Dennis and I are going to start clicker training!

I'm probably slightly (a lot) biased but Dennis does so many cute things.

Miniature Pinschers are known for what is adorably referred to as a 'prancing gait' (which basically means they walk like they're doing dressage). Sometimes when he's excited, he taps his paws like he's doing a little tap dance. I often think to myself “aww, I wish I could make him do that on command!”

Then I realised it was absolutely possible and I just hadn't been committed enough to try it out. The answer is clicker training! Of course. People are training cockatiels and llamas and kids with clickers these days. How hard can it be to train a dopey, unruly mutt with a short attention spa-... oh shit.

~What do we need for our mission?~

1 clicker

We already had one of these from years ago, where it proved popular with our elderly poodle, Sid. They're widely available online and basically consist of a small plastic case housing a piece of bent metal that, when pressed down with your finger, will make a 'click' noise, followed by a second 'click' noise when you release your finger (resulting in a clear, consistent 'clickclick').

You don't necessarily have to buy a clicker. Apparently some people use pens or even a small light, which can work for dogs with hearing impairments.

Some clickers, like ours, have a nice plastic button on top to press instead of pressing the metal directly. This makes it easier to click using other parts of your anatomy (I'm thinking of palms/feet, what were you thinking of?)

I made sure ours still clicks, because that would have been quite an anticlimactic first training session otherwise.

Some small, highly desirable treats

The basic idea is to find something as irresistible as possible, so your dog will be enthusiastic and keen to work for it.

For our first session, I raided the fridge for the smelliest, most mouthwatering treat I could find. I toyed with the brie, but decided on some sliced roast beef, which is a little less slimy to handle.

I snipped the beef into slightly smaller than pea-sized pieces using a pair of scissors – he's only a little dog and the point is to reward him with small tastes of victory, not lay on a banquet.

Common sense dictates that the ideal time to start is when your dog is hungry, which for Dennis is literally any time.

1 dog

Big ears optional.

~Why am I clicking at my dog?~

I want Dennis to associate the clicking sound with a reward (note: the click is not the reward, it's a signal that tells him “you're going to get a reward!”).

Then when Dennis performs behaviours that I want to reward, I can click at the exact moment that he performs the behaviour. This will tell him that whatever he is doing in that split-second is going to get rewarded.

Also note: I do not need to click 'at' him. He only needs to hear the sound of the clicker rather than pay any attention to it visually (it's better that he looks at me), which is why I keep it behind my back or at my side.

~Why can't I just give him treats or say a word like 'good' or 'yes'?~

I could do that, but it works out far more efficient to use a clicker because it is a distinct, consistent sound that can be done easily at a precise moment.

Simply giving him the treat can often be too slow to do at a precise moment and it's just not practical if he's moving around or is some distance away from me.

Saying a word can also be tricky to time correctly and it isn't as consistent as a clicking noise because our voices differ slightly each time and can unintentionally convey an array of different emotions.

A common analogy is that clicking the clicker is a bit like clicking a camera and taking a snapshot of the exact moment the dog does what you want. Hopefully I can 'take snapshots' of all the cute things he does and eventually train him to do them on command :D

See how Dennis gets on in subsequent posts!