How to clicker-train a dog

How do I start?

Have your dog, your clicker, and some tasty treats handy.  Start in a low-distraction environment:  indoors in a closed-off room with no children or other animals present.  The dog will work best right before a meal when he is hungry.  If the dog is the energetic type, exercise him first so he can concentrate better during training.  Before you begin, be sure your dog takes treats nicely.  It is usually best if you hand-feed your dog the treats, but feel free to drop treats to him if he’s a major food-grabber.[1] 

First, click once and observe the dog’s reaction. Be sure to click while the dog is doing something you like, not digging at the carpet or jumping up.  Don’t click right next to the dog’s ear, since the loud, sudden noise may startle him!  Some shelter-dogs have already been exposed to the clicker.  If the dog immediately runs over, or looks up at you eagerly, give him the treat he is expecting.  If this is your dog’s reaction, the clicker is already charged!  Skip to “Step Two,” below.

If your dog is afraid:

A very few dogs are afraid of the clicker.  If this is your dog’s reaction, don’t give up!  You have several options:

1. Purchase the i-click online; this is a newer-style clicker that makes a softer sound (also easier for people with disabilities that limit their movements).
2. Click with something like a bottle-cap or pen that makes a softer sound. Switch to a regular clicker later, when the dog is comfortable with the clicking sound.
3. Hold the clicker in a tight fist in your pocket to muffle the sound at first.
4. Make a clicking sound with your mouth (if you can make a consistent noise).
5. Substitute a word, spoken happily, like “yes!” for the click.  Say it quickly in a consistent tone of voice.

Step 1:  “Charge” the Clicker. 

Click the clicker once and hand or toss the dog a treat. Repeat ten times at various intervals within a 5-10 minute time frame.  Do this while the dog is doing different things:  sitting, moving about the room, sniffing, etc.  Avoid clicking if the dog is doing something you don’t want.  At the end of ten repetitions, put the clicker and treats away.  Several hours later, repeat.  At the end of the second session, click once and watch your dog’s reaction.  If he pricks up his ears and looks eagerly at you in expectation of his treat, the clicker is charged. You can now begin to use the sound to train.  If not, put everything away and try again tomorrow. 

Step 2:  Reward Behaviors You Want and ignore behaviors you don’t want.[2]

Do you want a dog that doesn’t jump up?  Ignore the dog when he jumps: this means no petting or attention at all; turn slightly away from the dog and look pointedly elsewhere!  When the dog’s feet return to the floor, click, treat, and give him all the praise and attention he’s been looking for!  Try to reward him while his feet are on the floor before he jumps.  Or train a behavior incompatible with jumping, like sit, and reward him for greeting you with that, instead.  Click and treat for responding to his name, making eye contact, walking on a loose leash, coming when called, and so on.

Important:  Use the clicker to tell the dog what he is doing right.  Never use the clicker to tell the dog what to do. In other words, don’t use the clicker to get the dog to sit, come, stop barking, etc. 

  Click and reward the behavior, and once you are getting the behavior regularly, associate it with a name (also called a prompt or cue; this used to be called a command).  For example, click the dog when he is sitting.  Try to time the click so it occurs just as the dog’s rear-end is hitting the floor.  When he is sitting frequently (in expectation of a reward) then say, “Sit!” before the click each time.[3]  Raise your criteria:  only reward the dog when he is sitting in response to this cue, not every time he sits.  Some trainers prefer to add a hand signal along with the verbal cue.  Another good training technique is to stop your training session after a good performance (a good sit) while the dog is still anxious to do more.  He will remember that eager feeling the next time you start his training session and will work even more willingly!  Clicker-training does not require lots of repetition.  Frequent, short sessions are best.

Remember:  Clicking marks and ends a behavior.  If you click him for staying while down, expect him to break the stay when he hears the click, for example.  Pair the click with a release-word like “break” or “ok.”

When choosing cues, particularly verbal ones, remember that dogs are less verbal than we are.  They are often watching us while we are talking at them, so your body language and movements such as hand signals can be a very helpful form of communication.  Verbal cues should be short (one-word), clear, and consistent.  For example, “Sit!” to elicit a sit and “Down!” to elicit lying down is more helpful to the dog than “Sit down!”  Which do you want?  A sit or a down?  Every member of the household should agree to use the same cues for the same behaviors for the sake of the dog’s peace of mind.

Important Rules:  Be consistent in your expectations. It is unfair to the dog to allow him to jump all over you one day, and then to expect him not to the next just because you are wearing your best suit!  Also, one click means at least one treat every time.  If you accidentally click when the dog is doing something you don’t want, reward anyway, so the clicker remains charged.  Work on improving your timing, since an occasional mistake won’t hurt your dog’s training!  What can hurt is combining clicker training with other unnecessary methods that are based on punishment (corrections, scolding, rolling, scruff-shakes, ear pinches, tossing things, spraying liquids, hard stares, etc.).  If you punish, the dog will lose faith in the training process.  Keeping clicking and training positive and fun!

