Awesome Clicker Training Video!

I found this clicker training video to be incredibly fascinating and it clearly shows how effective this training method works with dogs. This video shows a tiny little two month old yellow lab performing all sorts of great tricks! Why would a puppy of this age be so obedient and ready to learn all these tricks??? The answer is very clear: She wants a treat and knows that it's coming because of the clicker! Check it out!

The History of Clicker Training

Since the 1950s, clicker training for animals has grown to be very popular with animal trainers across a broad spectrum of species, from dolphins to horses and of course dogs. The main reason for it's popularity is that clicker training is miraculously effective and it's humane, compared to earlier training methods.

Before the clicker training concept was developed, animals were trained primarily through a variety of negative and positive reinforcement tactics. In other words, an animal was often punished with pain, for not performing in a desired way. If an animal did the trick or performed the task to satisfaction, he was simply rewarded with food, praise or the absence of physical punishment.

This "punishment" method was adopted during World War II and at that time appeared to be the fastest way to teach animals to perform for the war effort. After the war ended, army trained "behaviorists" and animal trainers carried the practice over to civilian life.

However, when it came to training large sea animals like dolphins or killer whales, the technique was virtually impossible to perform. It was not possible or practical to punish a dolphin or killer whale swimming in a tank. Trainers needed to be able to "mark" a desired behavior, even when they couldn't reward the animal immediately.

Because large aquatic mammals often have a highly developed sense of hearing, using an auditory signal such as the clicker made sense, and the initial signal was a blast on a whistle. The whistle blast had earlier been paired with something the dolphin would value as a reward – a fish. So when the dolphin heard the whistle, not only would he know he'd done what his trainer wanted, but he also knew he would be rewarded with a fish. He would go on working through a number of behaviors, limited only by the inventiveness of his mind, until he hit on the one which the trainer desired. This of course is a classic example of conditioning.

Undesired behaviors were not punished through physical abuse and were simply ignored. It was no longer about making them try new behaviors by applying negative reinforcement; but by working to determine what would get them the fish treat. Once they figured out the desired behavior, and performed it consistently, the trainer could pair a verbal command just before the behavior, so they'd know what was wanted at any given time. More complex behaviors could be broken down into small pieces and these later combined to get the whole "trick."

Once trainers of other species became aware of the benefits of positive reinforcement (rewarding only the desired behavior) and operant conditioning (pairing a signal with a reward so that the signal alone confirms the animal did what was wanted) this type of training began to spread.

One big change from the early marine mammal training is the type of signal used to affirm that the animal is doing the right thing and a reward is forthcoming. Clickers have come to replace whistles as the favored signal for non-marine mammals. The sound is novel, something the animal is unlikely to encounter in everyday life and yet it carries well so that a horse or dog can hear it even across a crowded park.

Branding Your Animal Training Business

What tools do you use when handing a pet back over to her owner? Does that "kit" have your business information all over it? If you are not branding every single thing given to the client, you are missing out on future client potential. Some of the things typically given to a client are:

1. Treat Totes

2. Target Sticks

3. Clickers

4. Gift Certificates

Another neglected marketing area for branding is your website! Logos, text, and verbiage should be uniform throughout all marketing materials. If your company does not have a recognizable logo, get one designed and spread it through everything with your company name attached. How many times have you looked at that magnetic calendar on your fridge? I bet you could name the company that has its branding all over it, that is where the power in branding is found. It used to be that the consumer had to memorize a telephone number, not any more, now they just have to remember a name. Google your company name and if your not the first to show up… you need to get there! Give branding a try, most companies charge little if anything to imprint your logo on what you order.

