March 24, 2023

Clicker Training

What is clicker training? I’m sure many of you have heard this term being bandied about, or even attended a class where the trainers used clickers. However, I’ve met many owners who weren’t quite sure what the heck they were doing with the clicker, which is totally understandable! Today we’re going to be talking about what the clicker is, how it works, and how to use it. Hopefully you’ll all become clicker savants!

A clicker is typically a small plastic box with a thin strip of metal inside that bends and makes a loud clicking noise when a button or an end of the metal strip is pressed. There are many different styles of clicker out there; I recommend one that fits well in your hand and has a wrist strap for easy access. For some dogs that are noise sensitive, I would choose one that makes a quieter clicking sound.

Clickers are used in animal training because it allows a teacher to ‘mark’ the exact behavior the learner has performed as the desired behavior. Dogs in particular have only a few seconds to make the mental connection between a behavior they just performed and the consequence. If a reward or punishment isn’t immediately presented when the behavior occurs, the dog may not connect that consequence with the behavior. This disconnect slows down or can even impede learning entirely. The clicker allows us to bridge that gap between the behavior and consequence, improving communication between the learner and the teacher and increasing the likelihood of the behavior being performed again. This speeds up the learning process and increases the reliability of the behavior, or the chance of the learner performing the behavior on cue each and every time.

Now, how does a clicking sound make all that happen? Before a clicker is used for training, the teacher must assign value or ‘charge’ the clicker for the learner. The teacher does this through classical conditioning: each time they click, they immediately present a reward. This process is repeated many, many times in order to build a strong reinforcement history, or essentially teach the dog that each time they hear a click they are presented with a desirable consequence. Now that the clicker has meaning for the learner (click = reward), it can be used in a training scenario.

Let’s use the clicker to teach a sit. With your dog in front of you, use a treat in front of your dog’s nose to guide their head up and back until their rear hits the floor. The second their rear hits the floor, click and immediately reward. Encourage the dog to get up again, and repeat the process, clicking the second the dog’s rear hits the floor and follow up with a reward. Remember, timing is everything! Click the exact second your dog’s rear hits the floor and follow up with a reward immediately. Once your dog demonstrates they understand the behavior by sitting several times in a row, then add your verbal cue. Give the verbal cue, then lure the dog with a treat until your dog sits, click and reward.

With clicker training, the teacher waits until the learner has demonstrated they understand a behavior by performing it several times in a row in order to earn a reward before adding in a verbal cue. It’s important that the animal understand the behavior first before adding in additional factors like verbal or hand signal cues. Once the verbal cue is added, the teacher only clicks when the animal performs a behavior after the cue is given, not just whenever the animal performs the behavior. This helps clear up communication between the teacher and learner so the animal understands exactly what the cue means: if you perform the behavior now, you will earn a reward.

Now let’s try something a little more complicated: capturing eye contact. Capturing means waiting for a behavior to naturally occur vs asking for the behavior via a treat lure or a cue word. Capturing eye contact is an awesome way to build engagement, or your dog’s willingness to pay attention and work with you. Essentially we are building value around the behavior of your dog looking at you, because we’ve reinforced the behavior with a reward and/or followed up with something more exciting.

To do this, first have treats and your clicker on hand and your dog in front of you. We’re not going to use any verbal cues or hand signals during this exercise. Simply wait until your dog looks at your face, click and reward. You’ve captured your first behavior! Repeat this process, waiting until your dog looks away and then back before marking and rewarding again. I recommend doing this exercise after you’ve already done some training so your dog is interested and already looking at you. I recommend trying to capture eye contact in a variety of different scenarios to build your dog’s engagement in a variety of different environments.

Another fun way to use the clicker is to capture new behaviors and encourage decision-making with your dog. For example, there’s an article entitled 101 things to do with a box where you present a dog with a simple cardboard box and click for any kind of engagement with the box, such as sniffing or pawing the box. The dog ends up trying multiple different behaviors which can later be shaped into new cues or even fancy tricks–all of which were initially performed by the dog entirely on their own! This is a wonderful confidence builder for your dog because they are being encouraged to make decisions and perform behaviors on their own with positive feedback from you. It also encourages creative thinking and independant problem solving.

Did you know that clickers can be used for a wide variety of species? Zoo animals are taught new behaviors with clickers, from dolphins learning tricks to lions learning how to cooperate with veterinary staff. I’ve even met a woman who taught goats to ‘fist bump’ with clicker training! Clickers work so well for training different species because you can capture the exact behavior you’re looking for in the exact moment it occurs and clearly communicate that it’s the desired behavior. It does take some time to wait for the desired behavior rather than giving instructions, but it works extremely well for animals where force or manipulation would simply not work.

Clicker training is positive reinforcement training at its finest: we are adding rewards to the situation in order to increase the likelihood of the behavior recurring. It also builds a much stronger relationship between teacher and learner based on trust and clear communication. Remember, timing is incredibly important with clicker training–you want to click exactly the second the dog performs the desired behavior and immediately follow with a reward. The better you become with your clicker timing, the clearer the communication you are providing to your dog and the quicker they will learn new behaviors. I strongly recommend checking out a few of the links below and trying it for yourself!

You should also read:

Tips for Training Outings

Muzzle Training