The click and treat system, or positive reward training, has become the preferred method used by dog obedience training instructors all over the world.
Take a look at the dog’s world and try getting into your dog’s paws. You have heard your master’s car arrive home and you wait at the door, excited, eyes bright, tongue flopping out, tail madly wagging, and your master walks through the door – oh, oh, he has had a bad, bad day, he is in a sour mood and he has a headache. He totally ignores you and stomps into the kitchen, opens the back door and chases you outside.
A few minutes later, your master comes out of the kitchen door and calls you. He slips on a steel slip chain training collar and starts jerking you through your obedience training exercises: – sit, drop stand or whatever. He insists your attention gruffly, he is hard on you and does not like it when you sit too slow, or don’t stay in a sit and his voice is harsh and angry. You do not want to work in this obedience training session and so you receive more harsh words and you do what you have to do but you work most reluctantly.
The next day, your master has won a major new account and he is happy. His voice is exciting and, although he still slips the dreaded steel choke chain around your neck, he is not as rough or harsh in this dog training session. You are really keen to please him and you work your tail off to do all the obedience training he wants you to do.
Right. Back into your human shoes. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a training system for obedience training our dogs that was not harsh, was rewarding and a positive training experience, for both the dog and the handler, that was unemotional, and sounded exactly the same every time you used it.
Well we do have such a system. It is called a clicker and the dog obedience training method that goes with the clicker is the positive training method. It is used around the world to train all types of animals – dolphins, lions, seals, elephants, horses, dogs and chickens.
The CIA used it to train crows to carry mini microphones and place them outside windows. The KGB used it to train cats to wear microphones and sit close to people who may have things of interest to say – who would suspect crows or cats of carrying microphones?
The click noise the clicker makes can be made repeatedly by different trainers in the family and it is always the same unique sound.
The modern day clicker is now a small box with a metal strip fixed at one end. The thumb is used to push the other end of the strip down into the box and makes a clicking noise. A noise that is virtually identical every time you click the metal strip.
You use this click noise to replace the human emotionally affected voice. So the “yes” you might use when the dog sits on command, is now replaced by the click.
The click is used to tell the dog he has done the right thing. The click needs to be done as the dog does what you are asking him to do. Picture yourself holding a camera and asking your dog to sit. As the dog’s bottom touches the floor, you click the shutter to capture the exact moment. The sound of the camera shutter is the clicker going off.
If the dog bounces back up after sitting, and you click late, you are now marking the dog standing up. It is better to click a little earlier than late.
With dog obedience training, the click does not work alone. You need to offer the dog a reward for getting it right which is why you may have heard of the Click and Reward or Click and Treat training systems.
Usually, for the reward, I recommend using something the dog would really love to work for – it might be grilled chicken, prawns, lamb chops, steak, or cat kibble. The higher quality the reward the keener your dog will be to work for you.
If you have a job and work for a wage, think of how you earn that income – if you really worked hard and got things done, and all your boss gave you was a pat on the back, or worse, simply ignored you, would you want to go back and work for him. No, I didn’t think you would.
But what if he bought you a great steak lunch for doing an excellent job!!!!! Or gave you a great pay rise!!!
When instructing a basic dog obedience training course, I see the difference a good quality treat makes over and over. Towards the end of the one hour lessons, the dog’s interest has waned to a low point because they have been getting the same treats for the whole lesson. I always carry a small supply of what we call “chunkers”. Mini meatballs made from chicken, lamb or turkey. They are cooked but would be called wet treats. Dogs go nuts for them and the last 15 or so minutes of the lesson they are again alive and keen.
So have you got the picture – click when the bum hits the ground and give the dog a tasty treat within 3 seconds and he is going to give you his best.
In the modern world of the click and treat training method, the replacement for the emotionally adjustable human voice, and a choice reward system, and your dog obedience training may just get your dog to cook your Sunday breakfast – well, I suppose not quite – the dog will probably eat the breakfast before he gets it to the breakfast table.
The clicker is an obedience training tool and not a toy and you need to ensure that it stays that way and the kids do not start running around the house clicking away madly. If the clicker is clicked you have to reward the dog within 3 seconds.
And you do not use it as a recall tool, because the click means a treat is coming within 3 seconds and you will not be able to fit that rule. You may be tempted to use the clicker to bring the dog back to you if it wanders off. DON’T.
The clicker is most often coupled with another training technique called shaping and I have written a separate post about this topic
Originally posted here: Dog Obedience Training – Using the Click and Treat System
