Clicker training is one of the most effective ways of training your dog, and makes use of a small plastic box which contains a metal strip that makes a “click” sound when pressed. This is called the clicker, and it’s an essential tool for use with clicker training. How does clicker training work though?

By using clicker training, we can clearly communicate with our dogs by employing a little consistency and co-operation. We can use it to correct any existing unwanted behaviours, but we can also use it to help shape and reinforce new behaviour too. Dogs learn by the immediate effects of their actions, and by using positive reinforcement; clicker training takes full advantage of that.

By focusing on what your dog is doing right, rather than what it is doing wrong; with a little consistency, clicker training can potentially produce fast results. Clicker training is also fun and simple to implement, and helps build a strong bond between you and your dog. You can train a dog of any age using clicker training, but the best time to start is obviously when your dog is still a puppy. Older dogs can still be trained too; it just requires a little more patience.

Clicker training involves the use of the clicker we mentioned earlier which is simply used to mark a new behaviour or desired action. For instance, if you’re teaching your dog to sit, you’ll mark the desired action (the dog sitting) with a “click”. This is positive reinforcement, and helps your dog learn over time to associate the click sound with having done something correctly. Just think of the clicker as a substitute for verbal praise.

When your dog does the right thing, you praise it. However, the way in which you praise it might vary greatly; especially the tone of your voice, which is what the dog will pick up on since it doesn’t understand words. If you aren’t consistent, the dog may become confused. The advantage of a clicker here is that it always produces the same sound. They key here is consistency.

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There are several ways of potty training your puppy or dog but probably the most straight forward and popular is called the direct method. Basically this means regularly taking your dog outside and actively praising and treating her whenever she goes where she should.

For young puppies, their bladder is quite small, so they will need to go out every hour or so to start off and gradually learn to hold it longer and longer as they get older.

If you should happen upon your dog or puppy having an accident inside the house, immediately pick him or her up and take her out to the designated spot. Although it can be very frustrating you should never hit or shout at your dog as this will only encourage mistrust and with younger puppies will probably only make them urinate more due to nerves.

It is also very important that you never scold you dog for a mess if you do not catch her in the act. Dogs live in the now and so any scolding will only confuse your dog as it will not associate it with the mess it has made.

Housebreaking a Dog can be a patience testing and frustrating experience but after a few weeks of using the correct methods you will wonder what all the fuss was about. If you want to teach your puppy to be well behaved and obedient, you can get a comprehensive dog training handbook at http://www.thedogtrainingsite.info covering all aspects of dog ownership, from understanding your dog to problem-solving to complete obedience work.

Sadly, there are still people out there who think that clicker training is ineffective and worse yet; some even believe that this impressive training process should only be employed on circus dogs!

That’s absolutely nuts!

You see, with proper behavioral fluency and shaping techniques, one can train a dog to do just about anything with a clicker.

I learned these training techniques from an online clicker academy blueprint manual and trust me – you can use clicker for aggression, obedience, leashing, potty, crate training and more.

It’s all a matter of shaping each individual behavior using proper clicker tactics, and further refining the fluency of that particular behavior until the dog can finally perform it without positive reinforcers.

Listen, if you’re interested in obtaining that dog clicker training method manual, I will show you where to download it in just a bit – for now, use the following exercise to improve your dog’s behavior fluency.

It’s called…

The mini floor pad front feet exercise.

This is a targeting exercise. If you can get your dog to master this exercise, then you’ll be able to teach your dog many additional training exercises that are more advanced and fun.

(1) Place a mini floor pad on the ground near to the dog. If your dog places his front feet on the pad, immediately click and reward a treat.

(2) Move the pad slightly further away. If your dog follows you and steps on the pad with his front feet – repeat the process, click and then reward. Your clicks must be precise and from my experience, you don’t need a lot of clicks to make your dog capture this behavior naturally. This is a good clicker training method and should be performed regularly.

As stated earlier, here’s where you can download a complete A – Z, step-by-step clicker training course with full video exercises. Just follow this link to download without having to wait for shipping time: http://www.positivehomedogtraining.com/

do you think using a mix of methods works better than just one?

Puppies usually are apt to fight any training. In order to start this training, a puppy needs to first be introduced to and become comfortable with a collar. A buckle type collar is best and should be securely yet comfortably fastened. The puppy will try to get out of it at first, and here it is important that you encourage him or her. Do not punish or scold him. Within a few days your puppy will be completely at home with the collar and you can start lead training
techniques.

The problems encountered with leash training

Just as a puppy will fight a collar at first, so too will they fight the leash. A puppy will bite the leash, refuse to move or pull ahead. In any of these instances there are appropriate training techniques designed to overcome their resistance. Leash training can be challenging yet it is necessary for their safety. It is also important to remember that leash training is only one part of puppy training. If it is conducted correctly leash training will ensure that your pup grows into a happy and well behaved dog.

Puppy leash training should be short and fun initially. The goal is to instill in your pet that walking on a leash requires acceptable behavior. Delivering a consistent and positive message to your puppy will provide good results.

Punishment vs. reinforcement

Leash training should never involve punishment. Shouting, scolding or smacking are simply unacceptable. The more a puppy is punished the more they will associate leash walking as a bad experience. If this happens it will be almost impossible to train them to walk correctly on a leash. Pulling, pushing or carrying a puppy will not enforce good behavior.

Praise him or give him treats. There is nothing wrong with tempting a puppy with treats while there is everything right with praise and love. Remember a puppy’s aim is to please. If they associate walking on a leash with praise and fun they will be first in line at the door when it is walking time.

Patience and consistency are keys. It is also suggested that training on a leash begin early on. Right from day one it is not too early to start training. If lead training is done in the correct way with the right techniques a puppy will not fear or dread it. If their first experience results in fear or stress you can rest assured that they will forever dread the leash.

What you want to accomplish is a puppy or dog that views walking on a leash as a treat, not a punishment. Once a puppy understands what is expected from him or her it is important that an owner allows them lots of practice. Start off with small and short sessions and be consistent and chances are you will find puppy leash training as a pleasant experience for both the master and the doggy.

You may think that it is difficult to train puppies and older dogs to take your command to go to the bathroom. Most dogs can pay attention to repeated words, and they are able to associate the words to what you want them to do. For example, if you continue to say “go potty” when your dog is out there relieving itself, it will remember your word.

The best method on how to potty train your dog is by word association. You can make your dog associates the command “go potty” with relieving itself if you do this repeatedly over a period of time. If your dog relieves inside the house, you can say, “No, go outside,” then bring your dog outdoors. Over a while, your dog will associate this command with something they should not do inside the house but outside.

In most guidebooks on “how to potty train your dog”, it will never mention that you need to spank your dog while you’re doing word association training. Through repeated word command, your dog will link the word ‘no’ with bad conduct, and it will learn to go outside the house.

One important thing you must do is to bring your dog outside the house and tell your dog to go potty. You have to leave it outside the house until it has done with its business. Continue with this instruction to “go potty” until your dog finally does. You should credit your dog by praising it with a little treat for doing a great job. The dog will associate this command with what you want it to do so it can get a treat. After a while, your dog will learn that ‘go potty’ outside the house will make you happy.

You should pick a specific location for your dog to relieve itself as the dog will also associate this location with the command of “go potty”. Be very precise and clear on your command when you train your dog on word association. Always be consistent. Do not use different command phrases to mean the same thing as your dog will not understand this and will become confused.

Please visit our Potty Dog Training Website for more helpful tips on how to potty train your dog within just 7 days.

IMO, the whole new age “politically correct” treats/clicker training is not nearly as effective.

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