Things You'll Need:
- Collar, any style
- Four- to six-foot-long leash
- Any-style clicker
- Soft, bite-sized food rewards
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Step 1
"Charge" the Clicker. Bring your dog to an enclosed or fenced area with few distractions. Hold your clicker and leash in your dominant hand and several treats in the other. Softly say your dog's name. When your dog looks at you, immediately click and offer your dog a treat. Repeat ten times and quit.
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Step 2
Take a break. Play a brief game that your dog enjoys or let your dog wander for a few minutes.
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Step 3
Test the "Click = Treat" Association. While your dog is performing a neutral action, click your clicker one time and wait for your dog's response. If your dog turns toward you, then the clicker has been "charged" and he recognizes the connection between the click and the treat. Reward him. If he does not respond, repeat all three steps as needed.
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Step 4
Introduce a specific behavior. Most trainers begin using clicker training to reinforce the simplest of behaviors, teaching their dogs to sit and to lie down on command. Select the behavior that you want to "capture," then click and treat the dog when you see him performing that behavior. If you wish to capture the "sit" behavior, for example, the ideal method of training is to wait until you see the dog starting to perform that behavior and click/treat him to teach him the association between the behavior and the reward.
Alternatively, although clicker training purists might not approve, the dog can be "induced" or "lured" into performing the behavior. Spector suggests that you can lure the dog into sitting, by holding a piece of treat in front of his nose, then slowly moving the treat in a straight line toward the back of his head. This motion will cause him to look up at the food, sending his bottom to the floor. Luring the dog into the down position can be accomplished in a similar fashion, by holding a piece of treat in front of you dog's nose as he sits or stands beside you, and then moving the food in a long, fluid "L" down his front and across the floor. This motion will cause him to look downward and forward, mimicking the motion he would normally make as he prepares to lie down. Once his body is in the desired position, click and treat the behavior.
If done properly, clicker training marks the end of the desired behavior, fixing that position in your dog's mind. It is not recommended that you use the traditional method of forcing the dog's bottom or shoulders to floor to when using clicker training, in that you run the risk of your dog associating your pushing his bottom down with the rest of the behavior. Whether you lure your dog into the position or capture his natural action, once he has been rewarded for that behavior he should start offering it to you, both to please you and to receive the reward.
Repeat the process ten times. -
Step 5
Once your dog understands that he's done something you want him to do, assign a name to the behavior. You can assign a name by saying the word and clicking when you see your dog performing the behavior or by luring your dog into that behavior.
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Step 6
After your training session has been completed, ask your dog to perform a behavior that he can do well. When he has successfully performed the behavior, click and give him a handful of treats. Ending with a jackpot will have him looking forward to training next time you take out the clicker.
