Clicker Training Puppies Teaches Good Behavior That Lasts a Lifetime

Did you know that many dog trainers don't use a food bowl for their dogs? They make their dogs earn each and every piece of kibble they eat. This might sound a bit extreme to you, but this is exactly how dogs live in nature. If they don't learn how to work for food--they die!

For this reason, food is commonly used a reinforcer for clicker training dogs. Dogs and puppies are very motivated to work for food. However, many dog owners don't understand the basics of clicker training because they’re under the false impression that only food and treats can be used as reinforcers.

When clicker training your puppy you want to use a reinforcer that is presented with correct timing to the dog. This can be anything the puppy likes, such as toys, play time, a pat on the head, etc.

During the initial learning phase it’s usually best to use food and treats to reinforce the desired behavior. This is because toys, play time and petting can often slow down the training process.

However, once your puppy starts to “get it” these other things can certainly be used as reinforcers while clicker training your puppy. In fact, varying the types of reinforcers you offer is recommended to keep things interesting and unpredictable.

Some owners find it difficult to train with treats because the puppy is “finicky” when it comes to food. This usually occurs for two reasons:

1. The puppy has recently eaten a meal and isn’t hungry.
2. The owner is not using treats that are unique to training and/or better than the puppies normal dinner.

An easy solution is not to feed your puppy any food or treats 4-6 hours before training time (you can go longer if the puppy is older than a few months old or so) and to only use highly palatable treats that the puppy only gets during training time.

Remember that the clicker and treats are only used for learning a new behavior or for performing the learned behavior in a new or more challenging environment. Once the behavior is learned you don’t need to reinforce with treats on a regular basis (although your puppy certainly won’t mind if you did!).

It’s usually a good idea NOT to use store-bought puppy treats during clicker training. This is because most commercial products take too long to chew--and that’s going to mess up your timing. Plus--puppies have a short attention span. In the middle of chewing he might decide that chasing his tail seems like more fun!

Clicker training your puppy can be a very rewarding experience and will teach your puppy good behavior that will last a lifetime.