Clicker Training for Dogs: Master Basic Training, Common Cues, and Fun Tricks in 15 Minutes a Day
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DURATION10 repetitions per day for 3 weeks
MATERIALSclicker, treats, 3 matching opaque cups
CUES USEDSit, Stay
How to teach your dog to knock the cup over
1. Cue your dog to Sit and Stay.
2. Set a treat on the floor.
3. Cover the treat with a cup.
4. Release your dog to find the treat by saying “Okay” and pointing toward the cup.
5. When your dog knocks over the cup and finds the treat, click to mark their behavior as correct.
6. Reward with the treat under the cup.
Adding multiple cups
1. Cue your dog to Sit and Stay.
2. Set a treat on the floor and cover the treat with a cup.
3. Set out two or three additional cups in a line next to the first cup.
4. Switch the cups around so your dog can no longer tell which cup has the treat.
5. Release your dog to pick the correct cup by saying “Okay, find it” and pointing toward the cup.
6. When your dog knocks over the cup and finds the treat, click to mark their behavior as correct.
7. Reward with the treat under the cup.
8. If your dog doesn’t pick the right cup, start again.
PRO TIP: Start with a treat that has a strong smell. The less smelly the treat, the harder the game will be for your dog.
EXERCISE 44
Obstacle Course
Creating a homemade obstacle course is entertaining for the whole family. Using common items, such as a broom, a chair, and a towel, you can build agility obstacles easily in your living room. Never raise the jump much higher than your dog’s knee height so that your dog can practice many repetitions without putting too much pressure on their joints. If your dog seems nervous about the obstacle, set a few treats near it and let them explore it at their own pace.
DURATIONOnce a day for 4 weeks
MATERIALSclicker, treats, blanket, chair, dog bed, pair of shoes, broom
CUES USEDGo to Your Spot, Stay
Chair tunnel
1. Lay the blanket across the seat of the chair to create a tunnel.
2. Hold your clicker in one hand and a treat in the other.
3. Hold the treat close to your dog’s nose and use it to lure them through the chair tunnel.
4. When your dog goes through the tunnel, click to mark their behavior as correct.
5. Reward with a treat.
Go to Your Spot and Stay
1. Send your dog to their bed and cue them to Stay.
2. After 5 seconds, release them with “Okay.”
3. Click to mark their behavior as correct, and reward with a treat.
Luring a jump
1. Set a pair of shoes about 4 feet apart.
2. Place the broom on top of the shoes to create a jump.
3. Hold the clicker in one hand and a treat in the other.
4. Lure your dog to stand on one side of the jump.
5. Hold a treat close to their nose and use it to guide them toward the jump.
6. When you get close to the jump, toss the treat over the jump to encourage your dog to jump over with good form.
7. Click to mark your dog as correct as they go over the jump.
8. The reward will be the treat you tossed.
Putting them together: Set up the three obstacles in a row and cue your dog to go through the whole course before rewarding.
PRO TIP: Toss the treat to keep your dog jumping in proper form. You want your dog to be looking down or straight ahead, rather than up, while jumping.
EXERCISE 45
Pac-Man
Test your dog’s arcade skills with this impulse control game. When playing Pac-Man, cue your dog to Stay while you set up. Once you’ve made your Pac-Man maze, release your dog to chomp down their treat trail. Reinforcing patience will help your dog understand that patience is something that pays off highly.
DURATION 2 repetitions per day for 2 weeks
MATERIALSclicker, treats
CUES USEDSit, Stay, Leave It
How to play Pac-Man
1. Cue your dog to Sit and Stay.
2. Set a treat on the ground and cue your dog to Leave It.
3. Take a few steps back and set another treat on the ground. You can space them farther out over time.
4. Start with three treats, then add more to create patterns with the treats.
5. When you’re done, click to mark your dog’s behavior as correct, and release with “Okay” to send them on their Pac-Man journey to get the treats.
If your dog gets up at any point before you release them, pick up the treats and start over.
PRO TIP: Use tiny treats so you can make a long maze without overfeeding your dog.
EXERCISE 46
Nose Target
Teaching your dog to touch their nose to an object is a great way to burn physical and mental energy. Nose targeting is a concept often used in service dog training. Target sticks are commonly used, but you can use anything your dog can touch their nose to. Food toys tend to work best.
DURATION10 repetitions per day for 4 weeks
MATERIALSclicker, treats, food toy (such as a KONG toy)
CUES USEDTouch
How to teach a nose target
1. Start with the dog in the sit position (A).
2. Present the item you want your dog to touch their nose to out in front of you (B).
3. When they touch their nose to the object, click to mark their behavior as correct (C).
4. Reward with a treat.
PRO TIP: Give your dog a minute or so to think through what you might want after you set the object on the ground.
EXERCISE 47
Paw Target
Paw targeting is a great way to expand on your dog’s shake skills. Dogs naturally use their paws, which makes teaching paw tricks fairly easy for most dogs. Using a target to tell your dog to set their paw on something is the first step in teaching fancier skills, such as turning lights on and off, or opening and closing drawers.
