How to Clicker Train Your Dog: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

You may use the clicker training method to teach dogs of all ages, including pups. In just a few easy steps, you can teach your dog new tricks. Using a clicker and goodies, you can train your dog to respond to simple commands.

Using a clicker to teach your dog is an excellent way to get both you and your pet enthusiastic about each training session. Concerned about whether your pet will respond to clicker training? You may seek a professional dog trainer.

A human trainer and an animal may communicate more effectively with the use of clicker training. A click may be as rewarding to an animal as money is to humans if it learns that clicks are always accompanied by rewards.

Dogs might react differently to clicker training, but it can be a useful strategy for many of them.

What Is Dog Clicker Training and How Does Clicker Training Work?

Small plastic boxes with metal tongues are called “clickers,” and they are used to produce a clicking sound when pressed with the thumb and forefinger. Clickers are often used in animal training videos that can be seen on the internet.

All it takes is a little positive reinforcement and some effective language to get the most out of clicker training with Dogs.

When the dog hears a clicking sound, the trainer rewards him with a biscuit. The trainer uses a click to pinpoint the precise instant that the dog performs the correct action once the dog has learned that a click means a reward.

When teaching a dog to sit, a trainer would click and give him a nice reward as soon as his rump touches the floor. Sitting for a reward becomes second nature to the dog with practice.

The Proper Clicker Training a Puppy

Keep an eye on the timing of your clicks. Try to click as soon as your dog performs what you want him to do; if you click too early or too late, he could think you’re ignoring him.

1. How to Use Clicker Training for Dogs

Before you can use the clicker to train your dog, you must first teach it that the click represents a reward. To keep them from gaining weight, reduce their daily food ration before you take them somewhere quiet to enjoy their favorite reward.

Give them a prize as soon as you click the clicker. To get your prize, all you have to do is click once, and you’ll receive it as quickly as possible after that. If you want to dissuade someone from doing something, don’t click and reward them.

For a few days, do this for roughly two minutes a few times a day, in sessions of around two minutes each. As soon as you click, you want them to look at you and anticipate an immediate reward.

This video shows you how to charge the clicker, which is the first step in clicker training a puppy.

2. Basic Behaviors

Clicker training basics may begin after your dog understands that the click represents a reward. Teach your dog to sit by beginning with a basic command.

Hold a treat or toy in your palm and gently move it up and backwards over your dog’s head, depending on what stimulates your pooch. As a natural reaction, they should recoil.

Luring is the term used to describe this technique. As soon as their bottom touches the ground, you need to click. They’ll be more aware of the fact that their actions are rewarded if you do it this way. After the user clicks, make sure they get their prize right away.

3. Add a Command

It’s time to add a command word after you’re certain you can get your dog to sit with a simple “lure.” Use a treat as in step 2 to get your dog to settle down. Make sure you praise them as soon as their bum touches the ground.

Whether they’ve learned the command after a few repetitions, remove the bait and see if they can do it on their own. Training your dog should be a positive experience, so don’t try to coerce it into doing anything it doesn’t want to do.

4. Practice Makes Perfect

Short training sessions (10-15 minutes maximum, although small pups may require even shorter sessions) should be repeated until your dog has learned that the word “sit” indicates this specific action and will perform it instinctively.

You may gradually decrease the number of times they receive the reward following the click after they’ve gained confidence in their performance.

The click should have become a reward in and of itself by now, and simply rewarding them with a treat thereafter will actually strengthen the connection.

5. Be Consistent

Consistency is the cornerstone to any dog training. Even if you unintentionally click on anything other than the intended behavior you’re seeking for, you should still follow up with a reward.

If you do this consistently, your dog will learn to equate clicking with getting rewarded, and your efforts won’t be for nothing.

It’s also crucial to stick to a regular clicking pattern. Holding your clicker sideways in the palm of your hand is a good idea. Avoid frightening your dog by holding your clicker like a remote control.

6. Troubleshooting Problems

In the event that your dog is showing signs of difficulty with a certain habit, it is possible that they do not comprehend what you expect of their conduct.

You won’t be able to get your dog to lie down if you don’t make it obvious what you mean when you drop your hand to the ground with your palm facing down.

It’s possible to start by clicking and praising your dog whenever he bends toward the ground, rather than waiting for him to lie down when you lower your hand.

It’s time to step up the requirements a notch and look for your dog to both curl toward the ground and extend one paw, and praise them for doing so. In the end, we’ll want to see whether your dog follows your hand into a full-on down position.

