Clicker Dog Training Reward
Clicker Dog Training Reward
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This first step in dog training is not going to be teaching your dog any practical skill at all. This excise is for your benefit to help you understand how classical conditioning works in the training of your dog. Do take into consideration that this exercise is not appropriate if your dog is a very young puppy unable to eat solid food, or limited to some special diet for health problems.
You will need between 15-20 doggie treats. These treats should most certainly be something your dog enjoys, e.g. kibble/dried dog food pellets, small chicken pieces, freeze dried liver. It is important that the tit-bits are small navy bean sized pieces. Meaty bones, chewy pig’s ears, or dental chews are not appropriate for this exercise. Remember the treats are for the dog! Do not eat these treats yourself, your dog will just think that’s silly.
This exercise must be performed in private between you are your dog in a place your dog is familiar with. Your dog will be off-leash so a secured fenced area is recommended. Ensure there are no distractions that might attract your dogs attention away from this classical training exercise. A fenced backyard or a large room are ideal for this exercise, but first scout the area for the usual distractions or escape routes.
Some dogs are sensible eaters so it is best to perform this exercise before a meal time. You may be quite in tune with your dogs eating habits, and know when he will be most responsive if it means something to taste.
.Begin by holding some of the treats, keeping the rest in your pocket or in a handy bag near your body. To attract your dogs attention show him the prize but be sure not to let him grab it just yet. When you have his undivided attention reward him with a click sound either from a clicker device (available at all good pet shops and even children’s party supplies). If you do not have access to a clicker, you may make a click sound by flicking your tongue over the roof of your mouth. Immediately with the sound of the click allow your dog to have one of the treats. If you prefer not to hand feed your dog, you may quickly drop it nearby, although hand feeding him the treat is preferred. Alternatively, if you are unable to create a click sound, you may use a short reward word, i.e. “OK”, be sure to keep the sound of the word short and positive. The reasoning here is to condition your dog to associate this sound with something rewarding.
. You should repeat this process until your dog’s anticipation is evident, his ears will prick or he will startle and stir a little. Continue with as many repetitions as are required to achieve the desired result. Typically, you will see a result up to six or seven times, some dogs will be cued in after the first couple, some will be quite blas? and may need much more. If after some extensive amount of time you don’t feel he is “getting it”, you may need to consider your approach, perhaps your click and treat are not close enough together for him to have made the association. The reward and the sound should be no more than a few short seconds apart.
. When the result of the exercise has been achieved stop giving him treats and stop clicking, in fact ignore him for a few moments. Generally, he will still be attentive but please resist the urge to return his attention until he looks away. Finally, once his head urn away give one more click, certainly you will have gained instant interest for him again, give him the final treat ad end the exercise on a positive note. Tell him he is a good boy and reward him with his meal.
By now it is apparent to you that you dog has learned to associate the click sound with reward. This process is known as classical conditioning and was developed by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. This must be the first stage in training your canine friend. As your dog has learned that something good is on the way, this is the paver for teaching him other commands and communicating with him. By associating the click with reward, you can move on to simple commands such as “sit” and “come” with the correct response to the command rewarded with a click and treat.
You are correct in believing that your dog becomes conditioned to the click because he is hungry but it classical conditioning training to the clicker does not need to be performed only when your dog is hungry. It is a rare dog that does not have some preferred “sometimes” treat, this is a treat that you would not regularly feed your dog, particularly as part of a meal. You may try different high-value food treats such as cheese (not recommended for regular feeding), and even especially created “doggie chocs” (human chocolate is toxic to your dog and should not be readily fed to him especially in large quantities), most good pet shops will stock a variety of appropriate treats to help you find the one that works on your dog.
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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Dog Training and Classical Conditioning – Bestdogtraining.org
