Clicker Training Basics for Beginners

This clicker training basics guide will help you to learn how to use this valuable tool. It will make obedience training for your dog simpler and it will make teaching them how to do tricks a lot easier as well. Most importantly, they make things clear for your dog!

The first of the clicker training basics you need to learn is the fact that right out of the box, a clicker doesn't have any power.

Some people think that a clicker is a magical tool that will grip your dog's attention and take control of their mind and make them do really cool tricks simply by pressing the button. If only that were true! In reality though, a clicker is made valuable by getting your dog to associate the sound it makes with a tasty treat.

The goal of clicker training basics is to get your dog to understand that a "click" is the same thing as getting a delicious treat. Remember, dogs are all about associations in their mind, both positive and negative. If you want your dog to build a habit of doing something, you help them to build a positive association with it in their mind. Similarly, if you want them to stop doing something, you need to help them see it as a negative thing.

Clicker Training Basics - Things to Remember

Whether you have a dog that will eat any food you put in front of them or you have a finnicky eater, you need to get some type of treat they really enjoy to start learning the clicker training basics.

When you are first starting out, you have to be very good about making sure a treat always comes right after you click. Dogs learn by instant feedback, so you can't make a click and then go across the room and talk to people and then slowly get a treat. You have to do it right away so the "click" sound begins to make them salivate. This is exactly why you need to always have treats on you when you are practicing clicker training basics.

While the clicker training basics are pretty simple to pick up, there are obstacles. The main one that you will have to overcome is your dog's tendency to associate other things with the clicking sound and their treat. You want it to be extremely clear to them that it is the "click" sound that is the same as getting a treat, not anything else. To help make sure they only build the click-treat association, try to change up where you do the clicker training.

It takes every breed of dog a different amount of time to pick up on the clicker training basics, but it's usually very fast for all of them. It's amazing what dogs can learn when there is a nice treat involved!

Your dog might be a little confused about what the clicker is at first. They might even be startled by it. If you are finding that your dog is having a hard time concentrating because they don't like the clicker, you can use it from inside your pocket. They'll quickly learn to forget about it and focus on getting the delicious treat.

The last part of clicker training basics is understanding when your dog associates the "click" with the treat. It's pretty easy to notice when your dog starts looking at your clicker as a treat. When you bring it out and they see it, they will essentially act as though they would if you had a treat in your hand. They will get extremely excited, very attentive, and will start licking their mouth! When they do this, you know that you're ready to start clicker training.

Clicker Training Basics - Final Thoughts

Using a clicker is one of the best possible dog training tools. It will make teaching them tricks and obedience quick and easy, and it is what the professionals do. Remember that as you go through the clicker training basics with your dog. You are not doing something that is a gimmick or fad, but rather using a method that has been around for almost 50 years and is not going anywhere.

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