Answer:clicker training

Clicker Training

Answer: If you choose to do clicker training, the clicker is used whenever you want to teach your dog to perform an action. You click when your dog does the desired action, followed by giving a reward.

The clicker is not used as an attention-getter. It is used to "mark" the behaviour that you want, to communicate to your dog what exactly she has done that you are rewarding her for.

If it is a moment in time behaviour, such as going into the sit position, you click at the moment your dog goes into the sit position.

If it is a continuous behaviour, such as continuing to sit for a period
of time, you click at the end of that time. For example, your dog sits, you count silently to three, then click and reward. In this case you are clicking your dog not for going into the sit position but for remaining there for a count of three.

This is why we say "the clicker ends the behaviour". The dog has done it, so it is over.

You can click and reward good behaviour even if you haven't given a command. Click if you want to reinforce some spontaneous action that your dog does - for example, she rubs her nose with her paw, and you think that would be a cute trick. You can click and reward to reinforce a spontaneous show of good manners (something your dog does without a command). For example, you come home and your dog sits instead of jumping up. That's worth rewarding!

In the standard clicker training method, you give a food reward after each click. If you want to reward less often, you click less often. Sometimes you click and reward, other times just praise.

Clicker training is a teaching method. As your dog learns something, reserve clicking for teaching new things, or for taking an existing action to a higher standard. For practical pet training you can use a clicker to teach your dog to sit, then later on maintain it by means of everyday life rewards, such as patting or opening the door to let your dog inside if he sits first.

Q. "Is a clicker the same as verbal praise?"

No.

The clicker is meaningless at first, just a neutral sound.

The first thing you do to start clicker training is to associate the
<click> sound with a food reward. This assumes that your dog finds food naturally rewarding. The <click> sound takes on a rewarding  character by association with the food reward.

Then you can use the <click> sound as an "event marker". In other words, you click at the precise moment your dog does something that you want to reinforce. This helps your dog to learn what specifically is being rewarded. In the standard clicker training method, a food reward is given straight after each click.

Opinions differ about what praise actually is. In positive reinforcement, praise can be used as a reward *if the dog actually finds it rewarding* ... which some dogs do, but others don't. We don't make any assumptions about this.

For dogs that are used to the "praise and correction" style of training, praise is not so much a reward as an indication that they are not going to be corrected, which is why they can sometimes get a bit frantic, jumping around more in relief than joy.

When praise is rewarding to the dog, it can certainly reinforce
behaviour, but it is less precise than a clicker when it comes to
identifying what aspect of the action you are trying to reinforce. The difference is that praise can communicate "you did the whole thing in general", whereas a clicker can communicate "that precise aspect was good". It's a bit like a music teacher saying "you sang the whole song well" versus "that little trill on the high C was just what we have been trying to get". Both have their place.

Q. Can you explain to me how the clicker works as opposed to voice praise then reward?

The clicker, your voice and a piece of food are all tools that you can use in training. How they work depends on how you use them.

There are good ways and bad ways to use all three - and you will find some disagreement amongst trainers about the best way to go.

My view is this:

The standard clicker training method is to first "charge the clicker" by going  <click>/treat, <click>/treat,<click>/treat,<click>/treat,etc. Then start to time your <click> to mark the behaviour that you want to reinforce. Follow the <click> with the food.

In this method, the <click> does several things.

- it marks the behaviour (which allows both the handler and the dog to focus more accurately on what precise behaviour is wanted)

- it has a reinforcing effect in its own right because it has been associated with a food reward

- it predicts that food is coming next, which is a strong reinforcer

- it also creates a general "mood" or feeling in the dog of "oh, good, clicker means training, means rewards, means generally good times" - or at least it should if you are training positively and trying to avoid stressing your dog

The clicker probably has a greater impact on the dog because it is a unique sound (whereas your voice gets "watered down" because your dog is used to hearing it all the time, meaning all sorts of different things. Some people speculate that the brain alerts to a short sharp sound like the clicker, so this adds to the dog's focus.

Using your voice

Of course, there are many ways to use your voice. This is one disadvantage - it is not a unique sound. Some dogs tune out because we over-use our voice. There is the "sit, sit, sit" syndrome, or the "Jelly, Jelly, Jelly, Jelly" syndrome. Both of these teach the dog that your voice means "go on with what you are doing, because I am irrelevant, I'll just stand here calling until you are ready".

Some people use their voice as a reprimand, as praise, as a signal (voice command), to create atmosphere (as in cheerleading) or to generally convey to the dog "hey you, I'm pleased to see you".

If you want to use your voice as a training tool, you have to decide which tool or tools your voice will be used as. "Oh, Poopsie, I'm so disappointed in you" she cooed. This will be more like a reward than a reprimand. The gruff, gravelly "good boy" that some men use sounds to most dogs more like a reprimand than praise.

