One great thing about being in the world of dog training for so many years is that I have seen first hand the rise and fall of many dog-training products. Looking back over the years, it has been a really exciting time for trainers and our learning curve has had the opportunity to grow by leaps and bounds over the past decade.
One of the most fascinating concepts, and one of the most questioned piece of training equipment to come along in that time was the clicker, and its use in training the family pet dog. I must admit, I did not jump on the bandwagon. I was not a believer in the magical little box, that when pressed produced a distinct click sound that made most dogs ears turn in excitement. My reservations years ago are the same ones that I am still noticing with many of our students.
Let’s put some clicker training myths to rest. First, lets take a look at the number one reason that dog owners are reluctant to even try clicker training. They simply don’t want to rely on it, and don’t want to feel that they will need to carry a clicker in their pocket, with no end in sight. Clickers are a training tool, much like a crate can be a training tool. A training tool is something that helps you reach a final goal. If your final goal is to have a dog that uses the back yard as a toilet and doesn’t chew the furniture, then using a crate initially will help the dog owner to accomplish this task. This doesn’t mean that their dog will spend years and years in the crate, it means it will be used to help the dog understand what is being asked of it.
Clickers are also a training tool, one that helps you communicate with your dog in a more efficient manner. While a clicker can be used in a couple of different ways, the final goal is to have the dog understand a verbal cue or hand signal, without using the clicker. The clicker simply tells the dog that he is making the right choice along the way.
One way to use a clicker, and in fact the way that it was originally introduced to the dog training community, is to use it to shape a desired behavior. This means that you could tell a dog what it is doing right, without ever having to physically show the dog. By pressing the clicker at the correct time, and feeding the dog a tasty treat shortly after the click, the dog would start to understand what their human wanted. More importantly, the dog would start to work to hear the click, in order to get the treat. If you wanted your dog to lie down, you could sit and wait for the dog to lie down and then click and treat the dog. By repeating this enough times, the dog would eventually lie down. Once the dog was lying down on his own, you would say the word “down” slightly before you assumed he would do it. Sounds a bit backwards? It was the concept that had us all wondering what the big deal was.
Of course, you could have put a treat to your dogs nose, and lured him into the same down position and most likely get compliance from your dog much sooner, so why would trainers think that using a clicker was such an exciting advancement?
It wasn’t the simple obedience commands that excited us, it was the possibility of all the other things we could show the dogs how to do, things that were next to impossible or pretty darn complicated, years ago.
What if you wanted your dog to rub his nose on a verbal cue? This is not to say that this would be a goal that we all share, but consider the concept. With no clicker, it would be tricky. You would have to take his paw, put it on his nose, and treat him. Most people would never even attempt that. But with a clicker, this behavior was possible, and not only possible, but in a very short amount of time. By putting a small piece of masking tape (that doesn’t stick to his fur) onto his nose! When Sparky tried to wipe it off with his paw, we would click and treat every time. Once Sparky got the idea that it was his paw coming up to his nose that got him the click, and therefore the treat, the light bulb went off and now the world was the dog trainer’s oyster.
You don’t have to only use a clicker to shape a behavior. It is also used by most progressive dog trainers for the basics and is absolutely the tool of choice for all dog sports. It is now being combined with luring, which can more fun for the dog and their people. You can lure a dog into a position, click and treat him for being there and you will notice a dramatic increase in the amount of time it takes to have him do it on a verbal cue. And…keep in mind that once you have taught your dog what is expected of him, and he now does it when you just say the word, the clicker can be put back into the drawer and only taken out to teach the next new word.
The next complication for pet dog owners is the awkward feeling of handling a dog, on a leash, with treats, and a clicker, while listening to an instructor. This feeling of frustration is temporary, and is the same feeling that comes before learning any new skill. Honestly, it is what held me back for a while. I didn’t want to use the clicker because I had fine results without using one. My mind was closed. It seemed like an unnecessary tool and it felt too difficult. The excitement I felt when the light bulb went off for me while learning this skill is the sole reason I like to encourage all pet owners to give it a try.
It is like driving a standard car. When you first drive a standard, you cant believe that it will ever come naturally, and that you will eventually be able to feel when to use the clutch and change gears, let alone be able to carry on a conversation while driving. But, over time, that is what happens.
If you are very adamant that the clicker is just too much for you to manage, at least consider the concept of marker base training, and substitute the click for the word “yes”. While it is not as effective as the clicker, it is far better than the long-winded “gooood booooy” combined with a pat on the head. That will work fine, but you will not get that look from your dog, the look that comes out when he hears the click. To the dog, the click indicates that you are working, working as a team, and that is the best news they will get all day.
Look at it this way, using a clicker can never hurt your dog, it can never do any harm and heck…it might be a whole lot of fun. Many dog training schools offer clicker-training seminars and incorporate this technique into their training programs. I would encourage every dog owner to give it a go, and say yes to the clicker.
