How many times have you wished you could say to your pet: "I like that thing you just did"? Developing communication between you and your dog is a beautiful and exciting process, although for some owners it is very frustrating as they do not get results.
The basis of all communication is affection and patience, although it is also useful for us to understand how our pet thinks. However, today on our site we are going to explain the use of a very interesting tool to improve communication with our pet and, of course, reinforce its training.
Don't leave the screen because in this article we present you the clicker for dogs and everything you need to know about it.
What is the clicker?
The clicker is a small button that makes a sound. Said in a more mundane way, it is a small box with a button that, when pressed, emits a "click". Hence the name.
I guess knowing that the clicker is a little box with a button won't tell you much. Well, let's get to it, what is the clicker for? The clicker is a behavior reinforcerIts objective is that every time the dog hears the "click" he understands that he has done something right. We will be able to say to our pet: "hey, that's great what you just did".
And this behavior reinforcer helps us in two ways. On the one hand, it would be a substitute for treats (food is still a positive reinforcement of behavior) and on the other, we can reward our dog's spontaneous behavior.
Imagine you are in the park. Your dog is loose and a few feet from you. Suddenly, a puppy appears and jumps on your pet because he wants to play. Your dog sits and patiently holds the little one. You have noticed that detail and you feel like saying "that attitude is very good, I love that you share yourself like that!".
Even if you ran out to give him a treat, it would be too late. Your pet would not understand the message. If in that situation you had had a clicker, when you saw his good behavior you would only have to press the button to reward him.
Surely now you understand better the possibilities offered by the clicker in dog training. In addition and very importantly, with the use of this reinforcer you also narrow communication with your pet. It will help you understand each other better, with all the advantages that this entails. Of course, never forget that the best relationship you can have with a dog is one based on love.
Advantages of Clicker Training
The clicker training has a whole series of advantages that you should take into account if you still have doubts about its use. One of the most notable is that through this method the dog learns to pursue a purpose, not out of habit. In this way, learning lasts longer because the dog is aware of the behavior and the action that he is performing. In addition to this, the following points stand out:
Simple: handling it is very easy to understand
Creativity: by facilitating communication between you and your dog, it will be easier for you to teach him many tricks. Let your imagination fly and have a great time with your pet learning new commands
Encouragement: This type of learning makes your dog more motivated and attentive. It favors her development
Concentration: food is a great reinforcer, but sometimes our dog is too aware of it and does not pay attention to the exercise. With the clicker there is no such problem
Medium distance reinforcement: you can reward actions without your pet being next to you
Disadvantages of dog clicker training
Actually, clicker training has no disadvantages when done correctlyHowever, some people get too excited about the initial results (and the ease with which they are achieved) that they don't pursue further training.
You have to be aware that reliability and fluidity of behaviors are long-term goals, both in clicker training and traditional dog training.
The Clicker Charge
We are not referring to putting batteries in the device or anything similar. The load of the clicker is nothing more than the process or exercises that we must carry out with our dog so that associates the sound of the click with a prize.
The basic loading exercise is to make the "click" sound and right after, give your dog a treat. However, don't worry, in this other article we explain in depth the entire process of loading the clicker. It is important that before continuing clicker training you verify that the loading has been done correctly and that your dog is understanding how the clicker works.
Clicker Training Example
Let's imagine that we want to teach our pet to pretend that she is crying or that she is sad. Or what is the same, train him to put his paw in his face.
Follow this step by step:
- Choose a word to which you are going to assign that command. Remember that it must be a word that your dog does not normally hear, as you run the risk that the training will not work.
- Put something in the dog's snout that catches its attention. For example, a post-it.
- When we see that it raises its leg to want to take it off, we say the chosen word, "sad" for example.
- Right after he's done it click the clicker.
- Although in principle the dog should follow your instructions only with the use of the clicker, it is fine to use small treats when we start with a new command. This way you won't forget it for sure.
As you can see, this is a very quick exercise. Doing it with treats would be more complicated, since we would lose that speed and it would be more difficult for our pet to understand us.
Truths and lies about clicker training
You can teach your dog an exercise without even touching it: true.
With clicker training you can teach exercises without touching your dog or putting a leash on it.
You can make your dog perfectly house trained without ever putting a collar or leash on it: lie
Although you can teach the exercises without putting your dog on a leash, you will need a collar and leash to generalize the learning. This is necessary when you start practicing the exercises in places where there are many distractions, such as the street or a park.
However, the collar and leash are only used as safety measures to prevent your dog from walking or running into dangerous areas, such as an avenue. They are not used as corrective or punishing elements.
You will have to reward your dog with food forever: lie
You can gradually phase out food rewards by using a variable reinforcement schedule and diversifying your reinforcers. Or, better yet, using everyday life reinforcers.
An old dog can learn new tricks through clicker training: true
It doesn't matter how old your dog is. Both old dogs and puppies can learn with this technique. The only requirement is that your dog has the necessary strength to follow a training program.
Incorrect use of the clicker
Some trainers have the idea that the clicker is a kind of magic box that works without the need to give food or games to the dog. These trainers have a habit of clicking several times without giving any reinforcer. So, in their training sessions you hear a lot of "click-click-click-click- click", but you don't see much reinforcement.
By doing this, the trainers nullify the value of the clicker, since it does not serve to reinforce the behaviors of the dog. In addition, they are harmed by handling a tool that does not serve them because they use it poorly. At best, this is a useless procedure that is annoying but doesn't hurt the training. In the worst case, the trainer focuses on the tool rather than the training and does not progress.
What if I don't have a clicker?
The clicker is very useful. However, it is not essential. If you don't have a clicker, you can replace it by clicking with your tongue or using a short word. To click with your tongue, you just have to stick it to your palate and quickly detach it.
If you decide to use a short word, you should choose one that you don't use frequently. Also, you have to pronounce it quickly for it to be a good marker. Some useful words are: Ok, take, yes, k (ka).
The sound you use instead of the click must be different from thecanine obedience commands. If you use "Ok", you should avoid using the word "Here" to call your dog. If you use "k" (pronounce the letter k), you should avoid using "here" to call your dog. If you use "si", you should avoid using "Sit" to ask your dog to sit.
Tips
- Press the clicker only once for each action.
- Never use it to get his attention, it would lose its meaning of positive reinforcement.
- The time between the positive action and the sound must be very short, otherwise your pet will not understand it.
