggested commands that you can teach your dog by using a clicker. Teach the skills one at a time and make sure that he has already mastered the current one before moving on to the next. Be patient and go with your dog’s progress. Some may learn faster than others.

Calling your Dog’s Name or “Look”

Being the most basic of all skills, responding to her name is a must-have skill for your dog. Call her by her name or say “look” to have her look up at you. Click, then after three seconds release the treat. Repeat the exercise until he responds consistently by looking up at you every time he is called. Slowly fade out the clicker then later remove the treats as well.

“Sit”

Hold the treat in a loose fist in your hand and bring it right up to your dog’s nose. Let your dog lick and paw at the treat without releasing it. Say “sit” and simultaneously raise your hand to make your dog raise his head and eventually go into a sitting position. As soon as his bottom hits the floor, you click your clicker and then release the treat. Repeat the exercise until your dog sits down as soon you give the verbal command without having to put your hand in his face. Click when he sits, then reward.

“Down”

Use a treat to lure your dog into a lying-down position. Press a treat in between your fingers and your palm, then hold it up against your dog’s nose. Lure your dog down to the floor, and as soon as his whole body is down click the clicker followed by a treat. Next, add the command then do the same click when his body hits the ground. You may do the same sequence with “up” from the down position.

The above are just some of the examples of how to insert the clicker into your dog’s training. You can also apply the clicker at intermediate to advanced skill levels.

Mat Training

This will involve stages in which you will be using the clicker several times in one go. The goal is to incrementally have your dog lie on the mat and then relax on it. This means you will have to start with “capturing” desired movements little by little until he completes the desired behavior.

Spread out the mat in front of your dog and say “mat”. If he takes some steps towards it or sniffs it and shows some interest, capture it by clicking your clicker and giving a reward after 2-3 seconds.
If he puts a foot or two on the mat, click and treat.
Remember not to force your dog onto the mat but just capture any movement towards it.
Just be there beside the mat with your dog and wait.
Once he has all four paws on the mat, click and treat.
When he is already on the mat wait for him to show signs that he is relaxing such as lowering down his head even tentatively on the mat, lying on his side, stretching out his leg click, and treat. Careful not to click near your dog as he might get anxious by the loud clicking near his ears.
Repeat the exercise until your dog is fully lying down on the mat and relaxed. Click and treat.

Clicker Games that You Can Use to Help You Master the Clicker

As we have mentioned above, precision is necessary for your clicks to count. Here are some exercises/games created by Ms. Marie Gagne that you can do on your own before you engage your dog.

The Wild West Draw

This game will help you establish your rhythm by clicking and rewarding your dog at the appropriate times.

Find a table then place a dish on it and pretend that the dish is your dog.

Click
Take the treat from your treat pouch and hold it
Then release the treat onto the dish (rewarding your dog)

It’s a game of accuracy and consistency. As you keep on repeating the exercise you will gain rhythm and will be able to deposit the treat right into your dog’s mouth at the right time. Click, take the treat, then release. Try to work it out in one minute and find out how many repetitions you can make.

Toss the Treat Game

In this game, you will learn to toss the treat to your dog on the floor while keeping your rhythm. You will use the same bowl from the first exercise. And you will still pretend that it is your dog.

Put the bowl on the floor then, click, take the treats, then toss them over to the bowl. Repeat the exercise until you are already comfortable doing it at a faster pace. The goal is to increase speed and maintain accuracy. Once you are already fast and precise, you may time yourself for 1 minute to see how many you can get into the bowl inside that period.

After finally getting some consistency about your performance in these pre-games you may now proceed to train your dog using the clicker and your new skills in using it.

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