When it Comes to Dog Training Tools Look No Further Than Dog Clicker Training

By Henry Smoot

We've all wondered which dog training methods and tools work best -- both for the dog and for us in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. None of us has hours a day to spend on it. We need something that's fast, fun for the dog so that it keeps its attention, and in the end, effective.

Two methods have long been considered the norm in the United States: correction-based training and positive training.

Correction-based training is exactly what it sounds like. The trainer verbally and physically "corrects" the dog when unwanted behaviors arise. For instance, say the dog defecates on the kitchen floor. With correction-based training you scold the dog, giving it a firm "no!" and probably put the dog's nose near the mess to further relay how unacceptable that act was and is. Critics call this "violent" and "abusive" -- which may be a tad harsh, but their point is well taken. The trainer is using fear as a training tactic. The dog will come when called upon because it fears the consequences of not coming.

Positive training has long been called "cop out training" by critics because you're essentially bribing the dog into obeying you. For instance, you let the dog outside to go to the bathroom. It runs to its designated bathroom area to urinate. However, it is only doing this because it knows it will be getting a treat after completion. The dog has not learned that it makes sense to urinate outside, it's learned that it only has to humor you in certain situations to get a treat.

Clicker training is the process of training the dog using a "conditioned reinforcer", which indicates to the dog the precise behavior that was correct. By using this technique, you can actually train your dog to think for itself. You can certainly still give treats and heap praise on your dog, but the dog will not depend on it to behave correctly. Dog clicker training has been used to successfully train a wide variety of animals throughout the world and is the method of choice for training service and rescue dogs in the United States. It's certainly becoming the top dog training tool of the 21st century.

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