Click here for more information on Branding your pet training business

Imprinted Clickers for Branding

Most business owners are really good at what they do, but don't take the necessary time commitment to build a successful branded business. Branding a business is what creates customers, and without customers, your businesses will fail. Training animals as a business is very rewarding, a dream job for a lot of people. The nightmare comes when trying to get new business... and THAT'S where branding comes in. Branding is so important some of the biggest consumer product companies like Coke and Pepsi spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually just to have their names pronounced to their target market daily. On a much smaller scale we, as a small business owner, can learn from them. Lets take an example of a single client of yours... what do you know about them? They have animals and most likely they have friends with animals... right! By giving them something with your brand on it, which they have to use as part of the training process, you are planting a seed in a friend of a current client. This is why branding is a large part of the referral process, and referrals are the key to new customers!

Click on the link for more information on IMPRINTED CLICKERS...

Understanding the essence of Clicker Training

Successful dog training requires that we understand what works and what doesn't. That's where opinions of dog owners come in real handy! For example, if you were to conduct a survey you'd find that Clicker Training is one of the hottest training methods and that people are going nuts over the positive results....It does work wonders many times, but it's important to realize that it's not magic and one needs to understand how to use it effectively.

Every method of training attempts to coordinate two fundamental aspects of behavior -- information and motivation. The most efficient methods provide the animal with the necessary information in order to understand the task, and link the behavior to some motivation that insures reliable performance. The advantages and disadvantages of a method of training become clear when viewed from this perspective.

Now, lets try a little experiment shall we!

First, Take a ball and hold it around arm's length. Now drop the ball and try to quickly say the words, "Good Dog" at the exact instant the ball is at the half-way point.

Now, if you had issues connecting the praise to the mid-point of the ball's descent, don't blame your timing. In order to mark the precise instant the ball is at the half-way point you have three selections - and two of them just don't work. First, you could begin saying "good dog" before the ball hits the middle. Second, you could start the phrase precisely at the mid-point and end about a half second after the ball hits the ground. Third, you'd have to say "good dog" incredibly fast!

When forced to adapt to the new necessity of timeliness, most people immediately try to shorten the length of the signal that marks the correct behavior. And that's the first major reason that I use a clicker -- it's quicker and potentially more accurate than verbal praise as a means of transmitting information.

You see it's extremely important to have an effective information signal when you are teaching a new behavior to an untrained dog. In the early stages of learning any behavior, a dog is dependent on the trainer for clear signals that identify which part of the behavior "caused" success or failure.

The most common use of verbal praise is to provide motivation, for correctly completing a behavior. We intuitively understand that applying this praise immediately after a behavior tends to make it happen again. The praise helps the animal grasp that performing the behavior "causes" a pleasant dose of human attention and affection.

By using the clicker, a trainer may provide a clearer signal to the animal and thus it becomes more effective then the most common form of communication or praise.

When starting with clicker training it's essential to realize that a clicker is merely a construction tool, like any other. Clicker training isn't magic, even if the results sometimes appear to be. Learning to use a clicker doesn't mean you have to give up your knowledge of what works and what doesn't, it's simply just a more efficient way of providing clear signals to your pet.

For information about the clickers shown in the picture please visit The Clicker Company

Marketing Your Animal Training Business

It is important to have your name on your customers fingertips and tongues at all times; and while you’re at it, why not on their refrigerators too! Custom imprinting magnets allows you the opportunity to be visible to your customers at all times. Imprinting your business name, phone number, website address, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media links, will help promote your business, while providing your customers with a product they can use.

When teaching your clients how to clicker train their animals, having a training clicker with your contact information imprinted on it is priceless. Referrals and word of mouth can boost sales and keep your business thriving!

Click your way to success by creating a logo that will catch your clients attention. Creating an image or a slogan that stands out can work wonders for your dog training/animal training business. Think of the jingles and slogans that run through your head on a daily basis for businesses you've heard of for years. By coming up with a catchy phrase or an eye popping logo, your creating a client base for years to come.

Whenever and wherever you can, get your name in front of your current clients and future clients! Custom imprint your logo on magnets, animal training clickers, target sticks, I-Clicks, and more. Then get them in the hands of your clients!

For more product ideas for marketing your business, visit The Clicker Company