DURATION10 repetitions per day for 4 weeks
MATERIALSclicker, treats, target
CUES USEDPaw
How to teach a paw target
1. Warm up your dog with 10 repetitions of Paw.
2. Present, on the ground in front of you, the item you want your dog to touch their paw to.
3. When they touch their paw to the object, click to mark their behavior as correct.
4. Reward with a treat.
PRO TIP: Give your dog a minute or so to think through what you might want after you set the object on the ground. If they need more help, cue them with the word “Paw” for a few repetitions.
EXERCISE 48
Get It/Fetch
This is one of the best bonding activities pet parents and dogs can play together. Fetch taps into your dog’s instinctive desire to chase, catch, and retrieve. The teamwork involved makes fetch engaging for people, too. Some dogs have a “natural retrieve,” meaning they’ll instinctively bring back the toy. If your dog doesn’t naturally do this, you’ll need to train them to do so. Working on a Drop cue is your first step in training fetch, so brush up on your dog’s Drop skills before practicing fetch.
DURATION10 repetitions per day for 4 weeks
MATERIALSclicker, treats, toy
CUES USEDDrop
Cueing Get It
1. Encourage your dog to play with a toy. Try to “make the toy come alive” by dragging it on the floor in an S shape. This will encourage your dog to chase the toy and will tap into their prey drive.
2. When your dog grabs the toy, play tug for a few moments, and click to mark their behavior as correct.
3. Reward with a treat.
Adding a verbal cue
1. Encourage your dog to play with a toy. Try to “make the toy come alive” by dragging it on the floor in an S shape. This will encourage your dog to chase the toy and will tap into their prey drive.
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p; 2. Say “Get it.”
3. When your dog grabs the toy, play tug for a few moments, and click to mark their behavior as correct.
4. Reward with a treat.
Adding Drop
1. Say “Get it.”
2. Encourage your dog to play with a toy. Try to “make the toy come alive” by dragging it on the floor in an S shape. This will encourage your dog to chase the toy and will tap into their prey drive.
3. When your dog grabs the toy, play tug for a few moments then cue your dog to Drop the toy.
4. When your dog drops the toy, click to mark their behavior as correct.
5. Reward with a treat or say “get it” to use play as the reward.
Adding fetch
1. Say “Get it,” and toss the toy a few feet away from you (A).
2. If your dog doesn’t walk toward the toy, point toward it and wait a few moments.
3. When your dog grabs the toy, give them a lot of praise, and encourage them to come back to you (B).
4. When they come back to you, cue them to Drop the toy (C).
5. When your dog lets go of the toy, click to mark their behavior as correct.
6. Reward with a treat or throw the toy again to use it as the reward.
7. Gradually increase the distance that you throw the toy.
PRO TIP: Try to use two toys at first if your dog doesn’t want to release the toy you have thrown. To work with two toys, throw one, and as your dog returns, say “drop” and then show them the second toy. When they release the first toy, throw the second toy.
EXERCISE 49
Get a Toy
This is an impressive skill that teaches your pup to pick up a specific toy and bring it back to you. Teaching this skill will take time and patience, but once learned, it’s so much fun to practice. Eventually, you’ll be able to send your dog to their toy bin to pull out the specific toy you ask for.
DURATION 5 repetitions per day for 5 weeks
MATERIALSclicker, treats, toys, toy bin
CUES USEDGet It
How to teach your dog to get a specific toy
1. Encourage your dog to play with one of their toys. To do so, make the toy look “alive” by dragging it on the ground in an S shape or shaking it a bit. When your dog begins to chase after the toy, toss it, and cue them to “Get the _____.” You can pick whatever name you want for the toy. I will use “ball” for this example.
2. Once your dog picks up the toy, encourage them to come back to you, and ask for a Drop.
3. When they drop the toy, click to mark their behavior as correct.
4. Reward with a treat.
How to teach Get the Ball
1. Place a ball on the ground and cue your dog to Get the Ball.
2. When your dog picks up the ball, give them praise and encourage them to come back to you.
3. When your dog is close to you, cue them to Drop.
4. When they drop the ball, click to mark their behavior as correct.
5. Reward with a treat.
PRO TIP: If your dog needs more help, point to the ball.
EXERCISE 50
Silly to Settle
This exercise teaches your dog how to go from really excited to really calm (or from 100 to 0). Training your dog to refocus and calm down on cue can make both of you feel more relaxed in stressful situations. When your dog becomes overstimulated, it can be very difficult for them to listen or focus. Practicing refocusing in a low-distraction environment will help your dog listen to you in higher-distraction environments.
DURATION 3 repetitions per day for 2 weeks
MATERIALSclicker, treats
CUES USEDDown, Stay
How to play Silly to Settle
1. Get silly with your dog. Give them praise, pets, and tickles, play chase, or hop around. Find ways to be silly with your dog.
