Training our dogs is a somewhat complicated but very important task for their day to day life. Do not think of these activities as training for your pet to do what you want, but as rules of coexistence that both of you must learn to live together. When you move for the first time to live with your partner and friends, there are certain acquired behaviors that we may have to abandon in pursuit of new ones that allow us to live together. For example, maybe we were used to leaving the toothpaste open and anywhere because we had our own bathroom, and now that we share it with another person we must leave it closed and in the same place so that we can both find it. Well, the same thing happens with our pets. Also, add to this the fact that you are two different species that understand life in different ways. Dogs are territorial and are used to following pack leaders if they are not. In addition, they are very empathic and are able to understand your feelings and respond based on them.
We have to understand their way of seeing life to understand how we are to interact with them.
Is training your dog with a clicker easy?
Yes it is. It is one of the most basic and easiest ways to start training and it will take you very little to get the hang of it. It is a positive reinforcement widely used by trainers. You just need to read the following tricks to know how to do it. However, dog trainers will be able to guide you even better than us. Think that they are true experts in the field since they have trained thousands of dogs. Using your point of view will never hurt.
What do you need to train a dog with a clicker?
To train a dog with a clicker you will need
- A dog
- Clicker
- Dog Rewards/Prizes
- Some of the time
- Patience and lots of love towards your pet
Instructions for training a dog with a clicker
Step by step to train a dog with a clicker
- The first thing you are going to need is to have a dog and then, of course, acquire a clicker. You can buy them at any pet store. It is a small plastic device that fits perfectly in the hand and has a kind of button that when pressed makes it “click”, hence the name clicker.
- Using the clicker is very simple. It consists of pressing the button so that the animal performs a certain action, the action that we want it to learn. Once he does it, for example, sit down, we must accompany the action, in addition to the sound, with a prize. In addition, it is advisable to accompany the action of the clicker and the prize with a clear order and a thank you. The idea is that the animal learns to associate that sound, the prize and your verbal command, with an action and that, from now on, it relates all the concepts.
- For your pet to adapt to the clicker, you have to “introduce” them. The ideal way to do this is to find a quiet place or room where your dog can first come into contact with this tool. For the training to work you must understand the concept. The easiest way for him to do this is for you to place the clicker in one hand and a treat in the other. Let him see the device and understand what it sounds like. When he pays attention to the sound and has understood where it is coming from, reward him with a treat. Thus, little by little, he will associate the sound with a prize.
- Once your pet has understood how the clicker works, it’s time to begin training. We will start with “catch” training, which consists of reinforcing those appropriate behaviors of your pet. For example, if you see her sitting down to relax in a common place, she presses the clicker and waits for it to come for her reward. When you sit down just as relaxed again, repeat the same process again. In this way, he will soon associate that this appropriate behavior entails a reward and will reinforce this type of action.
- If you want to use the clicker to acquire new behaviors, we will use it with the training mode known as “shaping”. In this case we are trying to get him to acquire a new habit, so we will have to teach him what it is and reinforce it with the clear command, sound and reward as quickly as possible. We will use the clicker, for example, to teach him to walk, to perform his puppy needs on a newspaper, to give his paw… The positive reinforcement of the clicker will help him understand that these actions are positive and that he must repeat them.
Tips for training a dog with a clicker
One last tip on how to clicker train a dog
Don’t forget to accompany clicker training with a clear verbal command. The idea is that little by little you eliminate the positive reinforcement and the reward but keep the order. Little by little he will be able to follow your directions without the need for the clicker or the prize.
