Clicker training

Clicker-training a dog.

Clicker training is a positive reinforcement<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> animal training method based on a bridging stimulus (the clicker) in operant conditioning. The system uses conditioned reinforcers, which a trainer can deliver more quickly and more precisely than primary reinforcers such as food. The term "clicker" comes from a small metal cricket noisemaker adapted from a child's toy that the trainer uses to precisely mark the desired behavior. When training a new behavior, the clicker helps the animal to quickly identify the precise behavior that results in the treat. The technique is popular with dog trainers, but can be used for all kinds of domestic and wild animals.<ref name="ASPCA Clicker training"/>

Sometimes, instead of a click to mark the desired behavior, other distinctive sounds are made (such as a "whistle, a click of the tongue, a snap of the fingers, or even a word")<ref name="5 Clicker Training Myths">"5 Clicker Training Myths", Wag the Dog, accessed July 29, 2014.</ref> or visual or other sensory cues (such as a flashlight, hand sign, or vibrating collar),<ref>"Clicker Training for Deaf Dogs", Deaf Dog Education Action Fund, accessed July 29, 2014.</ref> especially helpful for deaf animals.<ref>Pryor 1999, p. 4.</ref>

HistoryEdit

B. F. Skinner first identified and described the principles of operant conditioning that are used in clicker training.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book Template:Page needed</ref> Two students of Skinner's, Marian Kruse and Keller Breland, worked with him researching pigeon behavior and training projects during World War II, when pigeons were taught to "bowl" (push a ball with their beaks).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They believed that traditional animal training was being needlessly hindered because methods of praise and reward then in use did not inform the animal of success with enough promptness and precision to create the required cognitive connections for speedy learning. They saw the potential for using the operation conditioning method in commercial animal training.<ref name=pmid22478446>Template:Cite journal</ref> The two later married and in 1947 created Animal Behavior Enterprises (ABE), "the first commercial animal training business to intentionally and systematically incorporate the principles of behavior analysis and operant conditioning into animal training."<ref name=pmid22478446/>

The Brelands coined the term "bridging stimulus" in the 1940s to refer to the function of a secondary reinforcer such as a whistle or click.<ref name=pmid22478446/> ABE continued operations until 1990, with the assistance of Bob Bailey after Keller Breland died in 1965.<ref name=pmid22478446/> They report having trained over 15,000 animals and over 150 species during their time in operation.<ref name=pmid22478446/> Their positive methods contrasted with traditional training using aversives such as choke chains, prong collars, leash snapping, ear pinching, “alpha-rolling,” the shock collar,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> elephant goad,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> cattle prods,<ref>[1] Clicker Training with Horses</ref><ref>[2] Why Use a Clicker for Dog Training?</ref> and elephant crushing.

Although the Brelands tried to promote clicker training for dogs in the 1940s and 1950s, and the method had been used successfully in zoos and marine mammal training, the method failed to catch on for dogs until the late 1980s and early 1990s.<ref name="Modern Training"/> In 1992, animal trainers Karen Pryor and Gary Wilkes started giving clicker training seminars to dog owners.<ref name="Modern Training"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1998, Alexandra Kurland published "Clicker Training For Your Horse," which rejected horse training that uses aversives such as horsebreaking and the use of the spur, bit (horse), crop (implement), and longeing with a horsewhip<ref name="Modern Training"/><ref>Kurland, Alexandra, "Clicker Training for Your Horse" (2004 edition, Ringpress Books), Template:ISBN.</ref> By the 1990s, many zoos used clicker training for animal husbandry because with this method, they did not have to use force or medication. They could be moved to different pens or given veterinary treatments with much less stress on the animals.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the 21st century, training books began to appear for other companion animals, such as cats, birds, and rabbits (See "Further Reading").

MethodEdit

File:ClickersFxwb.jpg

A selection of clickers

The first step in clicker training is teaching the animal to associate the clicker sound (or other chosen marker such as a whistle)<ref name="5 Clicker Training Myths"/> with a treat. Every time the click sounds, a treat is offered immediately.

Next the click is used to signal that a desired behavior has happened. Some approaches<ref name="ASPCA Clicker training"/> are:

capturing: catching the animal in the act of doing something that is desired, for example sitting or lying down. Eventually the animal learns to repeat the behavior for a treat.
shaping: gradually building a new behavior by rewarding each small step toward it.
luring: using the treat like a magnet to get the animal to move toward the desired position.

Once the behavior is learned, the final step is to add a cue for the behavior, such as a word or a hand signal.<ref name="ASPCA Clicker training"/> The animal will have learned that a treat is on the way after completing the desired behavior.

The basis of effective clicker training is precise timing to deliver the conditioned reinforcer at the same moment as the desired behaviour is offered. The clicker is used as a "bridge" between the marking of the behaviour and the rewarding with a primary reinforcer such as a treat or a toy.<ref>Pryor 1999, p. 29.</ref> The behaviour can be elicited by "luring", where a hand gesture or a treat is used to coax the dog to sit, for example; or by "shaping", where increasingly closer approximations to the desired behaviour are reinforced; and by "capturing", where the dog's spontaneous offering of the behaviour is rewarded.<ref>Pryor 1999, p. 60–62.</ref> Once a behaviour is learnt and is on cue (command), the clicker and the treats are faded out.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Punishment or aversivesEdit

Clicker training teaches wanted behaviors by rewarding them when they happen, and not using punishments, according to dog trainer Jonathan Philip Klein.<ref name="twsCBS2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="twsZ2it1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="twsParentsMag">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Clicker training uses almost entirely positive reinforcements. Some clicker trainers use mild corrections such as a "non reward marker"; an "Uh-uh" or "Whoops" to let the dog know that the behaviour is not correct, or corrections such as a "Time out" where attention is removed from the dog.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Alexander continues:

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Some credit trainer Gary Wilkes with introducing clicker training for dogs to the general public, but behavioral psychologist Karen Pryor was the first to spread the idea with her articles, books (including Don't Shoot the Dog) and seminars.Template:Citation needed Wilkes joined Pryor early on before going solo.Template:Citation needed Wilkes writes<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> that "No method of training is 'all positive.' By scientific definition, the removal of a desired reward is a 'negative punishment.' So, if you ever withhold a treat or use a time-out, by definition, you are a 'negative' trainer who uses 'punishment.Template:'"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> where "negative" indicates that something has been removed and "punishment" merely indicates there has been a reduction in the behavior (unlike the common use of these terms).

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

"Clicker Training Your Pet", ASPCA
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Clicker training

Contents

HistoryEdit

MethodEdit

Punishment or aversivesEdit

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Further readingEdit

External linksEdit