Train your dogs even more efficiently with the Excellent Pets Training Clicker!
Clicker training is a very animal-friendly and effective training method that can be used with all animal species.
This clicker can be easily attached to your wrist, trousers or belt during training.
The Training Method
A clicker is a small box with a metal plate. When you press it, a metallic click is heard. Clicker training is a training method in which the animal learns to associate its own behavior with an event in the environment. In practice, when the animal shows the desired behavior, it is rewarded by the owner. The animal will want to show the desired behavior more often because it receives something positive as a result. Undesired behavior yields nothing and is not punished. This makes this type of training very animal-friendly. An example of how this type of learning works: if a dog, for example, knocks over a rubbish bin (its own behavior) and then finds food (positive consequence), it will show this behavior more often. If, on the other hand, it does this several times without finding food (no reward for the behavior), this behavior will eventually disappear.
Teaching
Clicker training is mainly used to teach something. As soon as the animal has understood the exercise well and performs it well, the clicker is put away. This method can not only be used to teach new commands, but also to combat unwanted behavior (such as pulling on the leash, attacking other dogs, etc.). Originally, clicker training was mainly used with dolphins and wild animals. Today, it is a widely used method to train dogs as well. There are even owners who use clickers to train cats, rabbits, birds, etc.
Advantages
The clicker always produces the same sound (“click”). This is a very clear signal for the dog, often clearer than any word or sound you make yourself. One of the main advantages of the clicker is that you can set it to the exact second. With a click, you can reward the desired behavior. Training methods that only use food as a reward often come too late and unintentionally reward other behavior.
Click Sound
Some dogs are initially a little hesitant or even afraid of the sound, but this can often be quickly remedied by muffling the sound (by holding the clicker behind your back) or by using a clicker that makes a softer sound. It is often said that the clicker is not suitable for classroom training because dogs would then react to the clickers of other owners. In this case, a clicker with different tones can be used. In practice, however, it turns out that this problem hardly occurs with training with attention.
Clicker Training in Practice
First of all, the dog must learn that a click announces a reward. This is taught by clicking and immediately afterwards giving the dog a training snack or food. Once the dog has understood this, you can proceed to teach him certain exercises. In the beginning, you click (and thus feed) for every good "impetus" to the exercise. The dog can be encouraged to make this "prompt" through gestures. In some cases, you simply wait until the dog spontaneously makes an impulse. An example: if you want to teach the dog to stand up from a sit, you click (and feed) at the beginning for the minimal lifting of the hindquarters. After a few repetitions, the click is delayed a little longer to demand more and more of the desired movement from the dog. This continues until the dog masters the exercise perfectly. Only then is a command attached to the exercise. If the entire exercise is performed well on command, the clicker is gradually phased out. In this way, the dog also begins to think for itself and look for what is required of it. With owners who use clicker training more frequently, a short game is sometimes given as a reward instead of food.
In short: clicker training is not only a very effective, but also an incredibly fun way to train and work with your four-legged friend!
