Things You'll Need:
- A willing canine participant
- A clicker (available at most pet stores)
- Treats
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Step 1
The first step in clicker training is to teach your dog to associate the clicking sound with a treat. Start in one location, clicking, then immediately giving a treat, and repeating this process several times. Once your dog has this association down, fill your pocket with treats, grab the clicker, and move on to another activity. After a few minutes, use the clicker in another room and watch your dog come running. Give the treat immediately. Continue this process in different rooms in your house and under different circumstance. Do it while your dog is in another room, while your dog is engaged in another activity, etc. Once your dog has learned this first behavior, you are ready to begin the process of teaching them something new.
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Step 2
In order to teach your dog a behavior with the clicker method, you will either have to force that behavior to occur or wait for it to happen naturally. Most dogs sit on a pretty regular basis, so this is a good place to start. Wait for your dog to perform the desired behavior and click immediately. The clicking sound (which your dog now associates with praise and treats) will "mark" the behavior you are trying to teach. Give a treat right after clicking. Continue this process until your dog begins to anticipate the behavior you are looking for. Some dogs will catch on so quickly it will be hard to get them out of the sitting position! If this happens, just move the training session into another room so they are forced to get up.
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Step 3
Now that you have your dog's attention and they have learned the behavior, it is time to associate a verbal cue to the behavior. You can also use hand signals or a combination of verbal/hand cues to indicate a learned behavior.
Show your dog the treat, and say the command clearly. You may have to be quick about it as your dog may already be sitting before you can get the word out. If this happens, say the command and click immediately afterward. If your dog does not sit right away, do not repeat the command. Wait patiently until they have performed the desired behavior, then click and give the reward.
Repeat this process several times, then move to another room and change the circumstances under which the command is given, just as you did when training your dog to associate the clicker with the treat. -
Step 4
Soon your dog will associate your verbal or gestural command with the behavior they are expected to perform. To be sure, leave this activity for a while and come back to it later. Give your dog the command without first showing a treat. If your dog responds appropriately, click and give a treat, then gradually remove the clicker. Eventually, you can remove the treat as well, offering simple praise for correct behaviors.
This method can be applied to any trick you wish to teach your dog. As you may have realized when teaching them the clicker/treat response from another room of the house, this is extremely effective in teaching a dog to come as they will search for you (and the treat) as soon as they hear the clicker.
