probably notDog clicker training involves using a tiny plastic box held in the palm of your hand. In that small plastic box is a small thin metal piece that when you push it quickly, it makes a very distinctive “click.”
This clipping sound has been used to train all sorts of animals, from large elephants, to even small rodents. Now you can use this technology to train your dogs and cats as well.
The Best Thing about Clicker Training
The great thing about clicker training is it always emits the same pitch and tone of sound. That is a huge advantage over just using voice commands which can change all the time.
In order to get your dog to perform the desired behavior, you first have to get your dog to do this behavior before you can reward them. There are three ways that this is commonly done in clicker training. These are called catching, shaping, and luring.
Catching
Catching means that you caught your pet in the act of doing what you wanted. This could be sitting, or rolling over.
Shaping
With shaping you slowly build this new behavior by training your dog to do smaller steps towards performing a larger behavior. This could be breaking down something like retrieving a ball and putting it in a certain spot. In order to shape this behavior simply break down this chain of behaviors one at a time.
Luring
With luring you basically use a piece of food or treat in order to get your dog into the desired position. For example if you want your dog to sit, just simply hold the treat above your dog’s head and move it slowly towards your dog’s tail.
Because your dog is forced to look up, it is very natural for them to sit down at this point.
Final Tips:
- Whenever you teach a new trick, make sure you practice in several different places so that your dog can do it anywhere.
- When it comes to dog clicker training, you have to be careful not to give too many treats. Once your dog learns how to do the desired behavior, start cutting back on the number of treats given.
- Finally, you should only train if you are in a good mood. If you’re not in a positive mood and don’t have a lot of patience, training your dog should be the last thing that you should do.
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