# Clicker Training



## _Paul (Jan 15, 2014)

Hi All,

We have attended a couple of training days with guest trainers through our obedience club recently. These trainers recommend the use of clickers over more traditional training techniques. I haven't decided whether I want to give clicker training a go yet, but I have a couple of questions that I wouldn't mind answered to help me decide, if anyone could help.

If I start using a clicker must I be consistent in its use. There will be occasions when I won't have a clicker to hand and therefore will use voice commands. I assume that it is acceptable to alternate between a clicker or a voice command before rewarding and our dogs won't get confused?

Also, could anyone recommend a good clicker training book for beginners?

Many thanks


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

I use a clicker when teaching new behaviors to my dogs, but also use a verbal 'reward' marker 'yes', as I don't carry a clicker on my walks. A dog can easily learn the 'meaning' of both types of 'reward markers', 
but we need to ensure we take the time to teach them the relevance of the 'sound' to them.

The following link may be helpful to you.

Clicker Training Basics | Karen Pryor Clicker Training


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

And if you're ever interested, Sue Ailsby has an awesome Shaping class that helps you get the mechanics and timing down, and have fun watching your dog's lightbulb moment when they realize that THEY are truly the ones controlling the clicker by offering a particular behavior. 

The next class starts on April 1st, and runs for 6 weeks. However, it's also self paced, and you keep all the lectures in your library for a year (though you can also save them to Evernote - they encourage you to save them to your own computer as well). 

Here is the direct link: 

Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - FE210: Shaping

Be sure to also read the Course Testimonials - they are spot on to my experience as well. 

We took it at Bronze.


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## _Paul (Jan 15, 2014)

Thank you both. I will check out both links.


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## Rilelen (Jan 11, 2015)

Just echoing what people have said here. Clicker training is usually used to teach new behaviors or practice old ones - we don't usually use a clicker on commands the dog already knows, unless we're adding difficulty (like distractions or distance or performing a new location). If the dog correctly performs a known behavior in a known place, a treat or praise might be forthcoming or might not.

In training, the clicker is used as a reinforcer after you issue a command and the dog performs the command correctly. So you say "sit", the dog sits, you *click* as soon as the dog's butt is on the floor, and you follow up the click with a treat. Or a game of tug, or whatever. 

It's very very similar to what many people do naturally, which is respond to correct behavior with a "good dog" or "attaboy". The difference is that clicker training uses the principles of animal learning (from 1950s and 60s animal learning experiments by Skinner and others) more consistently and isn't limited to just rewarding correct behaviors, but also for "shaping" new behaviors - i.e., you can click for stages of the behavior you want and not just the end stage. For instance, if you're training a "high five", you might click at first everytime the dog moves one of its front paws at all, even if the paw doesn't leave the ground. It can take time to get good at this - I definitely second the recommendation for Sue Ailsby's shaping class - we're planning to take it in April! 

As others have noted, there's nothing special about the clicker itself. You can use ANY noise as a "clicker" - you can use a word like "yes", or a cluck of your tongue, or literally say the word "click". Deaf dogs often use a light clicker, that flashes a brief light instead of making a clicking noise. You can use anything you want, as long as 1) you use it consitently and 2) it's unique to that situation - so don't use "good dog" if you use that all the time as verbal praise. You want a unique sound that the dog only associates with training. You can also have multilple "clickers" - so you might use a verbal click (like "yes") at sometimes and an actual clicker at others. That's totally okay, as long as the dog knows both of them. 

You also don't always have to follow up the click with treats - any reward that your dog personally finds rewarding can follow a click. That could be a game of tug, or for some dogs even personal play (without toys), getting to sniff something new, praise, or physical affection like a belly rub if they find that rewarding. 

Together what that means is that you don't strictly need any equipment on you to clicker train, all you need is a way to make noise and some way to follow up that noise with a reward. The advantages of an actual clicker is that it's more precise and it doesn't convey unwanted emotion - if you're really frustrated with your dog, it will show in your voice, but it won't show in a clicker. Likewise, the reason most people use food is because it's fast - you can get lots of repetitions in if you're training with cookies. If you play a game of fetch everytime you click, it's naturally going to take you a lot longer. 

