Petsafe clicker Setup guide

Clicker
Training Guide

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Thank you for choosing the PetSafe
®
brand. Through consistent use of our
products, you can have a better behaved dog in less time than with other
training tools. If you have any questions, please contact the
Customer Care Centre. For a listing of Customer Care Centre
telephone numbers, visit our website at www.petsafe.net.
Always read and follow the Operating Guide that accompanies your
training product.
Table of Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Why Use a Click Sound Instead of Your Voice? .........................3
All About Rewards..................................................4
Practice Your Timing.................................................4
Before You Begin...................................................5
Give the Click Meaning .............................................5
Keep the Sessions Short .............................................6
To Capture or to Shape? ............................................6
Set Criteria When Shaping ..........................................7
Jackpot! ..........................................................8
Teaching “Look at Me”..............................................8
Teaching to Target..................................................9
Loose Lead Walking ................................................9
Teaching “Sit”.....................................................10
Train No Jumping/Lunging..........................................11

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Introduction
We all want well-behaved pets and wonderful relationships with them. Clicker
training is an effective, safe and humane way to reach these goals. When
your pet learns to offer behaviours you like in exchange for a reward, and
you clearly communicate why they are receiving the reward, it is a win-win
situation. Training will become a fun activity you both enjoy! Behaviour that gets
rewarded gets repeated.
With clicker training, a sound is used to mark the exact behaviour we like, and
then followed immediately with a reward. The reward is often a tasty food treat
but may be anything your pet wants or needs. Soon, the sound predicts the
reward – your pet begins to understand when he hears that sound, it will be
followed with a reward.
While this training guide focuses on clicker training with dogs, clicker training
can be an effective way to train desired behaviours with many different species
of pets.
Why Use a Click Sound Instead
of Your Voice?
Using a consistent sound has several benefits over a spoken word when
teaching your dog a new behaviour.
The sound is unique. It is only made when your dog does something you like,
unlike your voice which may be used to communicate a variety of things. The
sound is consistent. It sounds the same every time and has the same meaning -
you’ve made the right choice and are about to be rewarded - every time. Our
voice can say the same word in very different ways and often does due to our
emotions and meaning.
The sound is clear. We often string many words together like, “Oh, what a good
doggie!” making it difficult or impossible for an animal to know exactly what
behaviour you liked.
The sound is precise. The accuracy of the click improves our timing and marks
the exact moment your dog does something you like. It can mark the smallest
and most subtle behaviours like a glance or turn of the head.

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All About Rewards
With clicker training, we often use a small, tasty food treat as the reward
promised by the clicker sound. However, each animal will determine what
is rewarding to them. One animal may find a liver treat a very high-value
reward, while another may prefer a bit of cheese. The reward you use must be
reinforcing to the animal you are working with, and each animal will have a
hierarchy of rewards. As the trainer, experiment and find several things your dog
likes and determine which he or she likes best and least.
Always prepare for a training session by gathering a few different types of
rewards. Small, semi-moist bites of cheese, liver, etc., are good choices to
try because many dogs desire them and they don’t require much chewing.
Consider your dog’s diet, calorie count and any allergies when choosing
food rewards. Plan the food as part of their daily allowance to maintain a
balanced diet.
Don’t forget other types of rewards such as attention, petting, praise and access
to friends. These can be very valuable and useful as part of your training. While
the tasty treat is often easiest and the best choice for clicker training, don’t rule
out the life rewards!
Practice Your Timing
If you are new to clicker training you will want to practice your timing away from
your dog before you attempt any training. If you want your dog to understand
the click, your timing of the click needs to be
precisely at the moment he is performing the
wanted behaviour.
You will need your Clicker and a tennis ball (or
similar ball) to practice.
• Hold the Clicker in one hand and the ball in
the other.
• Toss the ball and click at the exact moment it
hits the floor.
• As your timing improves, try to click the first
bounce and the second bounce, etc.

