Clicker Training For Your Dog
Clicker training for your dog is the country’s newest ‘it’ thing for today’s dog training methods. The clicker is a small plastic box with a metal push button that creates a clicking sound when pressed. This method is so easy yet effective similar to other dog training methods we know of.
when click training, dog trainers use click sounds to reinforce the dogs to respond to a particular command. Dogs are very used to natural movements such as sitting, barking, eating, and standing which do not require necessary training. But if you want your dog to perform tricks on your command like rolling over, dropping dead and shaking hands, your dog can immediately do so since they respond to the clicking sound associated with the corresponding specific action that is ordered them to do.
Operant conditioning is the key element of the clicker training technique. This works when the clicking sound gets associated with the food that the dog likes in turn, making it respond to requests and compellingly obey commands, in order to have the food.
For illustration purposes, let us say you want to train your dog to sit. Take a cookie, place it near your dog’s nose and let him sniff it while you tease and playfully lift the cookie up in such a way that your dog follows the direction. As your dog reaches up, the action prompts him in a sitting position. As your dog sits, immediately sound the click to get his sitting in sync with the clicking. The dog then relates the click sound to his sitting upright. Reward your dog after with the cookie you’re holding for a job well done.
Continuously do this and the food trick until such time that your dog is accustomed to sit right away upon hearing the click sound even without the teasing cookie. Just make sure that you time your clicking the moment he moves according to how you want it. Otherwise, your dog will not get the message and all the clicking will be a pointless exercise.
Since clicker training is a positive reinforcement, it will fail when used with a negative technique such as punishment. The more you punish the dog for its failure to carry out your command, the more you make the dog’s behavior untoward.
Although clicker training proves effective, not all types of dogs respond to it. If you see that your dog is still clueless about your clicking, give it a rest. There are still other dog training methods that your pet can adapt to. Clicker training for your dog is not for everyone.
To learn what you absolutely need to know if want to train your dog, check out my free Dog Training Ecourse.
