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What is Clicker Training?

Clicker Training was first developed by a B.F. Skinner, arguably the most celebrated psychologist since Freud. He first fully defined reward based training in 1938 and his work, while based on human education, went on to influence animal learning (most teachers have heard of Skinner!).

Clicker training is completely punishment free, it is easy to learn and enjoyable for humans and dogs and can be applied in any canine situation. Clicker training is used for puppy training, rescue dogs, dogs who have been mistreated, dogs with aggression issues, show dogs, competition dogs, working dogs, assistance dogs—the list goes on and on.

The click of the clicker means three things to a dog

• You got it right
• A treat is coming
• You’re finished

The clicker therefore, acts like a camera to the dog, taking a snapshot in his short term memory of the exact moment he achieved the correct behaviour. Once a dog understands that, if they value the reward enough, they are then motivated to repeat the behaviour and continue learning.

Why use a clicker, why not just titbits?

It is easier to get the timing correct with a clicker when practised and timing is critical to a dog’s understanding of their training. Dogs relate the reward to what they are currently doing or what they have just done – before doing anything else.

• The clicker is more precise than a verbal marker like ‘good dog’ and there is emerging scientific evidence to suggest that the sound is processed more effectively by the brain.
• The clicker is ideal for distance work, also for children to learn and for people with physical disabilities as one doesn’t need to be right near the dog to reward the correct behaviour.
• The clicker is distinctively different to other sounds so cannot become diluted by daily language like ‘well done’.
• The clicker is consistent in tone and pitch and isn’t subject to moods like owners!
• Clicker trained dogs tend to be happier, more enthusiastic and bright eyed and have great self confidence, as well as a closer bond with their owner(s).

Do I always have to use the clicker?

The clicker is for teaching new things, you only need it to teach your dog what you want and what that is called. When your dog responds to the word you are teaching reliably and quickly, you can fade the clicker.

Do I always have to use food?

It is very important to continue the training process, until your dog will respond to all the verbal cues (used to be called commands) automatically and everywhere. Training often fails because people don’t continue the training process as follows:

• Teach with the clicker and food (or play)
• Fade the clicker, continue with verbal cues and food
• Gradually fade the food so your dog works harder for less food

Won’t praise be enough?

Not usually, most people are motivated to work for money and whatever they get out of their job (friendships, satisfaction etc), dogs are no different. Not many people work for the love of the job alone and those that do are highly motivated by whatever they get out of the job. It’s all about motivation and most dogs are motivated by food and play. They enjoy praise of course, but it’s not usually enough on its own, but equally don’t forget to warmly praise your dog as well as feed him and play with him.

What happens when my dog gets it wrong?

Dogs have no concept of right and wrong, only rewarding and not rewarding. They don’t have morals, and therefore can’t look ‘guilty’. There is a positive solution for any canine behaviour that conflicts with what people want.When actually training, clicker training involves nothing negative whatsoever, not even verbal reprimands. Any form of punishment is in conflict with the scientific principles of clicker training. The worst that can happen for the dog is that the click, and therefore the treat, doesn’t come. The lack of reward will discourage repetition and encourage the dog to experiment and try out new things, without fear of reprisal, which in turn fully develops his or her personality.

In short

Get the behaviour (lots of ways to do this)
Mark it with the clicker
Reward it

Before Getting Started

Points to be aware of:

• The click is the action of pushing and releasing the clicker so it is actually ‘click-click’.
• A click guarantees that a treat will follow, even if you click by mistake or at the wrong time.
• One reward, one click, never multiple click. Give multiple treats for an extra special response, but only 1 click.
• Never use the clicker to get the dog’s attention - this could adversely affect all of your training efforts.
• Timing Counts – your dog will learn much faster if he can count on you to mark the right behaviour.

Organising Training Sessions

• Choose times when you have as few distractions as possible, to begin with.
• Choose a time when your dog is awake and alert.
• Choose a place in the home where he is comfortable to begin with (see below).
• Make sure you have everything you need to hand.
• Make sure your dog has been to the toilet and hasn't just eaten.
• Make sessions very short to begin with – literally 5 minutes at a time, but several times a day.
• Build up the length gradually, always finish the session with your puppy or dog wanting more, never leave it till he's bored and wanders off. There can be seconds between full attention and boredom.
• Don't overload him. Be aware of all the other things he is learning as well, like house training.
• Teach one thing at a time in each short session to begin with and only practise different cues in one session when he has fully mastered each one.
• When he has got the idea, practise in different rooms in the house and when confident, move into the garden.
• Next move farther afield, slowly adding in distractions. Visiting friends, going for a walk etc.
• Don't progress too quickly, or add in too many distractions until he can cope and don't allow him to fail!

Release Word

A release word is invaluable in training. It just means, 'exercise over', or 'go and play'. Choose any word or phrase that suits you e.g. 'ok', 'good' and replace the clicker with this when you are ready to phase it out.

 Kerri Bee is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (no.0999). She runs training classes and one-to-one consultations in West Pembrokeshire. Visit her website. http://www.windrushdogsforlife.co.uk

 Editor's note ... American, Karen prior a well known dog trainer was one of the major pioneers of clicker training. She started out as a dolphin trainer and found that using a whistle with marine mammals was a fantastic way to shape their behaviour and she developed the work with other land based animals using the clicker. Her book Clicker Training Dogs (ISBN: 978-1860542824) is a fantastic introduction to this method of dog training. Also checkout her website www.clickertraining.com

Check out Emily Larlham video and see clicker training in action

 Reward based dog training is based on the simple truth that if behaviour is rewarded, it is more likely to be repeated. This is true of humans as much as dogs, after all, how many people would go to work if they didn’t earn any money?

