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To do clicker puppy training you need a dog clicker. This is a small inexpensive plastic device that makes a quick clicking sound. The sound is what allows you to mold the puppies behavior.
The main advantage of the clicker puppy training method is that with a clicker you can give a very quick response to a desired behavior in the form of a click. Timing of your responses is vital during training and a puppy clicker allows you to be far more accurate. Only correct behaviors are rewarded with a click and the puppy quickly connects the click with the immediately preceding behavior.
Puppy Clicker Training
When it comes to teaching your puppy basic commands, puppy clicker training is a great way to start. It’s a training method that is relatively easy to master and is one of the most effective ways for influencing your puppy’s behavior.
Once you’ve mastered puppy clicker training, you’ll have the ability to teach your puppy almost anything with ease.
How Does Puppy Clicker Training Work?
A clicker is a device that gives off a distinct sound that your puppy can hear from long distances away. The concept behind puppy clicker training is teaching your puppy to associate the sound of the clicker as a trigger for a specific behavior you want them to learn.
Your objective is to reinforce specific desirable behaviors using the sound of the clicker as a reward. You can quickly create this association by using a bag of treats as an incentive, and a cheap clicker purchased from the local pet store. Once the association has been created, you will find your puppy to be much more receptive to your commands as opposed to training them with verbal cues alone.
How to Approach Puppy Clicker Training
Puppy clicker training is best achieved through gradual stages. First, begin with encouraging your puppy to perform a specific behavior you want them to learn e.g. sit, stay, down, roll over etc. Once you have successfully persuaded them to perform they act, mark it with the sound of the clicker and reward accordingly.
It will not take long before your puppy begins to associate the desired behavior with the sound of the clicker and they will naturally repeat it every time the clicker is used.
Puppy clicker training is effective in this regard as it encourages an instant response from your puppy which allows you to immediately reinforce the behavior with a reward. Attempting to achieve the same results using verbal cues alone will often involve more time.
After you have successfully trained your puppy to perform the desired behavior using the clicker, reinforce the association through repetition but remember to replace using treats with alternative forms of reward, such as praise and or petting. Eventually, this will eliminate the need for you to use treats as a stimulus for your puppy to perform the desired act.
Replacing the Clicker with Verbal Commands
Once the desired behavior has been successfully reinforced, your puppy clicker training should then advance to using verbal commands as a medium to replace the clicker. Eventually, this will allow you to control your puppy’s behavior at anytime without the need for a clicker.
Your puppy clicker training should now involve using the verbal command for the behavior, reinforcing it using the sound of the clicker and then rewarding your puppy once they have successfully responded. Doing so will quickly teach your puppy to associate with all the steps and eventually, you will be able to get your puppy to perform the desired behavior on command without the need for treats or the clicker. Your puppy will simply attempt to please you by performing the learned behavior.
Sound puppy clicker training can effectively reduce the amount of time it takes to teach your puppy basic commands. It is relatively easy to master and can be applied in many ways. With effective puppy clicker training, you can ultimately apply it to reinforce virtually any behavior.
Studies show that training using a clicker can reduce the time taken to train by thirty three percent. The training seems to become deeply lodged in the dog’s brain, and can be recalled even years later with no practice in between. Clicker trained dogs have confidence and work with enthusiasm; they are also likely to be good problem solvers.
Another reason clicker training is so successful is because the human voice can vary so much. Not only do you need to praise your dog using the same words, but also using the same tone, loudness and emphasis. Using a mechanical tool to produce a ‘click’ will give the same sound every time and make it more obvious to your pet that he is performing the correctly.