Clicker training was developed to help train marine mammals and supposedly works for just about any pet, not just dogs. The idea behind this type of training is that your pet will learn that a certain sounds mean “correct”. You don’t have to use an actual clicker, but you do need a noise that is consistent and can be made instantly, so voice is not the ideal choice. Animals will learn exactly when they are doing the right thing, so there will be less confusion and they will learn more quickly.

We’re experimenting with clicker training for our dog and here are a few things we have learned:

1. Before you begin, you have to teach your animal what a “click” means. We did this by having several sessions of just clicking and giving a treat without any commands involved.
2. You are setting up a training bargain with your pet, so click means the animal gets a treat, even if you mess up and click at the wrong time.
3. It is very important that you click at the right instant. If you click to soon, your pet will think they have completed the task before they actually have, and if you click too late it will be unclear to them what exactly they have done right.
4. One of the benefits of clicker training is that even though you have to click at exactly the right moment, the treat can be slightly delayed.
5. You can reward behavior that you have not taught a command for yet. If you see your pet doing something that you want to teach them, click and give them a treat. After you have done this a few times you can start naming the action that they have done. For example the dog sits, you click say, “Good sit!” and give a treat.

If you’re interested in learning more, you should take a look at this site: http://www.clickertraining.com/ You will find a ton of information, books, and products related to clicker training.

Tags: dog training, cat training, clicker training