What a cute plastic noise maker…

“Clicker training?  What is that?  How can a cute plastic noise maker train my dog?”  I hear this clicker crap all the time.  Disbelievers due to lack of understanding the power of communication the sound has.  Don’t hate the tool.  Learn how to use it.  Ever get a new cell phone where everything is different?  Don’t hate the phone, learn how it works.  Thankfully there is only one button on a clicker.

So how does clicker training work?  Unfortunately, just because it has a button doesn’t mean it’s a “good dog” remote control.  (And FYI, holding it out pointing it at your dog is rude.)  The sound the clicker makes is the important part.  The sound of the click is a precise, clear, pin point communication that translates in the dog’s brain “reward!”  When a dog hears the click, the dog literally hears, “That’s It!  You just did the thing I want and now I am going to reward you!”  So chances are the dog will want to repeat what he just did.  A little hand eye coordination is all it takes to click exactly what you want and train just about anything.

Take a moment and play this capture the sheep game.  Go ahead, I’ll wait…

So how did you do?  Bobbing bobcat?  Sluggish snail?  Turbo-charged cheetah?  It’s a great way to measure your reaction time.  And trust me, if you can play this game, at any level, you can time a clicker with no worries.

First thing to do is to load the clicker.  Then decide on something you want to teach your dog.  Here is an example of using the clicker to train a dog with a jumping problem.

See “Don’t Jump, It Won’t Work” directly on YouTube HERE

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWJ7nl3mTno[/youtube]