Part 1
Many of you may have heard of the term Clicker Training but what is a clicker?
Well its quite simple. A Clicker is a non verbal Marker which is used in a motivational way to communicate with your dog, the instant he does something we like, that we like it.
It also provides us with a non physical punishment method of communicating with our dog, the instant he does something we do not like, that we do not like it.
So is it correct to say that clicker training and marker training are the same thing?
Yes, however with Marker training we use a verbal Marker and with Clicker training a small mechanical Clicker is used to communicate with the dog.
So what is Marker Training?
For the technically minded of you it is Operant Conditioning. (this is how Dolphins are trained)
Operant Conditioning simply forms an association between behaviour and consequences.
When your dog performs a behaviour we like, the consequences are, a high value reward like a food treat or toy. This is called a positive reinforcer.
If your dog does not perform the correct behaviour, the consequences are NO REWARD!. This is called a negative reinforcer. When a negative reinforcer is used the dog must repeat the exercise correctly if it wants to gain the high value reward.
(In years gone by the consequence of a negative behaviour was a physical correction)
How many times have you heard people say about their dog "oh he loves me so much he just wants to please me all the time"
Well have I got some news for you!
Dogs DO NOT do things to make you feel good. They ONLY do things to make themselves feel good!!!!
In Marker Training there are only two consequences REWARD or NO REWARD.
In Part 2 we will look at verbal markers, timings, treats and lures and how to use them.
