Clickertraining

Clickertraining is unbelievably exciting and is so much fun for humans and dogs because it guarantees an incredibly fast learning success with exact timing. You can read how it all works here.

Preparation for the Clicker Training

The Clicker is a small device that is available in different versions. Try out which one fits well in your hand. Tip: You can wear a clicker with a strap around your arm joint and thus not lose it.

The Clicker causes a metallic clicking sound, which has no meaning for the dog at the beginning. He needs to be conditioned, which is best done in a low irritant environment. This requires some repetitions of 15 – 20 clicks, immediately followed by a treat. Very soon the dog associates the Click with something positive and shows a prompt reaction (by turning his head in your direction) to the sound.

Important: The Click NEVER replaces the reward. The Clicker is a marker that marks a behaviour: So you put a marker on a behaviour and at the same time you promise the dog a reward.

Before you work with the Clicker on the dog, make yourself familiar with it. Click several times without the presence of the dog. You can also play games, for example someone drops a ball and every time it touches the ground you have to click.

Advantages of the Clicker Training

• The Clicker always sounds the same (it is neutral), works the same way in the near as well as in the distance and you can use it especially when you are talking on the side. For example, if you want your dog to learn quiet behaviour while you are talking to someone else.
• Clickertraining clearly distances itself from punishment based learning, where animals were punished for “wrong” behavior. The clicker marks correct behavior. If the dog does not show the desired behavior, nothing happens. He has the chance to try again and earn a treat. This happens without fear, but with a lot of motivation, because the clicker addresses the reward system in the brain. This is fun for the dog and your bond is strengthened.
• It is suitable for every animal. There is no one too young, too old, etc. Only with deaf dogs you would have to resort to other means, because they cannot hear the click sound. In rare cases the dog is afraid of the noise. Here it helps to muffle the noise behind the back, to build up distance or to use a marker word.
• Creativity is encouraged, because the dog can offer various behaviors and has to think in order to reach the goal.

Precision

The clicking noise lasts about 1/2 – 1 second. This allows for a precise reward: If, for example, you click on the “Sit” signal exactly at the moment when the dog’s bottom touches the ground, the dog not only has the tactile stimulus, but also the perfect link to the “Sit” signal. He knows immediately which behaviour is desired. It is therefore possible to reward with incredible accuracy, which promises extremely fast learning success.

Time to reward

To reward a behaviour, you usually have 1-3 seconds. After that the dog does not link the shown behaviour with the reward anymore. But with the clicker you mark a behaviour and thus you have up to 8 seconds to reach for your cookie in peace. So the dog learns that after the noise something good is coming for him immediately. This reward delay takes away the stress and you can reward in peace.

Pay attention to the emotion

The dog not only associates the behaviour shown with the click, but also the prevailing emotion. If the dog is relaxed, the relaxation is “clicked” along with the Click and thus also learned. Therefore, one should pay attention that the dog does not show any fear or stress behaviour with the Click, because this is also learned and linked.

So make sure that your dog is as relaxed as possible and enjoys what he is doing.

Do I always have to walk around with the clicker afterwards?

The Clicker is a great tool, especially for learning new behaviour. If the dog masters an exercise, often only a short marker word is enough. Likewise, it is not rewarded as often as in the beginning. Because the Clicker only tells the dog “done right” and never gives a signal. If your dog is able to give a signal, you can reduce the reward or use it variably.

Alternatively, if you cannot make friends with the Clicker, a marker word (e.g. tongue clicking, Yes) can be used. This has the disadvantage that it does not always sound exactly the same for the dog and is sometimes pronounced too slowly.

Why must a reward always follow?

The Click promises a reward and is a secondary amplifier, meaning that the sound alone is not a reward, but only announces it.

Imagine your boss promises you a reward for a job. But you don’t get it after you hand it in. You are probably disappointed but you will do the next job anyway. If you, again, do not get the promised bonus, you will think twice about doing something for him. Translated into dog language: The Clicker loses its value if your dog does not get a reward.

Stumbling blocks

• You get what you click! Pay attention to the timing, if you increase unwanted behaviour, the dog will have difficulty understanding the exercise.
• It is not a recall signal! If your dog runs away and you click, he will probably turn around and get his cookie, but you have confirmed that he is running away. So he will show this behaviour more often in the future. Call your dog and click to come here.
• Click only once, not several times in a row – if the dog does not react, just show him the reward.

Clicker training for chicken and horse?

Clicker training works not only with dogs, but with all kinds of animals – from horses to cows or even chickens. It can be used to break the habit of unwanted peculiarities, e.g.: a dog that is constantly barking. Because with the Clicker you set the focus on desired behavior, which is rewarded. The dog is rewarded for calm behaviour instead of barking.

In our society, unfortunately, people usually focus on punishing undesirable behaviour rather than rewarding desired behaviour. And it is not only with animals that one achieves great success with clicker training. Also TAGteachingTM, a scientifically founded teaching and learning method with the help of an acoustic signal (=day), is successfully used in the training of children and adults, as well as in all ranges of the behavior therapy long since.