Other Simple Behaviors to Clicker Train

Clicker training in dogs isn’t only about obedience. Don’t introduce new commands until your dog is comfortable with the ones he’s already learned. As a result, individuals may get confused and struggle to learn.

The following is a list of examples:

1. Look

It’s a useful command for quickly distracting your dog, or if you merely want your dog to pay attention to a more sophisticated command.

2. Stay

Using the verbal “stay” command, wait one second before clicking and praising your dog after he is comfortable sitting on command.

Try again if they don’t remain for the allotted period. As soon as they become used to waiting for a second, you may increase the duration to two, three, and finally five seconds.

Continually build up to the point where they feel comfortable remaining for a long time. Then, you may begin to turn your back on your dog, gradually increasing the distance you walk away from him while he remains in a stay.

Never force your dog to perform anything he hasn’t shown he can consistently accomplish in the past.

3. Shake

To get them to raise their paw, softly touch the area where you want them to do so and reward them when they do so. Keep your hand out and only click when they contact your hand.

4. Lie down

A food or a toy might be used to get your pet into a prone posture. In addition to this, you may apply very little pressure on their back.

As soon as they’re down, press the button. The “sit” example shows how to gradually phase out the lure before introducing a command word.

5. Up and Down

To assist your dog learn these commands, you may utilize a reward-based method. To ensure that you get what you want, be sure to click as soon as they do the desired action.

6. Drop

Training this behavior quickly may be accomplished by utilizing a clicker and a lure reward to “trade-off,” which ensures that your dog is being rewarded for leaving the item you are asking them to rather than taking another object.

If you want your dog to accept the treat you’re offering, you have to click just as soon as they let go of the item they’re holding.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Clicker Training

Is clicker training good or bad? Well, dogs that have been trained with a clicker have been shown to be more motivated to work hard for their rewards because they know that every time they hear a click, they will get a tasty reward.

However, dog clicker training has its advantages and disadvantages.

Using clicker training, you may teach your dog the fundamentals in a short period of time.

The positive, reward-based environment in clicker training encourages exploration and your dog’s desire to learn new things, and dogs often begin to grasp the clicker after one or two training sessions.

Despite the fact that puppy clicker training might be tedious, dogs that are consistently trained with it learn to focus and pay attention to their trainer.

Clicker training a dog does have some drawbacks, such as having to carry around a clicker all the time and dealing with your dog’s exuberant response to high-value goodies. In the event that your dog is excited and leaps, barks, or mouths at your hands.

Making training more bearable may be accomplished by modifying the method in which the incentives are distributed. Instead of putting treats in your hands, you may throw them on the ground and let your dog savor them.

It’s critical to time your clicks precisely to coincide with your dog’s actions when using a clicker, or else you run the risk of mistakenly rewarding the incorrect behavior.

When it comes to clicker training, dogs tend to be tolerant of human errors, particularly if there are incentives involved. If you clicked too early or too late the next time, just go back and correct your clicker timing.

In order to make the clicker less frightening for your dog, you may put it in your pocket or wrap a towel over your hand. When using the clicker training approach, you may utilize any distinctive and constant noise, such as a whistling sound or just saying “yes!”

This video explains the pros and cons of clicker training, verbal markers and positive reinforcement.

Complex Clicker Training Puppies

It’s also possible to teach your dog more complex concepts using clicker training. For example, you can convince your dog to lay down on their bed while you are standing across the room. You’ll have to train in phases if you’re doing this more involved kind of training.

Step-by-step instruction is the best way to get your dog to accomplish what you desire. This kind of training is referred to as “shaping” a behavior.

An important initial step in teaching your dog to lay down on their bed on demand is to treat them if you click and reward them if they glance toward the area where the bed is located. Once they’ve moved near it, you’ll be able to click.

In the future, you’ll be able to instruct them to lay down in the bed by just clicking on it while they’re standing on it.

Stop clicking for a step after you’ve progressed to the next phase in the training process. In certain cases, you may aid by directing or attracting someone.

If your dog is cognitively engaged and interested, this kind of training works best. Your dog may get irritated if they can’t figure out what the next step is during shaping training sessions.

If you’re not sure how to break down a job for your dog, you and your dog could benefit from taking training sessions together. Your clicker and other positive training methods should be allowed in a class when the trainer is on board.

What Age Is the Best to Begin Using a Clicker?

Training with a clicker may begin at any age. Dogs of all ages are capable of learning, even if their personalities have been formed. Dogs of all ages can grasp cause-and-effect because of the consistency and regularity of their training sessions.

