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Philosophy.
Clicker training is
a system of
training that for many followers is linked inextricably with a
philosophy of never coercing or punishing an animal,
on moral or ethical
grounds. The technique is however firmly rooted in sound scientific
principle.
Many if not most clicker trainers are, or try to be, positive-only
trainers. You can read about the principles of
positive-only
training here.
Science.
Clicker training works by making use of the scientific principle
of operant conditioning. Scientists have proven conclusively
that the
consequences of an animal's actions will reliably predict the chance
of those actions being repeated. By repeatedly providing pleasant
consequences to an animal's behaviour, the frequency of the
behaviour that the trainer desires can be raised higher and higher.
Undesired behaviours are ignored and if never rewarded, will
naturally extinguish or 'die out' This may sound too good to be
true but correctly applied, these principles work.
Read
more.....
Technique.
Clicker training is characterised by the use of an
audible click, which marks and defines even quite tiny changes in a
dog’s behaviour, which the handler desires. The dog is able to
absorb and use this information to control the delivery of rewards
which the handler always offers after activating the click.
The click is produced by a small inexpensive plastic box with a
flexible metal plate on one side. The click itself is simply a
marker, and other markers, a word or a whistle for
example can be used as an alternative. However,
the precise and unambiguous 'click' of the clicker makes it highly
effective. To give the click 'meaning' the dog is first conditioned
to associated the click with the reliable delivery of a reward. This
process is known as 'charging' and is based on another
scientific principle, that of classical conditioning
Read
more....
Prejudice.
Clicker training for some is associated with pet dogs and parlour
tricks. This is perhaps a mis-representation of this extremely
exact science, which was first used outside the laboratory for
training complex behaviours in marine mammals such as dolphins whose
temperament and environment did not lend themselves to techniques
involving corrections.
Next
- Positive-only training explained |
