A common dog training tool used are clickers. Clickers are a small device that makes a distinctive “click” sound when you push the button. When training your pet to do something like sit, when you get your dog to sit you click and immediately give him or her a treat. Eventually you can stop giving treats and just use the clicker and get the same results. The “click” lets your pet know that they have done something good or desirable.
This clear form of communication, combined with positive reinforcement, is an effective, safe, and humane way to teach any animal any behavior that it is physically and mentally capable of doing.
There are two stories of how the clicker came about, which of the two are correct, I have no idea.
One story says: Clicker training came about when Marian Kruse and Keller Breland, while studying as graduate students of Psychologist B.F. Skinner, taught wild-caught pigeons to bowl while participating in military research, and later was used in training at least 140 species including whales, bears, lions and domestic dogs and cats, and even humans.
The other story says: Modern clicker training originated in the 1960s in big marine parks like Sea World. Trainers like Karen Pryor wanted to move beyond training seals and parrots – they wanted to train dolphins and orcas (killer whales). The problem is conventional training did not work with large, powerful marine species that cannot be restrained or forced to perform.
Regardless of who created dog clicker training, the clicker is an amazing tool which creates a safe and humane environment to train your beloved dog.
The cheapest place that I’ve found them to buy is on Amazon.
