How to Be the Best Trainer You Can Be!

Learning how to be a master clicker trainer is as much of a process for you as your dog. The most important thing you can do to become better is to keep learning. Read books, articles, this blog and if at all possible, watch a master trainer at work.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you train:

1. Know what behavior you are looking for and click only that. Remember, what you click is what you get and what you get is what you click whether it’s what you really wanted or not! Watch what your dog is offering to see if you really are training the behavior you want or something else.

2. Control where you train. Teach a new behavior in a very quiet environment where you are the most interesting thing going. When it is solid, take it to many different places, gradually increasing the amount of distractions. Only when your dog can do the behavior correctly in many different places and under a lot of distraction does s/he truly “know” the behavior.

3. In the beginning, a new environment to the dog could just be a few steps away or turning around and looking the other way. Dogs don’t generalize so they need training in lots of different places for the behavior to be reliable.

4. Train small pieces of a complex behavior. Don’t move on until the small pieces are reliable. For example, a dog that cannot stay in one place with you at their side won’t be able to do it when you move away.

5. Establish and maintain a high rate of reinforcement. Once you get a correct behavior, get another one as soon as possible. This will help solidify the behavior.

6. Have a plan for your training session. Know what you are going to do, what you are looking for and what exactly you will click and treat.

7. Keep training sessions very short.

8. This is hands off the dog and keep your mouth shut training. Give the dog time to figure out what you want and be quick to click and treat it. Don’t talk and don’t give the cue more than once. Also don’t position your dog with your hands. They need to offer the behavior to really learn it.

9. Learn to analyze the results you’re getting. What did the dog do? What did I want the dog to do? Did I get what I wanted? Did I reinforce the right behavior?

10. Plan your next session as soon as you finish the one you are doing.

And most important of all, Have fun with the process!! There’s nothing more exciting than the communication you will develop with your dog.