Dogs And Clicker Training

I first used clickers back in the 1990’s. I subscribed to Karen Pryor’s newsletter, bought her book, Don’t Shoot The Dog, and purchased some clickers. I even had a brief phone call with Karen Pryor about their usage. I read other material as well, got videos, discussed with other trainers, etc. 

Over the years, I faded out the use of clickers. The promise of clicker training didn’t live up to the hype. It used to be that you’d see a bucket of clickers at the checkout of the major retail pet stores. That went away, too. Go into your local pet store and you’ll be lucky to find one, and if you do, it will usually be a large and clunky version for too much money. 

I got to the point where I stopped using them altogether.

But I’m never static. I re-visited them about 3 years ago, and I have found new ways for my students to use them. I have a clicker in my pocket right now.

I teach and use them without the mystique. They have very useful purposes when blended in with other methods and tools. Sometimes old is new.

If you are looking to upgrade what you are doing, then clickers are worth a second look. However, if you buy a lot of the old videos and books, you will get turned off as I did. No need to wade through all of that. 

In the right hands, with the right instruction, there are good results to be gained. However, the old style, purely clicker programs are still making the same mistakes from years ago and getting nowhere. If you are interested in my classes and want to discover the nifty ways I now use them in training, then schedule some lessons. Here are the types of clickers I use:

Box Clickers: Inexpensive, easily hidden in a hand.

Larger clickers with a lanyard: Best for situations where you don’t want to lose your clicker since it is on the wrist, on your training pouch, or on a counter.

I recommend buying multiple clickers. It is too easy to lose them or forget them on the way to a lesson. Have a couple at home, one in the car, one in your training pouch, and another in your pocket. I generally purchase 10 at a time. **

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