Want to know 3 easy steps to clicker train your Vizsla fast?
I understand how you feel… I spent 12 months with an ‘out of control’ boy before I found relief.
Whatever kind of dog you have, clicker dog training is one of the most effective and impressive methods for controlling and dictating a dog’s behaviour when trying to teach them basic commands. It takes very little time to master clicker training and with a well operated clicker, you can teach your dog nearly anything.
The Theory Behind Clicker Training
The idea behind clicker training is that you’re teaching your dog to associate the sound of the clicker – a strong, sharp sound that they can hear from 20+ yards away – with a specific command you give. The goal of the training is to mark specific desirable behaviour and then reward it with the sound of the clicker.
Training doesn’t start with the clicker. You’ve got to first teach your Vizsla that the clicker is a reward for good behavior. This can be achieved with a bag of treats and a simple 2 dollar clicker from your local pet store.
Why should you follow this method?
* Your Vizsla will connect the clicker with ‘doing a good job’ and ‘receiving a treat’ only
* Verbal commands are given in a variety of situations – this can cause confusion in your dog’s mind and therefore verbal commands are often not as strong as a clicker response
Clicker Training – The Method
There are 3 very easy steps to train your dog to respond to a clicker.
Step 1. Entice the behavior – ask your Vizsla to do something you desire. It can be sitting, heeling, lying down, or whatever other behaviours you are attempting to teach.
Step 2. After you’ve gotten them to perform their behaviour, mark it with a click.
Step 3. Give a reward.
It generally takes only 2 or 3 markings before your dog learns the connection between the behavior and the click.
Once the Vizsla has done the behavior and received their reward, continue the process to reinforce the behavior as much as possible. You don’t need to use treats ever single time. Praise and petting work just as well and can eventually change the behavior.
Clicker obedience training is effective because of the speed of the connection between behaviour and click in the dog’s mind. An oral command on the other hand can take a little longer to train.
Transitioning towards a Command
Once your Vizsla has associated the new behaviour with the click – it is time to transition to a command.
Step 1. Say the command Step 2. Click Step 3. Give a Reward
Your dog will quickly learn to associate all 3 steps.
Ultimately, with good clicker canine obedience training, a dog will make a response to an oral cue and praise for their action and then they can simply learn it. The necessity for treats or praise will be gone and the dog will simply know the action pleases you.
As you might imagine, clicker dog training has a number of applications. It can make training your Vizsla so much easier in many ways. With a simple, sharp command, you can mark and reinforce nearly any behaviour.
The question is, can you alter your Vizsla’s bad behaviours for good? Yes you can! Download Andrew Cox’s free e-book on How To STOP Your Vizsla’s Obedience Problems For Good!, and become the APLHA dog.
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