Dog's Help

Obedience training is a must if you want your dog to be a companion and not a nuisance. Positive reinforcement is something that can help you a great deal with obedience training. Clicker training is one such form of positive reinforcement. Here is all that you need to know about clicker training for your dog.

What is it?
Clicker training is a form of obedience training that involves making a distinct clicking sound using the clicker to tell your dog that he has done a good job. A clicker is a simple metallic strip that is placed inside a plastic box. When this metallic strip is pressed, it makes a distinct clicking sound. The click works as an appropriate means to tell the dog that he has done a good job.

How does it work?
As per clicker training, a clicking sound is made using the clicker once the dog obeys a command or accomplishes a task. The sound of the clicker is followed by providing treats. Eventually, the dog learns the importance of the clicking sound and the clicker serves as a positive reinforcement tool.

What are the benefits of clicker training?
There are several benefits of using clicker training for your dog. One of them is that this training enables your dog to know which of his actions are rewarded. The sound of the click serves a lot more than the thousand words you would speak to make your pet understand something. Clicker training offers a completely hands-off training method to the pet owner.

How to adapt your dog to clicker training?
There is no point in clicking the clicker if your dog does not understand the significance of the click. To make your dog understand what this click means, you need to adapt him to clicker training in the first place. Here is how to go about it.

* Take your dog in a quite area with the clicker and a handful of his favorite treats. Press the clicker and immediately throw away his favorite treat. Repeat this for ten to fifteen times till the dog becomes accustomed to the whole process.
* Now, test if the dog is actually responding to the clicker training by just pressing the clicker. If the dog responds by looking for the treat then you are on the right track.
* Now, introduce the accomplishment of task. Press the clicker only when your dog obeys an instruction or accomplishes a task. Make sure that the use of the clicker is followed by throwing away the treat.
* As your dog becomes accustomed to clicker training, you could start reducing the use of treats. However, make sure that you do not completely eliminate the use of treats as it will lower the motivational levels of your dog.

Thus you could easily make your dog learn a lot many things through clicker training. The best part is that it is a positive way to make your dog more disciplined and obedient.