2. When you’re ready, cue them to settle by cueing a Down-Stay.
3. Click and treat your dog every 3 to 5 seconds at first to encourage them to stay in the Down.
4. When you’re ready to release them, say “Okay.”
5. Go back to silly mode and repeat.
6. Gradually increase the time your dog has to settle between treats. Work up to a 5-minute settle on cue.
PRO TIP: Click the moments your dog is the calmest during the settle. This will encourage them to offer more calm behaviors in the future.
A Final Note
Training is a process that will continue for the entirety of your dog’s life. Just like you, your dog is constantly learning. Training does not stop when you succeed in getting your dog to offer a behavior on cue. Teaching your dog how and when to use these skills will take time and repetition, but with patience and commitment, they will become ingrained habits. Committing to raising a dog is a significant undertaking, but it is well worth the reward. Developing a strong bond and deep connection with your dog will help you both live more harmoniously together.
Be as clear as possible with your dog when you’re training. Find ways to help your dog understand what you’re asking for, rather than expecting them to know how they should behave. If your dog is not consistently responding to your cues, try again in a lower-distraction environment and recharge the behavior by rewarding once per correct response for a few days. Keep your dog feeling successful while you’re training. Training should be fun for your dog, not overly frustrating. Keep training sessions short and be sure to add some play time for a few minutes after your training sessions to boost your dog’s positive association with training.
If you’re looking for more ways to learn with your dog, I recommend exploring dog sports or a group class. Dog sports are a unique way of engaging with your dog—they can compete and earn titles. The many sports options include agility, trick titling, dock diving, rally, tracking, coursing, scent work, herding, obedience, and more. To learn more about dog sports, check out the American Kennel Club. Working in a group environment will give your dog the opportunity to practice their skills in a higher-distraction environment around other dogs.
Resources
Sites
ClickerTraining.com
This website is Karen Pryor’s clicker site. You’ll find all kinds of clicker training information, including videos, books, articles, and classes.
AKC.org
The American Kennel Club is the registry of purebred dogs in the United States. “Founded in 1884, the AKC is the recognized and trusted expert in breed, health, and training information for dogs. AKC actively advocates for responsible dog ownership and is dedicated to advancing dog sports.”
Dogmantics.com
Emily Larlham, or Kikopup, has videos and courses on clicker training that are fantastic if you’re looking to learn more advanced skills.
CleanRun.com
Check out Clean Run’s shop for training equipment and treats. They have a wide selection and carry items that can be difficult to find, such as target sticks, platforms, and canine fitness equipment.
AndreaArden.com
For scheduling lessons or classes, check out this website.
Books
Click for Joy! by Melissa C. Alexander
Click to Calm by Emma Parsons
Click to Win by Karen Pryor
Coaching People to Train Their Dogs by Terry Ryan
Dog-Friendly Dog Training by Andrea Arden
Don’t Shoot the Dog! by Karen Pryor
Getting Started: Clicker Training for Dogs by Karen Pryor
Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training (3 volumes) by Steven Lindsay
The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell
References
Coren, Stanley. “The Effect of Training Method on Stress Levels in Dogs.” Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, April 16, 2014. https://PsychologyToday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201404/the-effect-training-method-stress-levels-in-dogs.
Marshall-Pescini, Sarah, Franka S. Schaebs, Alina Gaugg, Anne
Meinert, Tobias Deschner, and Friederike Range. “The Role of Oxytocin in the Dog-Owner Relationship.” Animals: an open access journal from MDPI. MDPI, October 12, 2019. NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6826447.
Petersson, Maria, Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg, Anne Nilsson, Lise-Lotte Gustafson, Eva Hydbring-Sandberg, and Linda Handlin. “Oxytocin and Cortisol Levels in Dog Owners and Their Dogs Are Associated with Behavioral Patterns: An Exploratory Study.” Frontiers in Psychology. Frontiers Media S.A., October 13, 2017. NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5645535.
Rehman, Ibraheem. “Classical Conditioning.” StatPearls [Internet]. U.S. National Library of Medicine, August 27, 2020. NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov/books/NBK470326.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Andrea Arden for giving me the opportunity to teach people how to train their dogs. I am so lucky to get to learn from you! Thank you to Katrina Krings for teaching me so much about dog training and to Jo Anne Basinger for introducing me to clicker training. Thanks to the rest of the AADT team for your support. I am so grateful to work with so many amazing dogs and people. Thank you to my best friend, Luke, for your patience and support. Thank you to my fiancé, Turner, whom I would not have been able to write this book without, and my two dogs, Jenga and Rupert, for all that you teach me.
About the Author
Hannah Richter is an author and dog trainer at Andrea Arden Dog Training in New York City. Her first book, Teach Your Dog New Tricks, was released in 2020. Richter has her CPDT-KA certification, is an AKC evaluator, has completed Michael Shikashio’s mastercourse in aggression, and is a member of the IAABC and the APDT. She is passionate about clicker training and has worked with hundreds of dogs and their families to develop deep bonds and strong communication skills using positive reinforcement and management techniques. Richter loves to spend her time learning about ongoing enrichment, including canine fitness, advanced obedience, tricks, and agility. She is a proud dog mom to Rupert, her Yorkie, and Jenga, her Aussie.