Training With A Clicker

 The Clicker is a small plastic box with a metal strip that makes a sharp, clicking sound when pushed and released. Its value is that the unique sound doesn't get lost in the babble of words we are constantly throwing at our dogs. It is faster than saying "Good dog!" and allows the trainer to mark, with great precision the behaviour for which the dog is being reinforced. Paired with something the animal finds very reinforcing, the clicker becomes a powerful tool for shaping behaviour.  Sometimes a clicker is used incorrectly as a device to get a dog’s attention. This is NOT clicker training. The dog knows that whenever a click happens a reward follows WITHOUT FAIL and that doing that particular behaviour elicits a click and treat. It is vital that you understand that a click is just the marker of the behaviour and to a dog it means a treat will follow.

 Introducing a Clicker

Your first step is to "pair" the click sound with a treat that the animal really likes. Click and treat a number of times until the dog begins to look for the treat when he hears the click. You are then ready to begin using the clicker to communicate with your dog.

 Capturing A Behaviour

In order to reinforce the desired behaviour, you must first get the behaviour. Some behaviour occurs naturally, such as sitting, lying down or barking. Not only do these behaviours occur naturally, but they are apt to occur at predictable times as well. You can place the animal in the situation where the behaviour is most likely to happen and then wait patiently

 An alternative for those who have no patience, and for those behaviours that do not occur naturally, there is another method. These behaviours can be lured with food. Teaching the "sit" is an easy way to demonstrate this method.

 Touch a treat to the dog's nose and then lift it up slightly and move it toward the dog's forehead. If you don't lift the treat too high, the dog will follow the treat with his nose and his rear end will just naturally hit the ground. You "click" as his rear end hits the ground (timing the click is critical!) and give him the treat. You have "lured" him into a sit. Repeat this several times and he will likely offer the sit to you.

Be sure to remove the lure as quickly as possible – this is essential in clicker training.  Most of us naturally believe that what comes before behaviour (i.e. a command or a lure) is what the dog (or person) responds to, but Thorndike’s Law of Effect (as strong as any law like the law of gravity) essentially says that behaviour is a function of its consequence or another words the strength of a behaviour depends on the consequences (what comes after) this behaviour had in the past. 

It is human nature to think and believe that what we do first influences the behaviour greatly but in fact it is the consequences of that behaviour that affect the behaviour.  Think of a person performing at the Olympics.  Is it the starter gun that motivates them and makes them want to run or swim or is it the gold medal?

 Adding the Cue (Command)

With clicker training the cue is added at the end. This may sound strange as most training is done with the cue (or command) added in the beginning to tell the dog what to do. 

 However if you think about it, the word or signal you use has no meaning to the dog at all in the beginning of your training. It would be like someone saying a word to you in a different language.

 While we are teaching our dog a behaviour we want them to concentrate on learning the behaviour itself. Then we add the cue or command to the perfected behaviour. The advantage is that we are simply naming a behaviour that the dog is already doing. While some behaviours take a number of steps to achieve, others like SIT are learned relatively quickly and the cue added quite quickly.

  Timing

Timing is everything!  We as mere humans are not good at timing when it comes to training our dogs. The clicker is a marker and you must deliver the click as the dog is performing the desired behaviour. For example if you are training a SIT, click as your dog’s bottom touches the ground. It is too late to do it afterward.

 With this in mind I strongly recommend you practice your timing prior to training your dog. I realise that you probably just want to get on and train your dog but putting this time in to get your timing right will pay huge dividends in the long run.

 1 Get a tennis ball in one hand and a clicker in the other and bounce the ball - as it hits the ground click

2 Get a friend to drop that ball for you from different heights. The shorter the distance the harder it is to get the timing right.

3 While watching television click every time a scene changes or choose any other repetitive behaviour to practice your timing.

4 To see your reaction time try it online type in “time reaction test” and see how fast you react, most people struggle to get under 0.3 consistently

Any of these will improve your timing. Aim to have the click occur at the same time as the behaviour.

 Distractions

Start your training in an area without distractions. This is so important and could mean the difference between success and failure. Choose an area inside your home or outside if there are no traffic, dogs, cats or other distractions. Later when the behaviour is learned and reliable you can add in distractions slowly.

  Using Trials

One of the best ways to keep track of how well your dog understands you is to test using a specific number of trails. Many experienced trainers use a method that I have found to be excellent. It works like this:

 When teaching a step in behaviour, repeat the action 5 times.

 Push: If your dog gets it right 5 out of 5 times then add in the next criteria. (Go to the next step)

Stick: If your dog gets it right 3-4 times out of 5 stay on the same step

Drop: If your dog gets it right 2 or fewer times then go back a step

 If you make sure your steps are very clear this method leaves no space for interpretation. Your dog moves forward, stays in the current training step or goes back a step.

 Final Thoughts

 Reinforce constantly – one way is to check how many reinforcements you give in 1 minute – you should be reinforcing at least 8 times per minute.  Make sure treats are small and easily able to be eaten quickly so you have a high rate of reinforcement. The more treats your dog gets in 1 minute the faster the learning.

Keep training short and end on a positive.

Click and treat each small step toward a finished behaviour.

Timing is everything

The click ends the behaviour

The click always produces a treat

 Your dog will learn quickly and love you for the clarity and fun!!