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• The next step is to toss the ball and click when the ball is at the highest
point in the air. This is more difficult as there is no sound of the ball hitting a
surface to help you.
How is your timing? Practice until your timing is precise. Some people prefer to
hold their Clicker in one hand versus the other, but it is helpful to practice with the
device in each hand. Becoming ambidextrous with the training tool will make it
easier to accommodate different exercises as you train.
Tip: Keep your movement to a minimum and your voice quiet. Your dog
should focus on the click. Extra movement and noise by you, the trainer, will
be distracting.
Before You Begin
Start by setting everyone up for success:
• If necessary, restrict your dog’s movement with a lead.
• Train when your dog is somewhat hungry.
• Ensure any toileting needs have already been met.
• Work in a space that is not too exciting or over-stimulating.
If your dog is not interested in interacting with you, be patient and take it slow. If
progress doesn’t pick up within a few minutes, take a break and come back to
work again later.
Give the Click Meaning
We need to make an association between
the click and the treat reward for your
dog. Once your dog learns the click
predicts a reward you will have a powerful
training tool.
Note: don’t wave the Clicker around or
point it at your dog.
The sound is the marker and your dog does
not need to see it to hear it. Hold the Clicker
by your side and don’t draw attention to the training tool.

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To make this association, along with your dog, you will need:
• The Clicker
• Some tiny, very tasty treats (consider daily caloric intake and allergies)
• A space free of distractions
This exercise is only to make the association, not to train a specific behaviour.
However, you don’t want to inadvertently reward a behaviour you don’t like, so
wait until your dog is simply standing or sitting near you.
To begin, click and immediately give your dog one treat. The treat should follow
the click within a second. Repeat this six to ten times, one click followed by
one treat.
Your dog will quickly start to understand the click predicts a reward. You may
notice your dog becomes excited just from hearing the sound. It is important to
remember the click is a promise. If you click, you should reward. Don’t worry if
you make a mistake. Your timing and skill will improve quickly.
Keep the Sessions Short
The best training sessions are only three to five minutes in length. Take breaks in
between the sessions. During the breaks relax and play with your dog. You can
string a few short sessions together with short breaks in between.
You can train a longer session if your dog is still focused and enjoying the
session. However you don’t want your dog to become uninterested or full of
treats. Stop training while your dog is still interested in doing more.
One marker – one reward. Three rules to keep in mind:
• If you make the click sound, you must reward. Always.
• Make only one click sound per appropriate behaviour. In other words, do
not use multiple sounds to try to convey your excitement at a particularly
good behaviour.
• If you make a mistake, forgive yourself. Reward your dog (following the first
rule), and move on. Either take a break to collect yourself or refocus and
continue with the training.

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To Capture or to Shape?
If your dog already does a cute behaviour you would like to practice so you
can get him to perform “on cue,” you are “capturing” the behaviour. Put your
dog in a situation where he is likely to perform the behaviour. Then click at the
moment the behaviour happens to “mark” that behaviour. As always, follow the
click with a treat. Because behaviour that gets rewarded gets repeated, your
dog is likely to offer that behaviour again.
Once you can get the behaviour reliably, start to add a word or hand cue just
before the behaviour is likely to happen.
Before long, that cue will indicate to your dog that you are willing to “pay” for
the behaviour. Practicing the cue and behaviour followed by the click and treat
will solidify the behaviour.
If you want to instill a new behaviour in your dog, you may need to “shape”
the behaviour if your dog is not already offering it. When “shaping” a
behaviour, you will reward your dog for increasingly better attempts (also
called “successive approximations”) of the desired behaviour. Choose small
or preliminary steps toward your end goal, then little by little, reward better
and better attempts. Your dog should learn quickly if you repeat a few sessions
each day.
One example of shaping behaviour would be to invite your dog to lie on a mat.
At first, you could click/treat when your dog looks at the mat, then steps on it,
then sits on it, then lies down.
Set Criteria When Shaping
When shaping new behaviours you will need to set criteria for each of the small
steps on the way to the final behaviour you will reward. Don’t be intimidated!
You make these kinds of choices every day as you drive, cook dinner or multi-
task at your desk. You want to move through the process at a good pace so
don’t worry about perfecting each step along the way. Each step is a temporary
criterion and if your dog is getting it right seven or eight times out of ten, move
on to the next step. You don’t want your dog to get stuck performing the
intermediate steps because they have been rewarded so highly for doing so.
You also don’t want to move too fast. If you up your criteria and your dog
gets too frustrated or loses interest, back up a step. Sometimes a dog will leap

