Take the Mystery Out of Dog Clicker Training

By Henry Smoot

To many of us, dog clicker training is a foreign subject -- both literally and figuratively. We hear about it's wide use in Europe and we've maybe seen someone at the park using a tiny hand-held clicking device and thought, "what the hell is that?"

The majority of us use correction-based or positive training methods. For years now it's been all we know. Both can be effective when used properly, but each has their fair share of critics.

Correction-based training is exactly what it sounds like -- physical and verbal "correction" of unwanted behaviors. Critics of this style bemoan its "violent" or "abusive" nature. After all, you are effectively scaring the dog into obeying you. It will learn to come when called because it fears the consequences of not coming on cue.

Critics of positive training effectively call it "cop out" training because you're effectively luring -- bribing! -- the dog into obeying you. For example, the dog will learn to urinate in its designated bathroom area because it knows it will get a treat from you upon completion. It hasn't necessarily learned that it makes sense to urinate outside. Your pet is only humoring you so it can cash in on your bribe (the treat) when it returns.

Clicker training is the process of training your dog using a "conditioned reinforcer", which indicates to the animal the precise behavior that was correct. With these methods, you can actually teach your dog to think for itself. It has been successfully used in a huge variety of animals and is the training tool of choice for service and rescue dogs throughout the world.

If you're serious about learning more when it comes to clicker training, check out http://www.TrainingDogProblems.com and scroll down to #3 on the Top 5 list. There you will find all the information you could ever want on dog clicker training.