Mon, 19 Apr 2010 4:41p.m.
Ever wanted to train your animal the way you see dolphins trained? Ever wondered how they are trained and if it is possible to train your cat or dog the same way?
The answer is yes! Of course you can train your animal the way you see dolphins trained. The technique is called clicker training.
All animals need to be rewarded within half a second of demonstrating a correct behaviour, this is pretty much physically impossible to do as a human being. Also when training an animal to demonstrate certain behaviours, for example a dolphin to do a flip there is no way you will throw a fish to it mid air to tell the dolphin this was correct, so we use a sound to tell the animal. A lot of trainers will use a special training whistle, however when training dogs and cats we tend to use a clicker as we like to say verbal cues like “Sit” etc.
Clicker training is precise; it opens up the communication between owner and animal and is also lots of fun and includes lots of rewards. It is a fantastic and simple way of helping your animal succeed with the right training and management plans put in place to help you and your dog or cat.
Believe it or not even if your animal is deaf we can still use the concept of clicker training but instead of using a clicker we would use a visual signal so the animal knows it has done something right.
My clients are having lots of success with this type of training and all involved are seeing huge improvements, not just with the issues they were having but also the bond they have created by having a great way to communicate between each other.
If you would like more information about Clicker Training feel free to contact me.