Clicker Training Tips
March 20, 2012 in Dog Training
Clicker Training for dogs is one of the up and coming methods of training today. It is easy and effective. All you need to begin clicker training is a clicker and some treats.
Here are tips to help you during your training.
- When you first begin with the clicker, keep things simple. Your dog does not know what the clicker is yet, so push and release the clicker, and then give your dog a treat. This will begin to get your dogs attention. Keep the treats small so that he’ll keep wanting more.
- Make sure you click DURING a desired behavior. Timing is crucial for your dogs understanding of what the clicker is. Give the treat after the click, your dog will begin to associate the behavior you are clicking with treats, and soon enough, he’ll be associating the click with the behavior wanted.
- If you’re not making any progress with a behavior you are trying to achieve, your clicking is probably late. Timing is essential! Try having someone else watch you to see if you are clicking at the appropriate time, sometimes it’s easier for someone else to see if you are clicking at the correct times.
- Begin clicking when your dog is doing a desirable behavior he is likely to do anyways. Start with something easy. If your dog already knows how to sit or lay down, you begin clicking with that behavior.
- Only click once for a desirable behavior. If your dog does something VERY desirable, increase the amount of treats you give him, not the number of times you click. Clicking more than once can start to confuse your dog.
- Start your clicker training sessions short at first. Make sure you keep the training interesting or your dog may get bored with the training and stop responding to the clicker. Even using your clicker a few times throughout the day can teach your dog many new things.
- Clicking to good behaviors will help stop bad behaviors. Click behaviors that you want your dog to do, such as waiting at the door, not rushing out or for not jumping on visitors.
These are just a few clicker training tips, but there are so many more. Clicker training can be fun for you and your dog, and will help build a forever bond between the two of you.
