Clicker Training, Quicker Training

In our age of immediate gratification we’re always searching for the quickest most efficient ways to accomplish things so that we can get on to the next thing that we also want to do quickly and efficiently. As I consider my relationship with my dog, I have continued to follow that same path.

Pocket adopted me just over 3 years ago. At the time I was a busy professional with very little time to worry about training a new puppy. I was also under the responsibility of protecting my apartment and possessions from an overeager ball of fur with needles for teeth on one end of his tiny body and horrible things happening on at the other end.

I wanted to find the quickest most efficient way to train this destroyer of worlds to be a well behaved, trustworthy pet. So I did what most of us do these days; I surfed the internet. I came across a lot of different training approaches but the one that seemed to have the most buzz around it, and appealed to me logically was called Clicker Training.

Clicker Training is a method of marking desirable behavior in an animal using a mechanical clicker. The clicker device can come in a variety of shapes and colors (not that your dog would know the difference), most fit comfortably in the palm of your hand. They have a button embedded in the body that causes the device to emit a loud “CLICK!” when it’s depressed. You train your pet by rewarding them with food every time you click the device. This is known as loading the clicker. Once your pet has the reward associated with the sound, you can then use the clicker to mark the desired behavior of your pet by clicking when your pet does what you wish. Once the pet hears the noise they know they’ve done something right and will be rewarded, even if the reward comes well after the behavior has passed. It creates a mechanical association that is very effective reinforcement of behavior.

I figured it would be worth a shot to try it out. At best I’ll have a super puppy in no time, and at worst I’ll have your typical socialized dog… eventually. Once I began the training I was amazed at how quickly Pocket picked up on his training. I could work with him for about 20 minutes per day in the evenings and within a couple of short months he was house trained, could sit on command, was socialized for other dogs and children, would come and follow on command (and yes, be walked without a leash!) and ‘do his bidnezz’ on command and on a regular schedule.

I was a believer. I had a well trained puppy much faster than I thought possible, and the training had accommodated my busy schedule. The interesting side effect was that both Pocket and I enjoyed the training time so much that I wanted to teach him more behaviors. Over the course of the next few months we added retrieving specific items on command, begging, rolling over, playing dead when you pretend to shoot him with your finger and targeting (touching a specific item or place) when he wanted to go outside. We had a full blown routine! And I realized I had become one of those neurotic dog lovers. You know, the kind that thinks their dog is the neatest thing since sliced bread? I showed him off every chance I got. At one point last year I reintroduced the clicker to pocket to teach him to take a bow after he did a series of tricks to entertain people. After many months without training the clicker still held its power and influence on Pocket’s behavior, and is still the most valuable tool I know for training my dog.