Clicker Training – Canine Training in Sydney

Dog training owes much of its success to clickers. But what are these little things, and how to use them?

Eazy Dog Training offers canine training in Sydney, in forms of classes and private home dog training.

Clicker is first associated with a positive reward, like food, and then used to mark the exact behaviour a dog is doing. This way a dog learns that when they hear a click, they’ve done the right thing and a reward is on it’s way. All though a clicker is a very useful training tool, you don’t need to own one for this type of positive-reinforcement. There are many other ways to mark your dog’s good behaviour! In my dog training classes in Sydney we practise using a word ‘yes’ as our mark for the right behaviour.

Clickers Work Because They Provide A Consistent Signal

Clickers work well in dog training because they provide a consistent sound that always means a reward is coming. But they also serve another purpose: a click bridges the time gap between the subject’s behaviour and the delivery of the reinforcing reward. This means that a click is faster way to let your dog know a reward is coming than saying “good boy/girl” for example. It’s also faster than giving a treat. In dog training timing is very important!

How to Use a Clicker?

The secret to the clicker is this: the click is paired with a high-value reinforcer (food) until the dog has made a classically conditioned association between the sound and the treat. You do this by clicking the clicker and then immediately feeding the dog a treat. You repeat this a number of times – click, treat; click, treat; click, treat – until your dog’s eyes light up when she hears the click and she looks for the treat. That’s when the association has been made.

You Don’t Need a Clicker

Even though a clicker is helpful and can make training your dog a lot easier, any distinctive, consistent sound, gesture, or event can work. I use the verbal marker “Yes!” myself, in a distinct, consistent, bright tone of voice. And the marker doesn’t have to be a sound! Any signal that is consistent and easily noticed can work as a reward marker.

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