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ahead and perform the final behaviour early in the training. Go ahead and click
and treat! Don’t be so set on your plan that you don’t recognize a breakthrough
like this. Save a jackpot for those special moments.
Jackpot!
Many trainers use a jackpot to reward an especially well done behaviour or a
training breakthrough.
A jackpot can be applied as follows:
• Give a small handful of treats at one time.
• Give a higher value treat, like a small piece of cheese, instead of the dry
kibble you are using.
• A slightly larger piece of a treat can be a jackpot.
• Have a party – toss a few treats and add some play, favourite toy or a
belly rub.
Many people like to end the training session if a jackpot moment happens. It
ensures the session was successful and keeps your dog eager to keep training.
Teaching “Look at Me”
Training your dog to focus on you is not only easy to do with the Clicker
but is very helpful in training other skills later on. This simple skill will enforce
the association with the Clicker sound and give you a chance to practice
your timing.
Now that you are ready, watch your dog. If he looks at you, click and treat. He
may not understand what he did to earn the reward yet.
When he makes eye contact again, click and treat. After a few repetitions, he
will start thinking that maybe just looking at you earns a treat. He will probably
like that and start looking at you more often.
Keep rewarding every time he makes eye contact. Eye contact = click = reward!
Once your dog is performing the look behaviour consistently you can add
a cue.
A cue can be a hand signal or a verbal signal to perform the behaviour. For
example, the cue for a dog to place their bottom on the floor is usually “Sit.”

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Your cue for eye contact could be “Look” or “Watch Me.” The choice is yours –
because dogs don’t speak, you can call it anything you want. Another option is
to use a hand signal or movement.
Teaching to Target
We will start by teaching the dog a nose touch to your hand that can later be
used for a variety of behaviours where you need the dog in a certain position.
To teach this target, place your hand about ten to thirteen centimetres in front of
your dog’s nose. Most dogs will sniff your hand. When your dog’s nose touches
your hand, click and treat. Repeat this several times. If your dog shows little
interest in touching your hand, practice a couple times with a treat in the target
hand to get the game started.
As the dog begins to quickly touch your hand for the click and treat, begin
moving your hand slightly farther away and to different heights and sides.
Each time the dog touches the hand target, click and treat. If the dog is slow
to respond (more than three to four seconds), remove your hand target for a
couple seconds and offer it again a little closer. Focus on getting several quick
repetitions in a training session.
You will quickly see how establishing a target behaviour will aid in teaching
recall, loose lead walking and much more.
Loose Lead Walking
No one enjoys walking with a dog who pulls constantly on the lead. Teaching
your dog to walk beside you on a loose lead can be accomplished with your
new clicker skills. If you have worked on the two previous, sections you can use
these skills to help you with loose lead walking. Having your dog’s attention like
during “Look at Me” and/or using a target to keep your dog beside you during
the walk will keep the lead loose for a pleasant walk.
You can also use the Clicker to click the dog when he is walking beside you and
give a treat reward by your side. If the lead is pulled tight, simply stop walking
until your dog turns to you or returns to your side, then click and reward. For
most dogs a treat reward works best. With some dogs the chance to continue
walking is enough. We suggest you start with a treat reward and fade it out as
the dog performs the behaviour consistently.

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Teaching “Sit”
Dogs sit naturally so all we need to do is teach them to sit when asked. You have
some options on how to teach “sit”.
Consider both options and decide which will work for you.
Because dogs already know how to sit, you may just catch them doing it. In this
case, watch your dog closely and when he sits, click and reward with a treat.
After you have rewarded him a couple times he may start offering a sit because
it paid off with a yummy treat. Now you can add the cue, “Sit” with the action
of sitting. Say “Sit,” wait for him to do it and click as soon as it happens! Follow
the click with the treat reward. Soon he will associate the verbal cue, “Sit.” As
you practice, remember, you only need to say the cue once. Do not repeat the
word, “sit, sit, sit…” If he doesn’t sit when you say the word, step back for a few
seconds and calmly try again or try the method below.
Another way to teach “sit” is with the help of a food lure. Do not use a verbal
cue until the dog is performing the behaviour easily. Begin with three or four
small pieces of food in your hand. Lure your dog’s nose up and slightly back.
This usually encourages them to put their bottom on the floor. When he does,
click and reward with one piece of the food. Repeat this with the remaining
food you are holding. Then try one with an empty hand. When he sits, click and
reward with a treat from your pocket. Your hand motion is actually becoming the
cue for sit. Once your dog is performing the sit consistently with the empty hand
you may begin adding the verbal cue “Sit” and fading out the hand motion.
To add the verbal cue say “Sit,” then quickly follow it with the hand motion.
Continue to click and reward the behaviour. When the dog is responding
quickly to the word “sit” before you even start the hand motion you can simply
stop using the motion.