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What is a clicker and how does it work?
The clicker is used as a “marker” to signal to your dog that he’s done a good thing. The clicker is followed up with a reward that your dog enjoys such as a treat or a toy. The clicker is not used in place of a command, nor is it used to get a dog’s attention, or to scold the dog. Quite the opposite. We use the click to tell the dog he’s done something desirable and that he gets a reward for doing so. Like humans, dogs learn because of what happens to them, either good or bad, directly following their actions. When clicker training we teach the dog to associate the sound of the click with pleasant things happening (treats, play session, going for a ride in the car, etc). We can then use the click to “mark” the instant that the dog has done something that we want to reward, therefore increasing the chance that the dog will repeat that behavior in order to earn another reward. It is much easier, and learning takes place much faster, when you show your dog what you want from him, rather than to show him what you don’t want. The clicker allows you to “mark” the exact moment that the dog has done something that you like and acts as a bridge between the action and the reward. Dogs trained with the clicker method are happy workers and love training so much that they will actually try to encourage you to begin a training session with them.
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