Clicker Training: A fun way to teach new behaviors

Years ago my husband and I took our girls to Sea World and watched with delight as the dolphins and whales preformed aquatic aerobatics for the crowd.  This was my stepping stone to understanding how as humans we can use the power of positive reinforcement to teach and shape behaviors in any animal (man and beast).  At Sea World they teach to perform behaviors that they do naturally in the wild on cue.  To do this they first had to teach the dolphin a language that simply put..means when you do that (a specific behavior), I promise to reward you with...fish!

In the marine world, a whistle is used to teach this language of positive behavior, in our pet world we can use a clicker.  A small plastic clicker makes a unique sound that when used serves as a marker signal that tells your dog or cat or horse "Yes, that is what I want you to do" and it also promises them a reward for doing it.  In working with my dogs, I have used the verbal cue "yes" to let the dog know that he did what I wanted, however, the use of the clicker can mark/capture the moment that your pet does what you want quicker than a verbal cue.  For example:  let's say that I am trying to teach a dog not to jump up on people in greeting and that I would rather the dog sit quietly beside the guest and wait for attention.  As the dog greets a guest I ask for a sit and say "Yes" as he sits, because of my slow verbal human ability, the dog has already started back up before I can get the whole word "Yes" out of my mouth and the "Yes" is actually being completed when the dog is moving back upward.  With a clicker, I can click (thus marking the behavior) as soon as his butt his the ground and since I have taught the dog that the click means "Yes, good job and here is your reward" I can more accurately communicate with my dog.

The idea of positive reinforcement training is that you are going to use something your pet really wants (food, praise, petting) as a reward for behaving in a manner that you like.  All living creatures repeat behaviors that are rewarding and avoid ones that are not. The more pleasurable the reward the more likely the behavior will be repeated.  Conversely, we do not reward the behaviors we don't want.  Example: my dog jumps on me for attention, so I turn my back to him, I don't touch him, talk to him or give him any attention in any way.  Jumping didn't get him what he wanted...attention. But I have to tell my dog what I want instead...sit by me quietly...so I wait until he sits and BINGO!  he gets what he wanted...a pat on the head!  Try this with your children or spouse... Find a good behavior they do (I recommend one that you wish they would do more often) and praise them constantly for it.  Example:  you want your spouse to put their dirty clothes in the laundry basket and not on the floor by the basket.  So you wait and watch...every time they actually hit the basket..."Hey! Honey...I really appreciate your putting your dirty clothes in the basket" and give them a hug or kiss.  Comment on it every time.  "Thanks for the help by hitting the basket"..."It was sure nice of you to pick your dirty clothes off the floor", etc.  See what happens.  The rule is whatever you reward/reinforce is what you get.  If your reinforce good behavior...you will get it.

Your dog already knows how to sit, lie down, walk by you, come to you with ear flapping and to even lie down in one spot for a long time--when he wants to.  All you have to do is teach him the words/cues for these behaviors and make them rewarding and fun for him so he will want to do them when you ask. Clicker training is a tool that helps make this possible.  It also makes learning fun!

If you would like to learn more about Positive Reinforcement Training and using a Clicker, I invite you to e-mail me for a list of really great books that can help you or even come into the clinic to check out some of the books in my library.  I can also recommend some great video websites that give you a good starting point.