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Posts Tagged ‘clicker training for dogs’

Clicker training is a great tool to learn because its based on positive reinforcement.  Best of all there is almost no physical intervention on your part.  This type of training is used to train on new behaviors, stop bad behavior, house training, and many more.  It’s such a gentle method that it can also be used with puppies.

Dog clicker training utilizes a noisemarker to correct undesired dog behavior.  A dog clicker is a small hand held plastic device that makes a unique clicking sound when it’s press.  It can easily be carried in your jacket or in your pants.Dog clickers are more effective than verbal words since the tone of your voice can be distracting to your dog.

First start by teaching your dog to answer to the dog clicker and associate it to the reward.Select a dog treat that is small but tasty and when giving in large quantities it won’t add many pounds. Go to a quiet area, click the dog clicker and give him a treat until your dog associates the clicking sound with the reward.  Wait some time, click and give him a tasty dog treat.  Repeat these steps until your dog has made the association between the reward and the clicking sound.It is important that a reward is giving after every click. To avoid distractions never pet your dog during any training session.

Timing is Important with Dog Clicker Training?
Once your dog does the required task mark them with the dog clicker and provide him with a tasty treat.  If the clicking happens an instant too late it may reward the wrong behavior.Ensure that the clicking occurs at the exact moment when the dog has successfully completed the task.

Practice doing different tasks with your dog such standing, walking, and moving as often as possible.For example, if you want to teach him to stand up on command, then the words “stand up” (you determine the cue words) should be introduce.  Immediately after sitting the dog hears the click.Your dog or puppy will be able to see what action resulted in a click and reward. With practice, the sound of the click, the words “sit down” , and the dog treat would be connected in the dog’ brain.Elaborate routines should be separated into small steps. Click here if you are ready to start training with the top dog clicker training product available in the internet.

Don’t discipline your dog if the doesn’t get it correct right away. Allow him to experiment and find out which actions results in a click.  If the dogs turns to you when he hears the clicking sound, you know that he is starting to understand the association between the click and the reward. Your dog will enjoy dog clicker training because he is engaged in the learning process.Since humans and dogs have different communication systems, the dog clicker helps in closing the communication gap between them. Visit http://dog-obedience-training-ideas.com for more information on clicker training and other dog unwanted behaviors.

One of the more effective training aids is clicker training for dogs. It is a popular method as it is pain free for your dog and it does seem to work. Behavioral psychology is where it got it’s beginning, which adheres to the premise of rewarding behavior that’s good. The dog is rewarded with a treat for good behavior which is marked with a click .

MORE GREAT TIPS ONCLICKER TRAINING FOR DOGS

Clicker training for dogs when associated with treats is a safe effective tool for dog training. It’s surprising how much you dog wants to please you and to do what you want. Dog training involves communication with your pet and this can sometimes prove difficult. This clicker method clears that up for your dog.

‘Operant conditioning is the term used. Basically the dog does something with the intention of bringing about what they want ie a treat. Dogs tend to grade places,people and objects according to whether they associate them with a pleasurable experience or not. Its really a form of conditioning.

If good behavior is rewarded then the dog will learn that and repeat it. This conditioning is how the dog is trained. The ‘operant’ conditioning will produce behavior that’s purposeful, while the classic type of conditioning produces behavior that’s habitual. Training in these two ways combined can give you a commanding type of training.

There is a good reason for using the clicker sound as it is consistent whilst the human voice can change inflection and pace meaning that the dog can not always understand us.Communication again! The dog quickly learns to associate the sound of the clicker with acceptable behavior and reward.

MORE GREAT TIPS ONCLICKER TRAINING FOR DOGS

The Dolphin is one of the other animals that this method has been used on. I’d say that it’s pretty much impossible to force a Dolphin to do something, so methods like this have to be employed in order to train them. And it’s been very successful in doing so, and has since been used on a lot of other animals as well. From cats and leopards, to birds and rabbits, this method has found great success.

The clicking should be done while the dog is actually performing the desired behavior. You should not wait until the task if finished. Give a click and a treat before the behavior and after the behavior is complete. By clicking when your dog does something right, you send the message that you would like him to repeat it again. The clicks should always be the same, but you can increase the treats in order to encourage enthusiasm for a specific behavior.

The use of clicker training for dogs you are putting the communcation between you on a new footing. By rewarding good behavior after a performed behavior done on cue, you’ll find that your dog enjoys displaying this good behavior. Punishment does not work if you want to train you dog quickly and humanely, it can lead to more bad behavior. Positive re-enforcement in the proper way is the best approach for getting your dog to perform in a positive manner.

MORE GREAT TIPS ONCLICKER TRAINING FOR DOGS

Clicker training for dogs is one of the more systematic methods in dog training. It’s based on research done in behavioral psychology and the method is referred to by psychologists as operant conditioning. But you don’t need to know scientific terms in order to benefit from the method.

This method was first used with dolphins. In this case, a whistle was used rather than a clicker. You can visualise how difficult it is to train a dolphin compared to a dog. The whole method uses the idea of positive reinforcement. It was very difficult to give a treat to a dolphin at the moment the dolphin did the behaviour you wanted. However, you could blow a whistle immediately. Then you could follow that with a tasty treat soon afterwards.

In order to reinforce a wanted behavior, you must reward it at the moment it occurs or very soon afterwards or the animal will not associate the reinforcement with the action. Marking the action or behavior with the clicker or whistle sound makes the message much clearer to the animal.

The first step is to positively connect the sound of the clicker with getting a tasty treat. You do this by repeating the process of clicking and following the sound with a treat. Once this connection is made, the clicker sound itself becomes a reward in itself since it’s so closely related to treats in the dog’s perception. This repetitive process is called charging the clicker by trainers who use the clicker.

When the clicker has been charged, you use the clicker when the dog does a behavior you want and you always follow the behavior with a reward. In true clicker training, you allow the behavior you want to occur naturally and click and treat. In order to do this behaviors which are more complex need to be broken down into smaller chunks. A tool which assists in this process is the target stick.

One of the first tasks in clicker training is to get your dog to touch the target stick with his nose. Once your dog accomplishes this, the stick can be used to direct your dog to a particular place. This is really useful in training other behaviors.

Getting your dog to touch the target stick is easy. If you put it in front of his face, he will almost certainly touch it. Then you click and treat. Make sure you allow your dog to touch the stickof his own free will! Repeat this for a few of minutes. Then have a break.

It can take some time when a dog is introduced to clicker training, especially if he is an older dog. So you need to be patient. It may take a couple of training sessions before your dog gets it. But once he’s got it, the learning will stick.

Another tool which is very useful in clicker training is a computer mouse pad or something similar that you train your dog to stand on with a front foot. You can train this easily by just placing it down on the ground near him and waiting for him to stand on it. When he does it, click and treat. As before, repeat this until your dog gets it. As with the target stick, this tool can then be used to guide your dog to a particular place in subsequent training.

Once a behavior has been trained, the next step is to add a cue. A cue means that you assign a verbal request like “sit” or “stay” to the behavior. You do this by saying the cue word just as you think the dog is about to do the desired action. As always you click and reward the behavior. Then, by repeating this, the word becomes associated with the treat, just like the clicker sound is. Please note that when you start training with the cue, you only click and reward when the behavior follows the cue. You don’t click or reward when the dog offers the behavior without you having given the cue.

I hope this has given you some idea of how the clicker is used as an effective tool in dog training. Obviously there is a lot more to learn. What I love about it is that it’s very systematic and all it requires is consistency and a lot of patience. Read more about clicker training with dogs, a review of the clearest clicker training book, and also reviews of other dog training books.