How to Get Your Dog Used to the Clicker

It’s easy to get a dog used to using a clicker. To get your dog to do a basic command, such as “Sit” or “Come here, my lovely dog!” just say “Sit” or “Come here, my beautiful dog!” in a joyful voice.

The moment your dog does the desired action, press the button on the clicker. You’ll see your dog’s eyes light up as soon as you’ve given him a reward.

You should always take a small delay after clicking before treating, since that half-second interval is critical.

Repetition is the key here; after a few repetitions, your dog will begin to associate each click with a tasty reward. With the clicker in hand, you may begin teaching your dog new skills.

Choosing an activity you know your dog will engage in is a good idea if he has not yet learned how to react to any signals.

It’s possible to hang a reward near your dog’s nose, wait for a few seconds before getting and feeding her, and then click. You’ve just begun to clicker train your hand aiming!

The Best Ways to Get Results with Clicker Training

• Keep your exercise sessions to a maximum of 15 minutes. When it comes to attention spans, dogs are much like children. Keep an eye on your pet and make sure he or she doesn’t grow bored.

• You may move between two or three behaviors within a single session, but it’s vital to focus on only one at a time. After 10 repetitions of one behavior, you should take a little pause before going on to the next one, so that you don’t overwork the dog.

• Some dog trainers prefer to reward their dogs with a “treat jackpot” after they perform a tough activity, such as retrieving a toy. Efforts are rewarded with significant payoffs!

You may teach your dog a variety of behaviors by using clicker training. With consistent outcomes in many locations, you may even reduce the number of clicks and treats you need to encourage your dog to do a new activity.

You’ll be able to utilize whatever your pet enjoys as a reward for good behavior eventually, whether it’s food, time outdoors, or toys.

Use Clicker Correctly

It’s critical that you click the clicker precisely at the right moment. As though you were snapping a picture of the desired behavior, picture the click as a shutter release. Please do not click on anything until your dog has completed the task you have requested.

Clicking and rewarding your dog when he sits, for example, can just encourage him to bark more when he is already being trained to sit. Clicking and rewarding just when they don’t bark would be necessary in this situation.

It’s critical that you treat your dog within three seconds after the click, and the click must be precise. For practice, drop a ball and click as soon as it hits the ground.

It’s more difficult than it seems. If you don’t click when your dog deserves it, they may get frustrated, and the click may lose its impact.

How Can Clicker Training Help?

When a dog performs an appropriate activity, it receives a reward. It may be evident to the trainer, but is it also obvious to the dog when no clicker or other marker is used?

As an example, how do you communicate to a dog that you want it to lay down on its belly? You must make certain that the dog is laying down when the incentive is offered so that the dog does not rise up to collect it.

Because of this, it’s possible that the dog may mistakenly believe that the reward is for standing or walking toward you. When the incentive is a clicker training game of fetch or pull, it is simple, but difficult when the prize is food.

Does this also apply to dogs that immediately get out of their down position as soon as they contact the floor? The prize can’t be delivered quickly enough.

Consider more difficult actions, such as those conducted from a distance. How can you train your dog to receive a treat just before they are about to leap through a hoop? That’s when a click or other marker’s power comes into play.

The click identifies the instant you want to reward, and then serves as a bridge until the prize comes. Your dog can tell you precisely what you should have done.

What if, instead of criticism, you used appreciation the same way? But it’s not nearly as evident. Praise is a common method of communication with your dog.

It’s really a great way to treat your dog. It’s also important to note that praise isn’t particular to training, and you don’t want it to be.

The pleasure of owning a dog comes from expressing your love for your pet. A clicker, or other training-specific marker, eliminates any uncertainty about the upcoming reward.

When it comes to training, clicker-trained dogs are more likely to enjoy the process of learning. They’re willing to put in the time and effort to get a click.

Mark and reward training is fun for your dog since it makes learning new skills a game. It relieves the trainer’s stress as well. Rather of focusing on your dog’s errors, you should look for clickable moments.

You and your dog’s relationship will improve as a result of positive reinforcement training methods such as clicker training.

Final Thoughts

Dogs often benefit from clicker training, which is a popular method of positive reinforcement. When the dog displays the appropriate behavior, the trainer just presses a little gadget to activate the training process.

Saying “good dog” is slower and less clear than clicking, but it is more successful than only using goodies to teach your dog. We are happy that you have taken the time to read and benefit from this information.

The comments area below is a great place to let us know if we missed something. Let us know what you think and we’ll make the necessary improvements to share with other dog owners if required.