Dog Health Questions: What is the point of a clicker in dog training?

Can anybody tell me?

Dog Training - You and Your Dog

Recommended Answer:
You can check out some clicker training basics at www.clickerleash.com on the "How it Works" page. There are video tutorials there that explain why you would want to clicker train and shows you how to apply it when training your dog the basics.

Animal Husbandry And Other Unnatural Acts: A Career in Dog Training

• To "bridge" a correct behaviour with a reward.
  The true magic is in the TIMING.


• I was told that a click is a lot faster to mark a good behavior than a spoken "good dog." So the dog gets praise as SOON as their butt touches the floor (when teaching "sit") instead of a second or two after.


• The click marks the exact second that the dog has done something correct. The click is also a consistent sound that is exactly the same regardless of the user's emotions at the time so it can be less confusing than a verbal reward marker which will change depending on what the trainer is feeling at the time or even the weather.


• it marks the EXACT moment that the dog performs the task desired.


• The clicker sound is a substitute for "yes" "thats right". It marks the exact second a dog did what you hoped for. It also tells him that he has earned a treat. Petfinder.com has videos on training.


• Think of a "click" from a clicker the same thing as a "mark." It indicates the exact and precise moment that the animal is doing something correct. The benefit of a clicker is that they are faster and much more precise than a human voice or a reward. Following the clicker is a reward most commonly food. The use of a clicker is three step instead of two step, which is what most people think of in dog training.
  
  So say, you tell you dog "sit." He sits and you give him a reward, whatever that is. In clicker training, you tell the dog "sit", you click when the dog sits and then you reward. There is an extra step in there.
  
  Most commonly clicker training is used in the beginning of teaching something new to an animal. This helps the animal to understand exactly what you are trying to teach them. Eventually you fade out the clicker once the animal understand the new word, then you just use the reward, and then that becomes random. When you are teaching something new again, back comes the clicker, and then that fades out once the animal knows it and then the reward, and then the reward becomes random.


• One click marks a good behavior. Good timing is the key.