Marker training has been used with marine mammals for years, and is a clear, effective way to communicate with animals. Traditionally these trainers use a clicker. A clicker is a small plastic box with a metal tab that makes a clicking sound when pressed. The click acts as a marker to let an animal know the exact moment they are doing the desired behavior. Why would an animal care if you click? Because each click is followed by a treat! Animals learn quickly that “click equals treat,” so they try to figure out how to make us humans “click.”
In pet dog training we like to substitute the clicker for the word, "yes". Since dogs are a little more in-tune with humans and we often don't need the exact precision that comes with a clicker. Why "yes" instead of shouting, “Eureka!” or “You’ve got it!” or "Good Dog? Because a yes is faster and shorter, you can say it in much the same way every time.. Long words or phrases are not preferable since we want to make it very clear what exactly the dog did that was correct.
There are various ways to get your dog to do something that will earn a mark and reward. Luring means leading your dog into position by having him follow a treat. Shaping means rewarding progressive bits of a behavior. For example, to get your dog to lie down from a sit, you might mark and reward at first for a slight dip of the head, then for the head lowered further, then for head lowered further combined with one paw reaching forward, and so on until your dog was fully lying down. Luring and shaping are often combined. Capturing a behavior means marking each time your dog happens to do it on his own. For example, if you mark and reward each time your dog voluntarily makes eye contact, you will soon have a dog who is staring at you! In marker training, we do not add the verbal cue (for example, “Down”) until after the dog is performing the behavior correctly. Once they've “got it” and is freely offering the behavior, we simply add the verbal cue just before the dog starts doing the behavior, thus creating an association in their mind. That allows us to then elicit the behavior by giving the verbal cue.
Have fun!
In pet dog training we like to substitute the clicker for the word, "yes". Since dogs are a little more in-tune with humans and we often don't need the exact precision that comes with a clicker. Why "yes" instead of shouting, “Eureka!” or “You’ve got it!” or "Good Dog? Because a yes is faster and shorter, you can say it in much the same way every time.. Long words or phrases are not preferable since we want to make it very clear what exactly the dog did that was correct.
There are various ways to get your dog to do something that will earn a mark and reward. Luring means leading your dog into position by having him follow a treat. Shaping means rewarding progressive bits of a behavior. For example, to get your dog to lie down from a sit, you might mark and reward at first for a slight dip of the head, then for the head lowered further, then for head lowered further combined with one paw reaching forward, and so on until your dog was fully lying down. Luring and shaping are often combined. Capturing a behavior means marking each time your dog happens to do it on his own. For example, if you mark and reward each time your dog voluntarily makes eye contact, you will soon have a dog who is staring at you! In marker training, we do not add the verbal cue (for example, “Down”) until after the dog is performing the behavior correctly. Once they've “got it” and is freely offering the behavior, we simply add the verbal cue just before the dog starts doing the behavior, thus creating an association in their mind. That allows us to then elicit the behavior by giving the verbal cue.
- The marker word should not be used to get your dog’s attention; that would only confuse him.
- While the timing of the marker is very important, almost no one has perfect timing at first.
- Don’t worry; your timing will improve with practice. In the meantime, if you mark a bit early or late, your dog still gets the treat.
- Keep practice sessions short. Aim for three to five sessions of three to five minutes daily, broken into 30-second rounds; work on one behavior per round. Break up the rounds with short play/petting sessions. End each round and session on a good performance.
- Change undesirable behaviors by marking alternate ones. If your dog jumps, mark for four paws on the floor or sitting instead. For a barking problem, mark and reward for silence.
- When working on a behavior such as sit or down, after clicking, toss the treat a short distance away so your dog has to stand to get it. That sets him up for the next repetition.
Have fun!
RSS Feed