If you're curious about the logic of clicker training or why it works, I highly recommend "Don't Shoot the Dog" by Karen Pryor. It's not a step-by-step dog training book, but rather a detailed explanation of operant conditioning, how it works, and how to apply it. I'm a social psychologist, and we assign it to our undergrads as supplementary reading in intro psych and learning courses. It's a great read, and you'll come away with a great toolbox of how to use behavioral training on not just dogs, but also pesky friends and family members.


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

Rilelen said:


> Just echoing what people have said here. Clicker training is usually used to teach new behaviors or practice old ones - we don't usually use a clicker on commands the dog already knows, unless we're adding difficulty (like distractions or distance or performing a new location). If the dog correctly performs a known behavior in a known place, a treat or praise might be forthcoming or might not.
> 
> In training, the clicker is used as a reinforcer after you issue a command and the dog performs the command correctly. So you say "sit", the dog sits, you *click* as soon as the dog's butt is on the floor, and you follow up the click with a treat. Or a game of tug, or whatever.
> 
> ...


Wow - what a well thought out and concise reply! Loved it!


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## _Paul (Jan 15, 2014)

Hi Rilelen,

Thank you very much for some great advice.

I like the idea of using clicker training to teach new behaviour. I was concerned that it would be required for all areas of training. We have starting using the clicker, and when the clicker is not used, the word 'yes'. We have always used 'yes' as part of our training, we use 'good' as well but not really for completing a particular task, but more a general word to keep them focus and praise them. We also use 'ok' as a release word. Do you think the clicker word 'yes' and the release word 'ok' is confusing and I only really need a single word?

I will definitely invest in a clicker training book, thanks for the recommendation.

I appreciate your detailed advice, it really helps and reassures me that our approach is correct.

Thanks


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Using 'yes' as an alternative for the clicker' and 'okay' as a release word is perfectly okay! I say "good", click, then I treat, then say okay. That way the verbal marker and the release word are so clearly defined that the dog never gets confused.


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## Rilelen (Jan 11, 2015)

Paul, that sounds great! I completely second aesthetic's response above, you can have both a release word and a "clicker" word. In fact you can have different versions of the "clicker word". 

Just a head's up: what follows may be a little complicated, so if it's confusing, don't sweat it. But it sounds like it might work well with your current training style, so I thought it might be worth bringing up: 

Some trainers have more than one "clicker" reward to let dogs know what reward is coming next. For instance, "yes" might be your clicker word that you always follow up with food, but "perfect" (or just "fetch!") might be your clicker word to signal that you'll follow up by throwing a tennis ball. That way the dog knows what is coming next, and you can easily switch from using treats as rewards to using a toy or vice versa. If that's overly complicated, don't worry about it and stick to just one clicker word.

But his means that you can also use "semi-clicks", words that signal that the dog is doing the right thing, but that the task isn't finished yet - like you're doing with "good". So, for instance, if I was working on a 30-second sit-stay and I want to use "good" as a semi-click that signals "good job so far, keep going", it might look like this:

I give "Sit" command -> Dog Sits -> "Yes!" -> Treat -> 
I give "Stay" command -> Dog stays 10 seconds -> "Good" -> Optional Treat -> 
Dog remains seated another 10 seconds -> "Good" -> Optional Treat -> 
Dog remains seated final 10 seconds -> "Yes!" -> Treat -> "Okay"/release

Here "good" functions as a semi-click: a reinforcer that says great job, keep doing what you're doing, but it ain't over yet. "Yes" functions as a "click" - a reinforcer for a completed behavior, and is ALWAYS followed up by a reward ("If you clicked, you treat"). And "Okay" specifically releases the dog from the stay. 

In the example above, you could also leave out the final "Yes" and go straight from the final 10 seconds of the stay straight into the release ("Okay!") because many dogs find being released from a stay to be its own reward. 

I hope that's helpful! A word like "good" can be really helpful when you want to signal the dog that they're on the right track and should keep going, but you don't want them to think the behavior is over, and it sounds like you are already doing that!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

_Paul said:


> Hi All,
> 
> We have attended a couple of training days with guest trainers through our obedience club recently. These trainers recommend the use of clickers over more traditional training techniques. I haven't decided whether I want to give clicker training a go yet, but I have a couple of questions that I wouldn't mind answered to help me decide, if anyone could help.


