German Shepherd Training | Clicker Training Basics

Clicker Training for German Shepherd Owners

We highly recommend the StarMark Clicker Dog Training System

Clicker training is one of the most effective ways for you to communicate with your German Shepherd during training. Clickers allow you to "bridge the gap" between the human/canine language barrier using a clicking sound to "mark" your dogs good behavior.

While clicker training is effective there are a few things you will want to know before you run out and get started using clicker training to work with your GSD.

Clicker training requires good timing and observation skills

While all dog training requires good timing clicker training demands a little more precision on your part. Not to say that you have to be perfect but good timing is important. Timing the click at the right time (immediately after the successful behavior) is what makes using a clicker so effective.

Getting Started with Clicker Training

Before we discuss the basics we need to address one of the most popular (and incorrect) assumptions about clicker training.

Many people (including dog trainers) believe that clicker training always requires two things. A clicker and food. Both are incorrect.

Clickers are used to teach a new behavior and food is a primary universal reward because all dogs require food to survive. However, you can use whatever motivates your dog so long as you can "reset" quickly.

For example, fetch would not make a good reward for teaching your GSD a new behavior because you lose control over the situation when the dog runs after the ball. Even if your dog brings it back quickly enough time has passed between getting the ball and bringing it back that the momentum of the training session has been lost.

Using food is the fastest way to reset after you reward. With that out of the way let's move on shall we ...

Charging the clicker. Charging the clicker or priming the clicker means that you click and treat your dog to pair the sound with a food reward. A lot of trainers will tell you that you must "charge the clicker" by clicking and treating your dog over and over again. If you want to do this that is fine though it is not necessary for clicker training to work because you will pair the sound with food rewards during the training process.

The easiest way to get started with clicker training is to teach a simple behavior like the down cue.

With the clicker in one hand and the food reward in the other use the food to lure your dog into the down position by placing it under their nose while they standing up. Your dog will tilt their head to get the food.

All you do from here is move your hand towards the middle of their breast bone and in. When they start to "fold" into a play bow (butt up high with their front end on the floor) stop moving down and move your hand upwards.

Moving your hand upwards will cause your dogs head to move up and their hindend will fall to the ground. Click and treat.

How to hold the treat for best results. There is a good way to hold the treat and then there are other ways. The good way is simple and works to give your dog access to the food without allowing them to take it from your hand. When luring the down this is very important.

Hold your hand palm up. Place the food treat at the base of your middle finger. Now fold your thumb over top of the treat. Holding the treat this way allows you to secure the treat but when it comes time to reward you only have to move your thumb out of the way to give it to your dog. This is also a great way to give a treat to those "gator mouth" dogs that like to take the tips of your fingers off.

Repeat the process several times. Lure, click, treat. Lure, click, treat. Your goals are two fold here. First you are teaching your dog that the sound of the clicker means reward is available. Second, your learning how to use the clicker and food lure at the same time.

Clicker Training Summary

In a nutshell that is how you use a clicker to train your dog. Once you pair the sound with reward any time they do something desirable you simply have to click the clicker. They will respond by coming to get a reward from you. This is why timing is so important because you can click the wrong behaviors. However, if you do, do not worry because all you have to do to fix this is to improve your timing.

Of course there is a lot more to clicker training than just pairing the sound with your dogs favorite reward. If you are interested in learning more there are some excellent DVDs and books on the subject available for you to learn from. We've listed a few at the end of this article.

Training your German Shepherd using a clicker is an option that many GSD owners prefer because it takes the "fight" out of the training process and relies more on working with your dog using positive reinforcement.

Dog training collars, clickers, whatever device you use they are only tools you use during the training process. Once the dog has learned a behavior the tool is not used any longer to help your dog. Once your dog becomes fluent in a behavior (does it reliably under heavy distractions) you should not be relying on any training tool to help you.

Related Information and Product Suggestions:
Learn About Different Dog Training Methods

Clicker Magic by Karen Pryor Karen Pryor is one of the people who brought clicker training to the canine world. She is one of dog trainings true pioneers.

StarMark Clicker Dog Training System This absolutely one of the best clickers on the market. Durable, long lasting, and retains the "click" extremely well.

Clicking With Your Dog: Step-By-Step in Pictures (Karen Pryor Clicker Books)

Back to Training Articles