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| Max is a clicker trained service dog. Max was cat aggressive when I started training him; he now lives with a cat and enjoys playing with it all because of clicker training. |
Many of these trainers have published articles on the Internet or in books were they claim that the only way to train a dog is by correcting behavior when the dog fails instead of rewarding when the dog succeeds. They believe in using collars which cause pain such as prong, choke, martingale or e-collars. These trainers hide behind terminology which softens what they really do to dogs.
One trainer has been filmed slapping a dog in the face when he became angry with its owner. He has also been filmed running dogs into trees, slapping dogs in the face when they're looking at him to teach them leave it, holding dogs up by their collars to teach them sit and encourages jerking on a dog's neck with such force that the dog loses its footing. This trainer claims the dogs are learning, but in truth the dogs show severe fear signals and many dogs show signs of shutting down while he is working with them. This is not training but abuse which he labels as training.
Another well-known trainer uses a claw hand, body pressure, foot kicks, finger taps and leash snaps to correct dogs that he sets up to fail. He has a great following with fans who completely believe in him and defend him even after they are shown what he's doing is causing fear and pain to the dogs.
I recently read on online eBook in which another traditional trainer outlined the myths of clicker training. The words that he used, the examples that he used and the tone that he used all indicated that he was angry when he wrote those words. Though in this article I will not address what he said in that eBook, what I will address is what clicker training does both for dogs and their owners.
The primary argument by the traditional trainers is that a dog trained using food rewards will stop performing cues if no food reward is shown. Their belief is that food is shown to the dog as a bribe instead of given to the dog as a reward for a completed task. They also believe that once the dog has been trained a certain behavior that the food reward stops immediately instead of being faded away. This miss concept has led them to believe that any trainer that uses food does not actually teach the dog the behavior, but instead bribes the dog and claims the dog has been trained.
In a world where a whole meal can be microwaved in less than 10 minutes is it any wonder that people believe a dog can be taught complex concepts in less than 30 minutes? Television programs which show trainers working with dogs who have serious emotional issues and show them being "fixed" in just a few minutes has led many pet owners to believe that a dog simply needs to be corrected and it'll know what it is supposed to do.
Instead of looking at this as somebody training a dog and using a method that someone else does not agree with, why not look at this from a different perspective? Let's look at a story and see which method you would prefer.
Bo has a difficult personality. Bo will not sit when told, starts fights, has bitten three people, and runs away and will not come when called. Bo is brought to a "specialist" to teach him how to behave.
Specialist A believes that Bo is a red-zone case and is dominating the people around him. Specialist A places a slip lead on Bo and tells Bo to sit. Bo does not sit, so Specialist A "does a correction" by pulling on the slip lead quickly. Bo cries out and tries to move away from Specialist A, who then "taps" Bo in the soft spot between his ribs and hip. Bo cries out and tries to bite Specialist A, who then uses a "claw hand" like a mouth on the soft spot between Bo's jaw and shoulders. Bo folds, drops his head and lowers his shoulders, at which point Specialist A feels Bo is now being submissive.
Specialist B believes that Bo is dominate and puts a partial slip collar on Bo. Specialist B then pulls up on the attached leash and waits until Bo sits. Bo is shaking and looking away while Specialist B explains what he is doing. Bo stands up and Specialist B slaps Bo in the face and then pulls up on the lead again. Bo quickly sits and Specialist B says Bo understands what the command sit means now.
Specialist C watches Bo for serveral minutes and realizes Bo needs a lot of personal space to feel safe. Specialist C takes out a toy and offers it to Bo. Bo does not look at Specialist C, but growls and moves away from Specialist C. Specialist C thanks Bo for growling and tosses the toy to Bo. Bo backs away from the toy and then goes to it and starts to play. At this point Bo looks at Specialist C, who then tosses another toy to Bo. Bo's head stays up and his body relaxes. After a moment Bo comes to Specialist C and takes a toy from Specialist C's hands. Bo looks at Speicalist C again and again Specialist C offers a toy which Bo takes. Bo shows Specialist C this makes him happy.
