Day FOURTEEN-21 Day Positive Training Kickstart Challenge

Sometimes people are vaguely familiar with clickers & clicker training, but don’t exactly have it down right. There is a phenomenon called, “blazing clickers” which refers to folks who aren’t really sure what the clicker is for & randomly & madly click away. This can be detrimental to the valuable communication tool that is the clicker.

For a clearer explanation, the clicker is a “marker.” The sound indicates to the learner that the behavior directly proceeding the sound was one we liked. Thus, we “mark” it with a “click.” This then allows us to precisely communicate which behavior it was that earned that “click” & then buys us a few seconds to provide the reinforcer (something the learner considers reinforcing enough to work for).

Remember, the process with a clicker is to observe the behavior, mark the behavior (the very SECOND it occurs) & then to reinforce the behavior.

ACTION: Get a clicker! They are sold in pet stores, by PAW ($5.00, or free with training session), or online. Sit close to your dog & call their name. If they look at you-CLICK! the second they do & then reinforce (perhaps with a tiny, but tasty treat!). Repeat!

Day THIRTEEN-21 Day Positive Training Kickstart Challenge

Often times people have heard of “clickers” but aren’t really sure what they are. Clickers are a “marker” or a “bridge” between the behavior we like & the reinforcer we deliver.

Sometimes at the start we do something called, “loading the clicker.” This is teaching the animal that the sound of the “click” means good things. As such, we click & then treat. Repeat. Repeat. As the person in charge of the clicker, you want to maintain this valuable communication option. This means that once your animal understands that the click=reinforcement. You MUST reinforce (somehow-pat, praise, food, activity, game, etc.) EACH & EVERY time you click. No exceptions.

How it works. I watch for my dog to do something that I like. For example, I watch for my dog to sit. The SECOND that my dog sits, I click! Then I deliver something the reinforces that behavior-like a small bite of something yummy or a pat on the head.

ACTION: Try it! See if you can wait & watch for your pup to sit. Then being careful with your timing (timing IS important), click the second his/her bottom hits the ground. Then reinforce! Ta-dah! You are clicker training!

Day TWELVE-21 Day Positive Training Kickstart Challenge

The next step with training once you have observed a behavior is to mark & reinforce it. With Clicker training we use something called a “clicker” to “mark” the behavior. Marking a behavior means signaling to the animal that we liked that behavior. Signaling to the learner that we liked the behavior can also be done via a verbal marker, like a special word (for example, “Yessss” or “Gooooood”).

The way that this works is that we watch for the behavior that we are seeking. Then we “mark” that behavior by clicking our clicker or using our verbal marker (“yessss”) the very second that the behavior occurs. Finally, we reinforce that behavior by offering something that the learner finds worth while to work for!

ACTION: Try asking your dog to make eye contact with you. This is done by saying your pup’s name. When their eyes meet yours quickly say “Yessssss!” & offer them something that they enjoy!