Clicker Training - What Is So Special About Using A Clicker To Train My Dog?

ByTeri Champigny

Using a clicker to train  your dog is an extremely rewarding and fun approach to dog training. And most importantly, it works! This simple little training aid will go a long way to encouraging positive behavior and instituting obedience as well as tricks into your dog's life.

What Is A Clicker?

A clicker is a very simple and compact tool that simply makes a “click” sound when the trigger is pressed. Animal lovers who condone positive dog training are seeing amazing results from utilizing a clicker instead of other more negative approaches when using training aids. And amazingly, clickers are being used successfully in the training of cats, horses, and even dolphins!

How Does It Work?

In order to use a clicker successfully, the sound must trigger off an inviting response within your dog's mind. This is so easy to do and you can literally train your dog to yearn for the sound of the clicker in less than one day. All you have to do is connect the sound of the clicker with one of your dogs most tastiest of treats.

Here Is How You Do It

Click the clicker. Now give your dog a treat. Again, click the clicker. Follow through with another treat. And again – yes you guessed it – click the clicker and immediately give your dog the tasty snack.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Believe it or not your dog may build that in mind/treat/clicker connection in less than 10 clicks! Some dogs may take longer but when it comes to pleasure most pets are very responsive, especially when you're utilizing tasty food as a motivator.

Now your dog will yearn to hear that sound as often as he can. It means that something good is on the way and when the click goes off he can't wait to get a tasty treat! Now you are ready to begin positive dog training with the use of the clicker.

There are many ways to do this. For example, if you are trying to teach her dog to sit then click the clicker every time he does so. Follow through with a treat until your dog anxiously awaits to perform the next command.

Eventually, after many uses of the clicker with different training techniques, you will be able to totally eradicate the use of treats. This is what is so great about using a clicker - you can continue to make the sound and so long as you follow through with a lot of praise and affection, your dog will get the same euphoric feeling as he did when you were giving him dog treats.