Bo is an autistic boy.
Specialists A & B are traditional trainers.
Specialist C is a clicker trainer.
If Bo was your son, would you want Bo to be helped by Specialist A or B? What about Specialist C?
That answer is clear when a child is involved. Parents recognize their children, special needs or not, need non-abusive guidance, not painful and/or frightening learning methods. They would quickly move to stop an adult from harming their child long before the slap or the kick, yet when it comes to a beloved pet dog, they trust the trainer and allow them to do to their dog what they would never allow to happen to their child.
If our children went to class everyday and where only corrected for what they did wrong, we would quickly see their self confidence, willingness to learn and happiness leave them. Ever been in a Kindergarten or first grade classroom when an instructor has asked a student a question they can answer? Hands fly up, bodies lean in, eyebrows raise and even some butts leave the seat! These are children eager to hear they are correct. Ever watched the child who thought he had the answer and when the teacher said, "No" saw their face collapse, their body slump and their head drop?
I attended many classrooms where students were encouraged to offer ideas or try solutions to problems and when they were "almost" right or missed the mark on the answer the teacher simply said, "No, who else?" and saw those children offer answers or solutions less and less as the weeks went by. I have also been in classrooms where the teacher said, "That was a good try, can you think of something else?" and the student stays involved and continues over the weeks to offer solutions or answers, even if they may be wrong, because there was a reward for trying!
Why then do we expect a dog, who is much like an autistic child in how he learns, to react in a positive manner when all we tell him is what he's done wrong? How do we expect him to know what he did wrong at all? If you tell him to sit, but he's looking at another dog and doesn't and you then jerk on his collar he may believe that looking at the dog was why you jerked on his collar, not that he didn't sit.
When thinking of a child learning a new task or skill the answer is clear to most people; use the positive method that will encourage the child and increase his success and confidence. Yet, when presented with the same choices for their pets, they choose the exact opposite.
Clicker training is not bribing a dog, but rewarding a dog in the currency he values. For some it is praise and affection, others its play and many it's food. The high amount of food used to teach the desired behavior is slowly faded as the dog understands and offers the behavior, willingly and without fear. It's their paycheck for solving a problem.
Service, military, search and rescue, therapy, bomb sniffing, drug sniffing, competition and pet dogs all learn solid, real life skills without pain, fear or compulsion. They learn to trust, love and respect the person teaching them and the bond between the dog and human is stronger.
Clicker training does not ruin dogs. Clicker training is a scientifically proven method of learning used for not just dogs, but sea mammals, zoo animals, gold fish, cats and any animal that can eat and learn. It teaches real world skills. A service dog would not be able to work outside of the training facility if clicker training did not work!
Clicker training can also be used to help fearful or aggressive dogs! A "red-zone" dog does not need to be corrected for unwanted behavior, but rewarded for wanted behavior! When a dog knows what is wanted or expected of them, their fear and aggression lessens. There are several clicker trainers who work with "red-zone" or fearful dogs successfully.
Remember, a dog is much like an autistic child; though he can learn he has to be taught the same lesson several times before he clearly understands it. To keep the dog engaged the trainer rewards the correct behavior and ignores the behavior they don't want. Over time the dog learns what pays (picking it up) and what doesn't (putting my foot on it) and offers what pays and stops offering what doesn't. The dog is happier, more confident and more willing to continue learning when it's told what it did right.
Clicker training may take longer and is not as flashy as some of the TV personalities, it works better and has greater overall benefits for both owner and dog. Please enjoy the below video which shows positive re-enforcement training for a leash reactive dog.
For more on clicker training and how it works please visit:
Karen Pryor - http://www.clickertraining.com/karen
Sue Ailsby - http://sue-eh.ca
Kathy Sado - http://www.kathysdao.com/
Clicker Training - http://clickertraining.com
CK Bales
Owner - Tao Service Dogs
Member of APDT