Step 3:  Proof the Behavior.  

Just because your dog knows “sit” right in front of you, for example, does not mean he knows it at your heel, or when your back is turned, or while he is facing away from you.  If he knows “sit” on-leash, he might not know it off-leash.  If he sits in front of the kitchen refrigerator, he might not know it in front of the stove or in the den. If he knows it in a quiet area, he might not know it when there are heavy distractions, like when company (human or dog) visits. If he knows it in the house, he might not know it in the back yard, in the street, or at the park.  Once he knows it well in one location, try changing the situation slightly by changing locations or adding distractions.  Do so gradually and set your dog up for success.  Expect him to have some initial difficulties in a new situation.  Reduce the difficulty-level of what you expect of him, and improve the rewards for good performance.

Even children make excellent clicker-trainers once an adult has learned the basics and shown them how.  For young children, try clicking while the child treats or vice-versa. 

Always supervise children under the age of six years with any dog, including your own.  Supervise carefully at older ages if you have any reason not to trust the child or the dog.

How do I get a desired behavior?

There are three basic ways:

1. “Capture” the behavior.  Catch the dog doing the finished behavior, such as “sit” in the example above.  You can also capture the absence of a behavior.  You don’t want Fido to bark or jump up?  Click and reward him when he is doing anything and everything else!
2. “Shape” the behavior.  Let’s say that you want to teach the dog to wave hello.  Watch for the dog to lift its front paw, even the slightest bit. Click and treat each time. When the dog is lifting the paw regularly, only click/treat the higher paw-lifts, until the dog is lifting the paw several inches off the ground.  Begin to click and treat only when the dog waves.  Say “wave” once the dog reaches the finished behavior you have in mind.  Put the behavior on cue (only reward when you say “wave” and the dog complies).
3. “Lure” the behavior.  For example, when the dog is sitting, you can use treats lowered slowly and close to the dog’s body to lure the dog down toward the floor.  When the dog reaches the correct position, click and treat.  Some dogs need a combination of shaping and luring to learn “down.”  Fade the lure by gradually removing the treats and introducing a hand signal.  An example is given below.

Fading the prompt

You can capture a down, shape a down, or lure a down, or use some combination of the last two.  If you lure, try not to lure with actual treats in your hand more than the first two to three times.  Afterwards, see if you can’t get the dog to follow your hands or fingers (continue to click and reward).  Eventually and with practice you can “fade” the hand signal until you are barely wiggling your fingers to get the desired behavior. By always saying “down” before  the hand signal, you can eventually get the dog to lie down on the verbal cue alone.

What to avoid:  Clicker-trainers avoid punishment and “forcing” the behavior.  Do not press on the dog’s hindquarters to force a sit or push on his shoulders to teach him down.  Dogs have a natural instinct to push back, so using these methods slows down training and can confuse (or sometimes even injure) the dog.  Dogs are also more physical than verbal.  They quickly get dependent on pressure (from a hand or leash) to cue a desired behavior, and will fail to perform on a verbal signal alone.  If your dog becomes dependent on you pushing him or pulling on his leash to sit, how will you use “sit!” to stop him if he gets loose and runs toward a moving car?

Must I carry food and the clicker forever?

No.  Save the clicker for training new behaviors or for an occasional quick review of what he already knows.  Use praise and treats at other times.  Once the behavior is well-established in a variety of settings with distractions, phase out the use of treats and vary the rewards.  Use “life rewards:” make the dog sit for his supper, for example, or for permission to go through a gate or door.  Put him in a “down”, snap on the leash, and take him for a walk, assuming he likes walks.  “Life-rewards” are sometimes called “nothing in life is free;” in other words, make the dog work, even if it’s just a quick sit or a cute trick, for everything he wants.  Substitute petting and praise for the food sometimes in low-distraction environments.  Save the clicker and your best treats for teaching something new.

---

[1] If your dog gets aggressive around food, use another type of reward, like a game, take your dog to a veterinarian to rule out a health problem and then ask for a referral to a professional trainer.

[2] One exception to the “Ignore behaviors you don’t want” rule is that you should not ignore aggressive behaviors such as growling, snapping, lunging, etc.  Take your dog for a checkup.  If there are no underlying medical problems, ask your veterinarian for a referral to a professional trainer for help ASAP.

[3] Try to give the verbal cue once.  It is better to say “sit” once and give Fido time to respond.  “Sit, Fido; Sit Fido, I SAID SIT, FIDO!” tends to be very confusing to the dog because dogs’ brains are less verbal than humans’. He also might pay better attention if you start with his name.