{ training }
The Click is Quick! By Laurie Luck, KPA-CTP CNWI
It teaches good manners. It fixes problem behaviors. It cements a terrific relationship with your dog. It’s something you and your dog both understand and love. What is it? A clicker! What’s a clicker? It’s something you hold in your hand that makes a little “tic-tak” noise. That noise means to the dog: “Correct! You’ve earned a reward!” The dog loves to hear the sound (he’s getting a treat), and you love to make the sound (yay, you’re dog is a good dog!). In our world, a ringing doorbell means someone’s on your doorstep, and a ringing phone means someone’s on the line. In the dog’s world, the click means a treat is on the way. Here’s what’s really neat, and fun for the dog: the dog actively works to figure out just how to earn another treat. The click gives him that information instantly, and aside from being fun and easy to use, it helps the dog learn new things quickly.
Laws of Behavior All of us adhere to the laws of behavior. Simplified, the laws of behavior state that dogs and people do what works. Dogs do what gets them what they want. They don’t do things that don’t work. It’s pretty simple. In the human world, consider this scenario: Your old route to work has become congested due to construction. On a whim, you take a back road and you get to work 15 minutes earlier than normal. Because the new route worked so well, you’ll take that route again tomorrow morning. You found a new; better way to accomplish your goal, which is getting to work without traffic.
Here’s how it works in the dog world: Your dog gets ignored when he’s jumping. You teach him to sit and then ask him to sit before he jumps. Sitting results in lots of love and attention. Bingo! He’s found his shortcut to work – he’ll be sitting now instead of jumping because that’s what gets him what he wants.
How it Works Now that you understand what clicker training is, let’s talk about how it works. When your dog does something good, click the clicker while the behavior is happening and give your dog a pea-sized delicious treat. Clicker training tells your dog exactly what he’s doing to earn that treat – and how he can earn another. Teaching your dog with the clicker is extremely clear for the dog. In addition to being clear, clicker training is also fast, fun, easy, and it opens up two-way communication between you and your dog. Clicker training has a really cool side effect as well – you and your dog develop a deep relationship that will last for the life of your dog.
Rules There are a few rules, of course. When you click, you must treat. Click ONLY for things you want to see again -- not to get your dog to stop doing something or to get his attention. Treat hand is still until after the click – reach for the treat after you click. The dog gets to choose the reinforcer -- meaning: use what the dog loves, not just likes. A quick word about reinforcers: ideally, the dog will have limited access to the reinforcer. That means that you’re not leaving the food bowl down for the dog to snack on all day. He gets 20 minutes to eat, then the food bowl goes up until the next feeding. For instance, if I cleaned your house and you gave me $20, I wouldn’t come back and do it again. However, if you gave me $2,000, I would be calling you to see if could come and clean for you again!
The Nitty Gritty There are three easy steps to teaching your dog. First, you get the behavior you want. Then, name the behavior -- give it a name or cue. Finally, you need to real-life the behavior, or make sure it works with
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The Virginia–Maryland Dog