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 Fifteen
Tips for getting started with a clicker
Clicker training is a new, science-based way to communicate with your pet. It's
easier to learn than standard command-based training. You can clicker train any
kind of animal, of any age. Puppies love it. Old dogs learn new tricks. You can
clicker-train cats, birds, and other pets as well. Here are some simple tips to
get you started.
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Push and release the springy end of the clicker, making a two-toned click.
Then treat. Keep the treats small. Use a delicious treat at first: for a dog
or cat, little cubes of roast chicken, not a lump of kibble.
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Click DURING the desired behaviour, not after it is completed. The timing of
the click is crucial. Don't be dismayed if your pet stops the behaviour when
it hears the click. The click ends the behaviour. Give the treat after that;
the timing of the treat is not important.
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Click when your dog or other pet does something you like. Begin with
something easy that the pet is likely to do on its own. (Ideas: sit; come
toward you; touch your hand with its nose; lift a foot; touch and follow a
target object such as a pencil or a spoon.)
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Click once (in-out.) If you want to express special enthusiasm, increase the
number of treats, not the number of clicks.
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Keep practice sessions short. Much more is learned in three sessions of five
minutes each than in an hour of boring repetition. You can get dramatic
results, and teach your pet many new things, by fitting a few clicks a day
here and there in your normal routine.
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Fix bad behaviour by clicking good behaviour. Click the puppy for relieving
itself in the proper spot. Click for paws on the ground, not on the
visitors. Instead of scolding for making noise, click for silence. Cure
leash-pulling by clicking and treating those moments when the leash happens
to go slack.
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Click for voluntary (or accidental) movements toward your goal. You may coax
or lure the animal into a movement or position, but don't push, pull, or
hold it. Let the animal discover how to do the behaviour on its own. If you
need a leash for safety's sake, loop it over your shoulder or tie it to your
belt.
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Don't wait for the "whole picture" or the perfect behaviour. Click and treat
for small movements in the right direction. You want the dog to sit, and it
starts to crouch in back: click. You want it to come when called, and it
takes a few steps your way: click.
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Keep raising your goal. As soon as you have a good response-when a dog, for
example, is voluntarily lying down, coming toward you, or sitting
repeatedly-start asking for more. Wait a few beats, until the dog stays down
a little longer, comes a little further, sits a little faster. Then click.
This is called "shaping" behaviour.
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When your animal has learned to do something for clicks, it will begin
showing you the behaviour spontaneously, trying to get you to click. Now is
the time to begin offering a cue, such as a word or a hand signal. Start
clicking for that behaviour if it happens during or after the cue. Start
ignoring that behaviour when the cue wasn't given.
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Don't order the animal around; clicker training is not command-based. If
your pet does not respond to a cue, it is not disobeying; it just hasn't
learned the cue completely. Find more ways to cue it and click it for the
desired behaviour. Try working in a quieter, less distracting place for a
while. If you have more than one pet, separate them for training, and let
them take turns.
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Carry a clicker and "catch" cute behaviours like cocking the head, chasing
the tail, or holding up one foot. You can click for many different
behaviours, whenever you happen to notice them, without confusing your pet.
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If you get mad, put the clicker away. Don't mix scolding, leash-jerking, and
correction training with clicker training; you will lose the animal's
confidence in the clicker and perhaps in you.
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If you are not making progress with a particular behaviour, you are probably
clicking too late. Accurate timing is important. Get someone else to watch
you, and perhaps to click for you, a few times.
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Above all, have fun. Clicker-training is a wonderful way to enrich your
relationship with any learner.
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