Clicker Training for Dogs: What It Is and How to Get Started

Last week we looked at two common ways of teaching dogs new behaviours — luring and shaping.

This week, we’re adding another really useful tool to your training toolbox: the clicker.

A clicker can be used with lots of different training methods, but it’s especially handy for shaping because it lets you mark the exact moment your dog does the thing you want.

If you’ve never used a clicker before, it can seem a bit strange at first.

Why would making a little clicking sound help train a dog?

The simple answer is that a clicker gives your dog a really clear way of knowing:

“Yes — that exact thing you just did is what I wanted.”

That makes it especially useful when teaching new behaviours, tricks and shaping exercises.

What is clicker training?

A clicker is a small handheld training tool that makes a consistent clicking sound.

The click itself isn’t the reward.

Instead, the click acts as a marker.

It marks the exact moment your dog does the behaviour you want, and then a reward follows.

Think of it like taking a photo of the exact moment your dog got it right.

Click = Yes, that was it. Reward is coming.

Why use a clicker?

Dogs are constantly moving, and sometimes by the time you reach into your pocket and give them a treat, they’ve already done three other things.

The click helps make your timing much clearer.

For example, imagine you’re teaching your dog to put their front feet onto a small platform/target.

The second their paw touches the platform:

Click.

Then give the treat.

That click tells your dog exactly which action earned the reward.

This is one reason clickers can be so helpful with shaping, where you are rewarding lots of tiny steps towards a finished behaviour.

First, you need to prime the clicker

Before you start using the clicker to teach anything, your dog needs to understand that the sound predicts a reward.

I call this priming the clicker.

It’s very simple:

1. Click.

2. Give your dog a treat.

3. Repeat.

At this stage, your dog doesn’t need to do anything.

You’re simply teaching:

Click = treat is coming.

After several repetitions, most dogs quickly start to recognise that the click means something good.

The golden rule: if you click, reward

Once your dog understands the clicker, one of the most important rules is:

If you click, you need to reward.

Even if you clicked accidentally!

The click is a promise that a reward is coming.

You don’t want your dog wondering whether sometimes the click means food and sometimes it doesn’t.

Timing matters

The click needs to happen at the exact moment your dog does the thing you want.

If you’re teaching a sit, click when their bottom hits the ground.

If you’re teaching them to touch a target, click when their nose or paw touches it.

If you’re shaping them to step into a box, click the instant they put a paw inside.

You can give the treat a moment later.

The click is what tells the dog which behaviour earned the reward.

You don’t have to use a clicker forever

A clicker is mainly useful while your dog is learning.

Once they understand the behaviour well, you don’t need to click every single repetition forever.

You can gradually move away from the clicker as the behaviour becomes established.

Think of it as a teaching tool, rather than something your dog has to rely on permanently.

Clicker training and shaping

Clickers and shaping work especially well together.

With shaping, you aren’t showing your dog the entire finished behaviour.

Instead, you’re rewarding small steps in the right direction.

A clicker lets you clearly mark those tiny moments.

For example, if your goal is for your dog to get inside a box, you might click for:

• looking at the box

• moving towards it

• touching it

• putting one paw in

• putting two paws in

• eventually standing completely inside it

The click helps your dog work out exactly what is earning the reward.

Can you use a word instead?

Absolutely.

You can use a marker word such as “yes” instead of a clicker.

The advantage of a clicker is that the sound is always very consistent and can be extremely precise.

Our voices can change depending on our mood, tone or timing, whereas the click always sounds the same.

But both can work well.

The most important thing is consistency.

Keep each session focused

When you’re first using a clicker, keep each training session focused on one behaviour or one goal at a time.

For example, if you’re shaping your dog to get into a box, work on that during the session rather than switching halfway through to teaching a spin or a down.

Keeping the session focused makes it much easier for your dog to work out what is earning the click.

You can always finish, have a break, and work on something different in another short session later.

Common clicker training mistakes

A few things to avoid:

• clicking too late

• clicking repeatedly instead of once

• clicking to get your dog’s attention

• forgetting to reward after clicking

• asking for too much too quickly

• making training sessions too long

Keep sessions short, simple and fun.

Sometimes just a few minutes is plenty.

What can you teach with a clicker?

Almost anything!

Clickers can be useful for teaching:

• tricks

• loose lead walking

• recall

• settling on a mat

• handling behaviours

• shaping exercises

• confidence around new objects

• agility skills

• husbandry and cooperative care

The more accurate your timing becomes, the easier it is for your dog to understand exactly what you are rewarding.

What’s coming next?

Now that we’ve covered luring, shaping and clicker training, we’re going to start putting it all into practice.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some simple Shine Training Challenges for you to try at home with your own dog.

We’ll start with a luring challenge, then move into shaping exercises.

And we want you to join in!