But…

I have used clicker training to teach my own dogs, and I use it to teach my clients’ dogs as well.

Here’s a basic explanation about why I think clicker training can be a great way to instill good behavior in any dog.

First, when people ask me about clicker training, it gives me the chance explain some basic dog training principles — and these principles will serve you well no matter what training method you use.

For example, clicker training dogs gives you a great sense of how using behavior-contingent rewards makes the right things easy, and the wrong things hard, for your dog.

The way it works is simple…

Because I can shape a behavior, it allows me to pair a click with a treat so that it teaches a dog the exact moment that a specific behavior earns a reward.

But that’s not all. Clicker training also demonstrates the idea that leader controls food (one of the most fundamental concepts you need to learn if you ever want your dog to recognize you as pack leader), and compels me, the teacher, to pay attention to detail.

Now, I know that using food as a reward is a real hot button issue for some people, because they confuse the idea of a behavior-contingent food reward with a bribe.

They think that food is used to bribe the dog.

But that’s not the right way to look at it. A click/treat is never a bribe. It’s a paycheck! Done properly, the click/treat sequence immediately tells your dog that a specific physical action is correct — that it’s desired by you, the pack leader. And dogs aim to please the leader,

What makes clicker training different from more “passive” forms of praise, such as a friendly pat on the head or a “good dog” comment from you, is that those actions might not be directly tied to the behavior your dog just performed.

The problem with just giving a dog a friendly pat, or saying “good boy” as a way to reward positive behavior, is that by the time you get the words “good boy” out of your mouth, or put your hand down for a friendly pat, the specific behavior that you want to reward has already altered.

To get the best results when using a clicker, your timing is very important. You need to click/treat at the exact moment when the behavior occurs. That way, your dog knows what he did to earn the click/treat and — here’s the key — he can repeat it!

If there is too big a delay between the behavior and the click/treat, a dog gets confused.

But by paying attention to the small things, big behaviors can happen quickly and easily.

The course consists of 7 video lessons (more than 45 minutes of video!) and a full course workbook so that you can follow along, step by step, as I demonstrate each technique. If you practice these techniques with your dog, clicker training is easy!

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