Puppy clicker training

You may hear lots of discussion about “clicker training” and wonder what it is. What is puppy clicker training? Well, clicker training is based on something called “positive reinforcement” and you can definitely apply this kind of training to puppies. They will thrive on it.

Puppy clicker training goes something like this: say you are going to use a clicker to train your puppy to sit. (Clickers are little clicker devices available at pet stores for about $1.50-2.00.) There are many ways to train a dog to sit but with clicker training you will wait until you see your puppy in the act of sitting down. You click your clicker and give your puppy a reward. Your puppy will look at you like you’re nuts. He has no idea why you clicked at him or why you gave him a treat. He loves the treat, of course. He prances around. He does other things. He wants another treat. You don’t give him one. But as soon as he starts to sit down again you click at him and give him another treat. BINGO! After just one or two tries puppy clicker training has worked and your puppy has figured out that when he starts to sit down you will click and he gets a treat. All you need to do is put the command with the action and your puppy knows how to sit.

Puppy clicker training works that way with anything you would like to teach your puppy. All you need to do is to click when your puppy performs the desired behavior. Once your puppy learns the concept that clicking means he’s doing something desirable he will be paying attention to you and the clicker. He knows a reward will be coming soon.

You can start out by clicking something very general, such as when your puppy comes when called, and then get more specific — say you click and reward when your puppy comes and sits at your feet. It’s amazing how much you can teach puppies using clickers. They’re very open to learning with this positive approach.

Puppy clicker training is “positive” — this is positive reinforcement. It positively reinforces the puppy when he does something close to what’s wanted. The puppy is not punished (or “negatively reinforced”) when he gets something wrong. Wrong answers or actions are simply ignored and not rewarded. No reward is the “punishment.”

Puppy clicker training is lots of fun for both the owner and the puppy, so puppies usually learn fast. Critics claim that the puppies and dogs trained with clickers are food-motivated, as though that’s a bad thing, but as long as the puppies and dogs are learning what you want to teach them this shouldn’t be a problem. The puppies and dogs still know the commands, whether you have food with you or not. You don’t have to use food for the training every time. Some trainers give praise as rewards, or give their puppies and dogs toys to play with as rewards. But there is a reward — some kind of pay off that the dog loves. Many trainers, at advanced levels, become stingier about rewards and don’t reward much each time, but they give a giant “jackpot” reward for a great performance.

Puppies and dogs who participate in clicker training seem to enjoy it very much. Clicker training, including puppy clicker training, is very popular right now. It’s a good way to begin training your puppy in a positive way that can be fun for both of you.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!