Posted by: petmyforum
on Aug 20, 2009
Clicker training is a technology which has recently become very popular in dog training. The clicker itself is a little box which makes a click sound when pressed. It becomes a marker for the behavior that the trainer is looking for and also that goodies may be on their way. Training this way is continuing to evolve with more research and understanding of animal behavior. It is useful to attend a couple of classes or seminars to get the basics down and to learn the more complicated scientific behavioral concepts if you are interested in the full philosophy. I have been to two Melissa Alexander seminars, these two day events were very enjoyable, Melissa is down to earth and very good at explaining complicated behavioral concepts. Click here for an explanation of Operant Conditioning.
I started with luring my first puppy into the correct position with food and then gradually pairing that with the desired command word. This works great for teaching a puppy basic sits and downs, but free-shaping with the clicker goes one step further, the dog learns to be aware of his own body. When you lure a dog into position, he is thinking about the food rather than what he is doing. When you use free-shaping, you either wait for him to take up the position naturally and let him work out what you are rewarding, or you break down a more complicated sequence into small pieces and gradually ask for more each time. Click here for more information about Luring, Moulding and Shaping.
Malaysia Dog Club