If you think of all the reasons why you as a human do anything you should find that it all comes down to motivation. Motivation however, can be created by the threat of something unpleasant as well as the promise of something pleasant. This applies to so many things in life, for example we generally clean our homes to be rewarded by living in a pleasant environment but there is also the threat that if we don’t, germs will take over. It’s how we feel about these motivating factors that affects our relationships.

How does this affect dogs? Well, dogs don’t really do things just to please us and even dogs that appear to do that will be motivated by other factors – you just have to look more closely. The key is how we motivate them which determines how our dogs (and cats and children and......) feel about us.

Positive reward based training develops trust and loyalty between dogs and people. It also helps develop your dog’s personality rather than suppress it like traditional methods. Dogs really enjoy this kind of training because it taps into their natural love of learning and it stimulates their brains, making for happier, well behaved pets and therefore owners.

This kind of training is fun, positive and quick because dogs and people learn best when they are relaxed and happy. You can learn how to teach your dog anything without even raising your voice. In fact shouting or physical force of any kind are strictly prohibited in class, because such punishment teaches nothing and is therefore unkind and since there are positive ways to teach, there is simply no need.
Dogs learn by simple association. If they sit and receive a food treat at the same time or immediately after they are likely to be motivated to sit again. Dogs cannot understand our language without help, so in order to learn a word for an action they must hear the word a number of times at the same time as performing the action, before being able to perform the action when asked.
One way to train dogs (and nearly all animals) is with clicker training.

Using Rewards in Training
The kind of rewards, the variety, and how they are used in reward based puppy and dog training is essential to success – rewards are wages!

Most dogs are motivated by food and toys to different degrees. With toys, it is the games that people play with them that make them exciting or with toys such as Kongs, it is the food they are stuffed with.

We usually start with food treats to teach a dog new behaviour because most are motivated by food and small easily eaten food treats make the training process quicker and easier to understand. Toy rewards are useful at the end of sections of training and in more progressive training where the dog has built up a desire for the toy.

Food treats must come thick and fast to start with to cement the learning, and then as the training becomes more automatic the food can be gradually phased out. It is a good idea to continue to treat your dog occasionally, even when he knows the cue well. It will strengthen the bond between you in the same way that an occasional word of thanks for doing the dusting, works for you!

What treats to use
It is well worth making a list of your dog’s top ten treats, bearing in mind that your dog although strictly an omnivore (eats anything!), he or she is mainly a carnivore and so meat will probably forms at least six of her top ten. Her daily kibble may or may not be in that top ten.

Liver cake is loved by about 99% of dogs I meet. It’s cheap and easy to make, but quite yucky, so I often sell some in class. To make it, liquidise a packet of liver, add an egg (optional) and enough wholemeal flour to make it the consistency of cake mixture. Pour into a tin lined with foil and greased and bake until it’s firm. When cool cut into squares and freeze – you can defrost as much as you need.

Tuna and other fish can be made into cake as above if your dog likes it as many do.

Cheese good for vegetarians, dogs love it, keeps well, easy to use – try cheap mild cheddar. Use in moderation with young puppies and don’t over-rely on it for any dog. Cheese is so easy to use it can get boring and too much may upset tummies - variation is the key.

Chicken - a top favourite. Save scraps from your meals, cut them small and freeze in pots. Cook cheap portions in stock, so it doesn’t shrink as much.

Beef doesn’t have to be expensive. Again, bits from your own meals, cooked or raw cheap mince and sandwich meat. You could try whizzing up cheap mince, an egg and flour and baking – this makes it go a lot further.

Sausage is a big favourite but they are usually full of salt so use your dog’s fondness for them sparingly by adding one or two tiny bits to each handful of treats – it will add incentive. Try Tesco smokey bacon cocktail sausages!

Sandwich meat can be really convenient as it is already sliced. Dogs like garlic sausage, chicken roll, all that kind of thing.

Commercial Treats are liked by many dogs but usually come nearer the bottom of their Top Ten, making them useful for ‘ok’ responses whilst reserving the top treats for new work and ‘wow’ responses. Choose ones that list meat as the first ingredient and look out for added salt, sugar and artificial ingredients, especially colours.

How to Maximise the Benefit of Treats
Treats need only be very tiny to work for your dog, chop up food small and use a treat bag to keep your pockets clean.

Always use the top treats for new behaviours and to progress training i.e. if your dog sits nicely in the living room for a ‘Number 6 treat’ she will probably need a ‘Number 8’ when she first sits outside. Similarly, your dog will probably need a lot of very tempting treats to work effectively in class due to all the distractions.

Variety is also needed to maintain interest – after all even I get bored of chocolate at Christmas and Easter!

Be aware also of how you feed treats; make sure your dog feels your pleasure at his success. Try teaching your dog to catch treats, this can be really useful and fun too. When you start feeding jackpots (an extra special reward for something really great), try feeding them slowly and praise lavishly at the same time.

Don’t forget to reduce your dog’s food by the amount of treats he has in a day and remember you won’t always be a walking dog treat machine if you follow the full training process!

Do also please remember that your dog just won’t work as well for dry biscuits as they do real meat or cheese. They may be happy with it at home but in class they need something that will keep their attention, especially if other people have tastier treats. Dry foods are also far more likely to get stuck and they take longer to eat slowing your training and therefore the learning right down.

Using Toys

Try to develop a habit of playing tuggy or retrieve or chase after each segment of training. It reinforces the training more and allows your dog a quick break before re-starting training.

Kerry Bee is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (no.0999). She runs training classes and one-to-one consultations in West Pembrokeshire. Visit her website. http://www.windrushdogsforlife.co.uk