What is it? Clicker training or "click and treat" training uses shaping and a clicker and is based on the same principle as using of a whistle as a shaping tool. Many people just think a clicker is more handy and easier to use than a whistle. With a clicker you can train dogs, cats, horses, birds, fish, even reptiles. For example the animals in the movie "Babe" were trained with a clicker.

Shaping itself is a so-called soft training method, which means nothing is taught by using force, but the animal's behavior is shaped little by little towards the right direction by positive reinforcement. Learning is faster and more enjoyable for the animal and is based on the fact, that the animal has first been conditioned for the clicking sound, which means, "the treat is coming soon". Then it is easy to mark the correct behavior of the animal on the exact right moment by using a clicker.

What are the benefits of clicker training when compared to the more conventional training method of just using treats? The most important one is of course that in order to understand WHY he gets the treat, the dog needs to get it exactly on the right moment while doing the behavior you wanted. This makes it possible for the dog to associate the right behavior and the treat and thus learn the behavior correctly.
However, it is not always possible for the trainer to give the treat exactly on the right moment, but only a little later. In order to give the treat on time, you have approximately 0.5 seconds after the behavior occurred, which virtually means that the treat should be given at the same time the behavior is on.

Treats are regarded as so-called primary reinforcements. The dog does what it does just to get treats. You can attach a secondary reinforcement to the primary reinforcement. The secondary one tells the dog "the treat is on its way". When you use a secondary reinforcement (e.g. clicker), you can mark the exact correct behavior on the very second and the dog realizes that "AHA, so THIS is the behavior I'll be given a treat for in a second!".

Why do you need a clicker or a whistle? Isn't it enough if you just say "good" and give the treat? First, "good" is the kind of words that hardly anyone uses only for this purpose; many of us use it here and there like when petting the dog, whereas a click means clearly one thing only. Also, it is easier for the dog to distinguish a clear clicking sound (or whistle) than just any spoken word - people talk a lot and most of it is non-essential for the dog.

The best feature of a clicker training is, that it is very efficient and also very enjoyable for the dog and the trainer. It helps making the bond between the two better and because it is a soft method, it does not matter if you make small mistakes in training; at least the dog is not harmed mentally in any way.

Clicker training

• Clicker training
• Conditioning
• Keeping contact
• First training session
• Principles of shaping
• Touch stick
• The word "wrong"
• Can you improve show behavior?
• Eliminating fears

Obedience

• Obedience