Welcome to another training blog post.

Today, we’re going to talk about clicker training. A common question when it comes time for puppy pick up. So without further adieu, let’s begin.

 So clicker training isn’t very complicated. You could think of it like a metaphorical high five. Telling your puppy when and where they did something right, even when at a distance. Let’s say for example that you are on the living room couch, just lounging, and you notice your dog sit down and look at you with those big puppy eyes asking for you to give him or her a treat.

 Well, you can use the clicker to let him know that he’s done something right and a treat is on its way.

 *Click*

 Then as you walk over to the cupboard to grab that treat, you haven't lost that moment to reinforce when he did something right.

More than just a picture 

So this is a nice picture and all, but how do we get there? How do we start to give our puppies this concept? Well, we have to start with the basics.

 To get started, you'll need the following;

 - Clicker & Treats (Clicker & Treats included in our Goodie Bag for new Golden Owners.)
 - Distraction-Free Zone

 Alright, it’s time to begin. Now, when you pick your puppy after seven weeks, we’ve already begun this training extensively with your puppy. But it might be important to start with the basics with your little puppy afresh as they get used to working with you.

 To start your not looking for any kind of behavior, you just want to establish that you’ve got treats and that they are from you, heralded by the glorious clicker.

 With the first session, simply hold the puppy on your lap, again nothing specific is required for them to get a treat. Just anything good and that you want to encourage. Often when relaxed on your lap, receiving lovings, not much is vying for their attention. To begin, click that clicker, followed immediately with a treat. Do this until the end of the session.

Alright, session two now. We want to start working on lengthening out that distance from click to treat. So from time to time, click and then give a treat. Create random intervals in between the clicker and the dishing out of treats. I would vary anywhere between zero to ten seconds. Afterward in the third session, you can push your way out a little further.

With two sessions done, it would be good to let your puppy offer good behavior again in return for treats. Generally, this is in the form of manding, which we’ll cover in more detail in our next blog post. Just look for good behavior to reinforce by clicking, effectively capturing that moment of good behavior and reinforcing it with a treat.

How does this work?

But there’s more happening than what meets the eye. You see, what you’ve effectively done is taught your puppy to be trained to make your future sessions easier. Think of it as the catalyst to your proteins.


How? You might ask. Well once you’ve trained your puppy to hear the clicker and accept a treat. The proverbial double whammy has arrived.

 First, the more you train with your puppy, the more you generate something like clout, you could say. It gives you more sway with them and makes your bond stronger. They’ll realize there's a high chance of getting something yummy when listening to you, and will therefore have a higher chance of hearkening. Even in distracting circumstances. (We’ll have a blogpost about distraction training down the road.)

 But beyond that, you working on patience training. By changing the duration between the clicker and receiving a treat, we're letting their patience grow. Like humans, dogs can get frustrated rather easily if we don’t work with them. It can be the cause of why a dog whines and barks a lot. Signifying that something is frustrating them. You might even notice this during the training, they might hear the click and when they don’t get a treat right away they might start to whine or twirl in a circle before sitting back down again.

 While this can be cute, it’s probably not something you want to encourage since when they get bigger it might not be so cute. So make sure not to give them a treat when they’re offering these behaviors. NOTE, if your puppy doesn’t seem to be understanding the time intervals and beginning to act frustrated. STOP the training session. Let them play for a while, get outside to use the restroom, and or take a nap. You don’t want to frustrate them. Some puppies might take a session or more to figure it out.

 Well, I think that will wrap up this here training post. Again if you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@grizzlygoldens.com. Disclaimer, if you’re working with a puppy trainer, take their advice over ours. They are working with you and your puppy in person and understand your situation better than we do.

Next week we’ll be talking about manding.