Best Dog Clickers for Dog Training

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1. Starmark Clicker System

2. Karen Pryor i-Click

3. PetSafe Clik-R Trainer

4. Dog Clicker Treat Walking Training Pouch Bag

FAQ - A Buyer's Guide

How Do You Train a Dog with a Clicker?

Clicker training can be an effective way of teaching your dog new behaviors, but you have to do it correctly. For starters, you need to learn how to use a clicker and treats together.

Some dog owners think they have to give a treat to their furry friends every time they click. That is not the case. But, you also need to understand that not offering a treat 'frequently' after clicks will also make this training method lose its effectiveness. During the initial stages of training, you may get away with too many treats offered to your dog after each click. It is actually good because your dog will associate clicks with a strong reward, which will motivate him to behave prudently. Therefore, the catch is to decide how often you need to use those treats. 

Now that you've understood the underlying concept that makes clicker training effective, here's the process to make it work in the real world setting.

• Opt for a Calm Setting: If you don't pick a setting that is free of distractions, you may not get your dog's attention, which is essential for making click training to work.  A good idea is to start your training in a calm environment when your dog is actually hungry.
• Use the Clicker: You will be able to introduce your dog to the clicker in a more effective way if you do it when he's actually feeling hungry. Introduce the clicker and offer a treat for 5-10 times before you actually make your dog do something you want. The idea is to make him understand that the clicking sound is associated with a reward that he can get by following your lead.
• Test Your Dog: When you first start with clicker training dog, it is essential to move slowly and ensure that your dog does respond to the clicking sound. After the first few times, you can use the clicks to see if it gets your dog's attention and if he feels eager to get a treat after the click. If yes, you're ready to take the next step of teaching your dog new behaviors using the click-treat combination.
• Start with Basic Commands:  Use your clicker to teach him the basic commands first. These commands may involve making him look at you, come at your command, leave it, drop it, stop, and sit. Be sure to get your dog's attention, tell him to do a specific action, and click to praise and finish by giving a treat. Understand that the whole focus is on making him understand that the clicking sound helped him get the treat. He should know that his action made him get the "click", and when he gets a click, it means a reward is on its way too.
• Proceed with Advanced Training: After your dog develops an association with the click and follows your commands for basic actions, you can then switch to more advanced training.  By this time, you will be able to make your dog perform certain actions like sit, stand, stop, etc., without you manipulating him into position first.  By clicking for small steps, you can eventually make him learn the final, completed behavior.

Few Things to Remember

Using a clicker during an obedience and training program can go a long way towards helping your dog learn new behaviors and stick to them.  But to get good results, you need to remember a few things. For instance:

• Be sure to click only once or you might make it difficult for him to know that the clicking sound actually earned him a reward.
• Don't forget to treat after you click or else you will confuse your dog and make him lose his interest in the whole training process.
• Never hold the clicker as if it is a remote control because you just want him to associate with the clicker sound and not with some object. Therefore, keeping the clicker behind your back or by your side is the right thing to do.
• Work on finding the right clicker because some clickers can be quite loud and may scare your dog. Using a softer clicker is the way to go here.

 An important thing to bear in mind is that you need to work on your hand-eye coordination to produce that clicking sound exactly when it is needed. The more precise you are, the higher the chances of you getting your dog associating rewards to the clicks. Also, remember that though clicker training dogs works quite well, you may not get desired results when using it on a dog with low food-drive. A dog who isn't driven by treats or rewards may not respond well to this method of training.   But still, you should include clickers in your training routine and see how it works to continue using it.

Why Does a Dog Clicker Work?

Dog clickers work because they are based on the principle of positive reinforcement. It means the clicker produces a distinct that tells your dog that he's going to get a tasty reward. You produce that sound using a clicker when your dog what he's asked, like sit down, stop, or lie down.

 In other words, the clicker sound actually provides your dog with quick feedback for his actions. If he gets rewarded for an action, he's likely to repeat that whenever you want. Therefore, a clicker works by reinforcing a particular action and telling your dog to be attentive and repeat a certain behavior to get something good.

Can You Clicker Train an Older Dog?

When used correctly, a clicker can help train dogs of all ages and breeds. In fact, it helps with all types of dogs, champions and house companions as well as purebred and rescued dogs.  Therefore, you can surely get good results by using a clicker with your older dog.

 Here, it is important to mention that a dog clicker for training is most effective when you have a dog with high food-drive, which means that it can be a bit tricky to train older dogs that may not be that interested in food anymore. However, that doesn’t mean you should never use a clicker altogether, but you can replace the treat or food with something he loves. It could be a quick game of tug of war or simply throwing a tennis ball for him.

Conclusion

Clicker training is around for quite some time, and if you use it correctly, it can be the only effective option to train your dog some complex actions. Finding a right dog clicker for training is important, as it has to be easy-to-use and soft enough to not frighten your dog. Durability is important too. Be sure to check the options we've highlighted and start clicker training to have a well-mannered dog.