If you praise then give a food reward:

- the praise could be rewarding in its own right (this is called a primary reinforcer)
- the food, assuming it is also a primary reinforcer, is an additional reward
- the praise also takes on a rewarding character, like the click sound, because it is associated with food (this is called a secondary reinforcer).

This means that praise followed by food makes praise more highly rewarding by association.

Praise can also have the effect (like the clicker) of creating a general a mood or atmosphere. A light hearted or happy tone of voice can convey those emotions to your dog, and your dog may then associate those feelings with whatever is going on - the training exercise, the presence of other dogs, other people and so on.

Praise implies to me a social reward given after the dog has done something.

What is missing in all this is the event marker. The <click> marks the behaviour. It can mark the behaviour accurately because it lasts for a brief moment in time, whereas, praise tends to be strung out over a few seconds. A few seconds might not seem very long, but if you consider how long it takes a dog to start sitting, end up in the sit position and get up again, it all happens very quickly. A well-timed <click> is heard at the moment the dog goes into the sit position. Praise usually spans the whole sequence (or because most people are a bit slow to get started, is mainly heard as the dog gets up.

If you want to use your voice as an event marker, you can do so. This is called a "bridge" ... but a word used as a bridge is not the same as praise.

Q. How do people who are co-ordinationally challenged cope with a clicker?

Most people are co-ordinationally challenged when they start dog
training. Learning the physical skills  takes time. It is definitely
difficult juggling a clicker, food, maybe a toy and holding the lead,
especially if you like to use both hands on the lead (as I do when I am teaching basic walking on the lead) and make use of hand signals. Some people like to wear their clicker on a chain around their neck, or on a wrist band. This can free your hands, but it can also lead to mistiming the click. Some people wear a bag around their waist for the food, because it gives easier access than having a plastic bag in your pocket. Some clicker trainers don't use a lead, which definitely makes things easier to juggle, but it's not an option for me, when people need to learn how to walk their dogs on lead in public. We have had some discussion about Nina Bondarenko's training belt, which allows you to attach the lead to your belt, and have your hands free.

People who have physical difficulties with their hands can use a
whistle, a mouth click or a verbal bridge instead of a clicker. I wonder why someone has not invented a little electronic clicker that makes a sound when you simply pass your thumb over a spot, without any pressure being required.

Q. "If I don't want to use/don't have a clicker, what else can I use?"

1. You can simply rely on a primary reward, such as a piece of food or a toy, given as soon as (or very soon after) your dog does something that you want to reinforce. For simple behaviours, this is good enough. You don't have any event marker, but the fact that the reward is well timed, and is given consistently whenever the dog does the desired action will allow the dog to make the link. However, the reward has to come within a second or two of the action, or the connection is lost and the dog down not learn very much. If you simply reward, you have to do it while your dog is sitting (if that's what you are working on). It's no good to be
digging into your pockets five minutes later.

An event marker will speed up the learning process. It allows you to pinpoint with more accuracy what precisely you are rewarding. For example are you rewarding your dog for starting an action e.g. raising a paw to shake hands, or for raising the paw a bit higher, or for completing the action? In each case, a click communicates more accurately what aspect you are reinforcing. If you don't use an event marker, you lose some of this ability to communicate accurately and fine tune an action.

2. You can use an event marker, sometimes known as a bridge (because it bridges the gap between the dog’s action and the reward), but use something other than a clicker. Some trainers use a whistle instead of a clicker, some use a mouth or tongue click, or some use a special training word called a verbal bridge. A verbal bridge is a word such as "yep". It works best if it is short and sharp, and not used for any other purpose. The bridge or training word is established in the same way as the click sound, i.e. by association. Say "yep" followed by giving a piece of food, and repeat until the dog alerts to the word. Then use the word to mark the behaviour you want to reinforce, followed by giving the food reward.

Praise is different to a verbal bridge or reward word in that it is
usually more prolonged, and is used to create an upbeat atmosphere or to reinforce after the dog does something. It is less accurate at pinpointing specific behaviour.

Other bridges or event markers can be used. For example, marine mammal trainers usually use a whistle instead of a clicker.

CLICKER TRAINING

THREE HOT TIPS

1. Click and reward your dog for offering good behaviour spontaneously, as a way of saying “that’s what I like - give me more of that behaviour.” The offered behaviour could be “four on the floor”, in other words not jumping up, or it could be the beginnings of a trick, such as bowing.

2. Use your clicker to mark small steps in the right direction (such as settling down for a very short time), and then gradually build on that.

3. Click to help you dog to understand what aspect of his behaviour you are rewarding. For example, if your dog sits then raises her front paw, your timing will dtermine whether the act of sitting or the act of raising her paw is reinforced. 

THREE PITFALLS

1. Don’t use your clicker as an attention getter

2. Don’t forget to give your dog a food reward after each click

3. Don’t combine clicker training with correction or reprimand, or you will lose the benefits of it ~ your dog’s positive attitude and willingness to offer behaviour.