Clicker Training Fun for Boy and His Cat

I recently heard about a young boy who clicker trained his cat to sit for treats. Chessie was just a kitten, and the boy thought it would be fun teach his cat a trick. He got some of her favorite treat, liver, and cut it into bite-sized morsels.

When the kitten was begging for food, the boy told the kitten to sit. Chessie wasn’t sure what the boy wanted, so she tried lots of movements. After the boy repeated “Sit” several times, Chessie finally sat with her bottom on the floor and her front paws up. Perfect. The boy clicked the clicker and gave Chessie a yummy morsel of liver.

Chessie wanted more! The boy commanded “Sit” again, and as Chessie sat up, he clicked the clicker and gave her another treat. The boy continued the clicker training, and as soon as Chessie heard “Sit,” she knew exactly what to do: she sat up and got a treat. The clicker training worked.

Over the next few years, Chessie remembered the clicker training. Sometimes she sat up in the middle of the living room in front of the boy, waiting to get her treat. No clicker needed. The boy knew exactly what she wanted and told her to wait a minute. He went to the cupboard and got her a treat. Chessie never forgot the clicker training she received as a kitten.

Want to learn how to clicker train your cat? Watch the following video of a veterinarian explaining “Clicker Training Your Cat.” She reminds that cats have a short attention span, so it’s best to end the clicker training session while it’s still fun.

A Clicker Trained Puppy Is a Happy Puppy

Puppies love to chew, bite, bark – things that come naturally to them. But these behaviors are not acceptable in your home. Like children, dogs need to know their boundaries. Start clicker training soon after you bring the puppy home to encourage your puppy to develop desirable behaviors and to curb negative ones.

To use the clicker successfully, you’ll need to teach your puppy to associate the clicker sound with a treat. The first step is to click once and give him a treat. No need to over-feed him – just give him one small piece of his regular food and adjust the amount you feed him at meal time.

By starting clicker training with your puppy as soon as you bring him home, your puppy will learn the clicker training technique and will want to perform the behaviors you desire. As he learns to recognize the sound of the clickers, you can start clicker training to house train, heel, sit, stand, stay, and come when called. Later, you’ll be able to teach him games and tricks. One of the keys to successful clicker training is learning when to click. You must click at the exact moment your puppy performs the desired behavior.

Your puppy wants your praise and approval. Help your puppy live happily in your home and give him the best start in life by starting the clicker training technique early.

Survival, Loyalty Keep Dogs Alive After Tsunami

Normally when you hear stories about dogs at disaster scenes, the dogs are specially trained for search and rescue. These dogs have been obedience trained, using techniques such as clicker training, and then trained in search skills to find survivors under the rubble. But three weeks after the tsunami struck Japan, three amazing dogs became the survivors, reminding us just how strong man’s best friend can be in the face of tragedy.

Ban, a two-year old mixed breed dog, was reunited with her owner after floating for three weeks in the Pacific Ocean a mile off shore on the roof of a house that was swept out to sea in the tsunami. A Japanese Coast Guard helicopter flying over the debris discovered the dog and rescued her. The dog’s owner saw a video of the rescue on Japanese TV and hurried to claim her pet at the animal shelter. “I want to cherish her when I take her back,” said the owner, as Ban wagged her tail and licked her owner’s face.



Another story warmed the hearts of beleaguered Japanese rescuers. An exhausted and muddied dog remained loyal to his canine friend, injured in the tsunami, and stayed by his side until rescuers arrived. The brown and white spaniel-cross dog led a cameraman to the place where the injured dog was lying in the debris. Both were taken to shelters to be treated. How the dogs survived without fresh water and food for such an extended time is unknown, but all three are expected to heal and live full lives.



Several disaster search dog teams were deployed to Japan. Disaster search dog trainers start with basic obedience training, such as clicker training. With clicker training, dogs learn to generalize the training (PDF) and respond correctly even in unfamiliar areas, such as the tsunami-devastated areas of Japan.

When Clickers Speak, Dogs and Dolphins Listen

Three dolphins swim in almost perfect synchrony around the circle, and at the exact same moment, all three jump through hoops. Amazing! How were they trained to do that? With clicker training!

Clicker training communicates the behavior you want to reinforce by using an event marker: the clicker. The training method works with dolphins; it works with dogs. (It can even work with kids!)

Your dog performs the desired behavior (the "event"), you click (the "marker") and you immediately reward your dog with a special treat, such as food, a toy, or a ball. In this way, the dog learns to associate the treat with the good behavior. The timing of the click is very important; clicking at the instant the dog does the requested behavior and giving him a treat helps your dog learn the association much more quickly and avoids a lot of frustration.

The dog training clicker creates a distinctive metallic sound. Voice commands are less precise and can weaken the association, and may not be as successful. The point of clicker training is to use a sound so distinct that it always sounds the same, will not be heard in any other situation, and will not confuse the dog.

Clicker training can speed up the progress of obedience training and shorten the time needed to teach your dog new tricks. Train your dog by using positive reinforcement and gentle handling - with a clicker.