Clicker Training Your Pup

I recently bought a clicker, why not!  Im taking Valentino to Agility class, and they mentioned clicker training, so I wanted to share some tips I found!

Clicker training is a form of positive reinforcement training.  The sound of the clicker marks a positive behavior.

Things to keep in mind:

1) A click equals a treat!  After you click, to mark a positive behavior you always have to give a treat to your dog.

2) Give the treat as soon as possible after you click.  It should only take 1-2 seconds to give him the treat.  If you do not, then he might not see the connection between the clicker and the treat.

3) Timing is important!  It is important that you click the clicker at the exact moment that your dog completes the behavior asked of or task asked to do.

4) Keep your clicker handy to capture behaviors.  Capturing behaviors is a great way to teach your dog new behaviors with very little effort on your part.  Keep your clicker and a handful of treats handy, and whenever you catch your dog doing something you like, simply click and treat.  You will be amazed at how quickly your dog can learn!

5) Go back a step.   If you find your dog confused about certain behaviors, take a step back.  For example, if he cannot hold a stay for 30 seconds, and breaks it, go back to a 10 second stay.  Slowly move forward.  If your dog is making mistakes, it might be because you moved ahead too quickly for him.

6)  Keep your clicker training positive!  If you find yourself getting frustrated end the sessions.  Keep sessions short, 5-10 minutes.  Always end on a positive note!