Pretty sure you got your answer, but just adding a comment from the perspective of a balanced trainer. Talk to somebody who is a purely positive clicker trainer, and you will get a different description of what "clicker training" is. 

I trained with somebody who pretty much was about sticking duct tape over my mouth to keep me from (a) giving my dog any verbal cues and (b) praising and doing the YES mark before clicking. 

I don't train that way because first of all - I don't carry bags of treats around and I don't want training to just be a feeding session. And order to "load" a clicker, you really have to make it rewarding for the dog. Hence treats the instant you click. 

When you use your voice the same (the "YES" is a verbal marker, the same as a clicker) - the dog can hear the excitement in your voice - and that's something that telegraphs to your dog that he did way awesome and party time.

A lot of really purist clicker trainers out there do not encourage verbal markers when training. Their reasoning is our voices are all over the map and we don't always sound the same each time. The dogs may tune that out or not immediately get that same excitement response from you. A lot of these people believe dogs tune their owners out more than I think they actually do, but that's my opinion.  

These people prefer clickers only - because those clickers sound the same every time regardless of your mood or situation, etc... 

How I trained was a more moderate form of training and based on the perspective that dogs learn quicker when they are set up to succeed + have you leading them by the nose and telling them what to do. So I will set up a situation and click/mark like my dog did all the work himself. That initial response from you should have a lightbulb going on for the dog and he will remember what he did when you clicked/marked. 

A good example would be pot training which is one of those nifty things that a lot of obedience people introduce by a form of clicker training. It's a shaped behavior and it's impressive to show off when it works. 

Basically training a dog to go up and put their front feet on a pot turned upside down (you don't have to use a pot - actually, when I did this, I used a book - but it has to be a slightly raised object), and rotate around the pot without taking their front feet off the pot. 

A lot of people use clicker training to shape this behavior completely... this is sitting for a long period of time and clicking rewarding every time your dog is "hot" and only then. And it could be a LONG TIME and several sessions before your dog even gets his feet on the pot at all.

The way I use clicker training I cut through the junk and just lead my dog up to the pot, guide him up on the pot and whether he has one foot or both feet on the pot - that's a click/YES and reward. Dog should "get it" and offer the behavior the next time without any guidance.

Repeat several times to ensure the dog gets it before you up the difficulty and ask for any sideways movement. Again I will help out a little at first, but a clear marker helps communicate the exact moment and movement that the dog was right. 

^^^ All this is useful for dog training, and it's a reason why the idea of clicker training isn't unique to one style of training or another. I know of pretty traditional kinds of trainers who use clicker training. It's a really good method and what I like is it really puts an emphasis on you the owner to communicate clearly and in a timely fashion to tell your dog when he's right.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

every once in a while I'll grab a clicker to mark an exact moment in training a new skill. But I don't do what many people consider "clicker training." The clicker was first created for species who were working with multiple trainers, in a setting like a zoo, to take the relationship factor out of training. They wanted a new trainer to be able to come in and seamlessly pick up that day's training session. The LAST thing I want to do is take the relationship aspect out of my training. If all I am in the training process is the one who pushes the button and dispenses the cookies, then I'm not interested, because that takes away everything I love about training.


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## ellisda1 (Jul 24, 2013)

Ditto what Megora said above. I mostly use "Yes!" as a positive indicator, and occasionally the clicker. I try to get Luna close to the objective (Megora gets close to the book before starting the step) then try to get an approximation of the desired behavior by luring, clicking when the behavior approximates, etc. I also have a couple of verbals I use regularly - "Fix it" when Luna does not completely and accurately execute a known behavior (say a heel position that is slightly off) or "try again" when the behavior is close but something else needs to happen. "Try again" is REALLY important for Luna when we're learning something new because she knows that something else is still expected and she's less likely to give up because she doesn't know what to try next.


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## _Paul (Jan 15, 2014)

Thanks everybody for your great advice. It has helped and reassured me in how to precede. I am keen to clicker train for new learning, and stick with my voice for more familiar commands. This may change at later date, depending how successful my clicker training goes.

Thanks


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