Puppy Clicker Training 101
Puppy Clicker Training is fairly new, but it's become a very popular method of 'shaping' your puppy's behavior (otherwise known as 'training' your puppy). This kind of puppy, or dog, training is based on the use of a small, hand-held 'noise-maker' called a clicker, which makes a sharp 'click' when you press a strip of springy metal. Although it's a pretty recent invention, this puppy training technique is rapidly growing in popularity as it's a really simple, fun and effective way to train a puppy (or dog of any age). You can 'shape' the behavior you want (whether it's a basic 'sit' command, or a fancy dog trick) or curb unwanted behavior in a positive, reward-oriented way... and spend some 'bonding' time with your pooch at the same time.
Clicker Training principlesClicker training is so successful because it such a simple, but effective, way of communicating to your puppy EXACTLY what it is you want him to do.With this kind of dog training, the most important thing to get right is the timing of the 'click'. This is because the 'click' is immediately followed by a reward/treat and is designed to let little Fido know that he's done something that makes you happy! At first, you will be 'clicking and treating' for any desirable behavior you see - such as when your puppy sits down, lays down quietly, comes to you when you say his name etc. When you're puppy clicker training, it's important that you only 'click' during the behavior, not after it's completed. For example, click and treat the second your pup's butt begins to touch the floor, not when he's in a complete sit. This is because you want to make it clear to him that the behavior he's engaging in right now, is what you're rewarding him for. As you get more experienced with this puppy training technique, you'll advance to using a 'vocal cue' such as "sit" or "down", and then 'clicking and rewarding' when your puppy follows your instructions. You'll surprised how quickly your furchild understands this 'puppy clicker training' and how eager he is to please you.
Let's begin...
To start your puppy clicker training off in the right way, you need to 'load' the clicker - this is how you teach your puppy that the 'click' means something good...a treat! Load the clicker by 'clicking and treating' 10 - 12 times in quick succession - not for any specific behavior though. Just click and treat, at this point the treats are 'freebies'. End the session after a dozen or so clicks. For the next session, try to catch your pup doing something you want him to do, such as sitting down. 'Capture' that behavior by 'clicking and treating' as he's in the process of sitting down. 3 or 4 repetitions is enough per training session to begin with, and 3 or 4 sessions a day works well. Once you've practiced like this for a while, and you're sure little Fido understands the connection between his sitting and the click and treat, you can begin to use verbal cues. Get his attention and then say "sit" in a firm but friendly way, as soon as his little butt begins to touch the floor, click and treat and say "good sit". Use the same puppy clicker training process for any command you want to teach your puppy. Remember though that puppies have very short attention spans, so keep the sessions short and always end on a positive not (ie. when he's been successful). Never use the clicker for anything except your puppy clicker training sessions, as using it as a toy or in any other situation will only confuse your little furchild. Eventually (maybe after several weeks, or longer) you'll find your puppy is very consistent and reliable in obeying your instructions. At that point you can start to treat intermittently rather than every time he does what you want. You'll still need to click every time though! By only treating every second, or every third time you help prevent your puppy from getting totally 'food focused' and keep him on his toes, as he never knows which time he'll get his reward! Clicker training is really simple and your pup will 'get it' quickly. To help YOU 'get it', here's a short video that shows you how to apply the principles of this style of dog training. This particular video demonstrates teaching a pup to 'leave it', but you use the same process for whichever command you're teaching.
The versatile clickerYou can use the puppy clicker training method to teach all kinds of dog obedience commands, behavior and tricks (including agility training). You can also use it to train other animals such as cats or birds.Training your puppy should be a fun and rewarding experience for both of you, and puppy clicker training makes this possible. It's a great way to help build a strong and trusting relationship between you and your puppy. With puppy clicker training you can raise the happiest, healthiest, best behaved dog you could ever hope for! If you want to try puppy clicker training, there's an amazing package that gives you all the tips, advice and information that you could possibly need. It's produced by The Canis Clicker Training Academy, and I think it's among the very best clicker training guide around. This fantastic e-book is written by Morten Egtvedt and Cecilie Koeste, a married training team from Norway. Morten is a certified dog training instructor in the Norwegian Army (and is also a trained Biologist). Cecilie is a doctor, and they both have Psychology degrees. Canis Clickertraining Academy in 21 cities in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, where they teach 'every-day', as well as competition-level, dog clicker training. Between them, this couple has decades of experience in training both dogs and horses, and are committed to only using positive, rewards-based methods - which is exactly what you need! The Canis Clicker Training E-book contains over 200 reader-friendly pages, packed full of clear instructions, useful graphics and practical tips and advice. The authors' reader-friendly style makes this book a fun read, but it's REALLY effective as well because of its' simple, step-by-step instructions and clear language. It will help you understand how (and why) puppy clicker training works so well, and then show you how to put the theory into practice. Includes.....
..... and tons more In addition to the immediately down-loadable e-book, you get 5 free videos that show you how to teach your dog some neat stuff - such as the 'retrieve' command and using it to get your pup fetch the mail! These are really helpful for new 'trainers' as they give you real-life examples to watch and copy with your own puppy/dog. The whole package comes with a 56 Day, 100% 'waterproof' no-risk money back guarantee, plus free access to the Password-protected download area. Whether you want to start puppy clicker training with your new 'four-legged friend', teach an older dog some new tricks, improve some behaviors or simply have a bit of fun and 'bonding' time with your pup/dog, then Canis Clicker Training could be exactly what you need. Find out more here (and see another short video) with no obligation.... 
Basic Puppy Training
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