Clicker Training
Are you looking for an easy way to train your dog without punishment? Want to reduce training time by 33%? How about training your dog to do things that seem impossible, like turning off a light, or ringing a bell when he needs to go out?
Sound too good to be true? Believe it or not, this method of training has been around for over 50 years, and has been used successfully by the military, by circuses, and by animal behavior specialists around the world. It’s commonly called ‘clicker training’, but the scientific methodology being used is called ‘operant conditioning’. For a great example of what can be done by this, you need look no further than the work of psychologist B.F. Skinner, who used these methods to train pigeons as part of his research.
The work was adapted by others, and has been used to teach animals to do some truly amazing things. Here are some of the more notable training endeavors, as reported by wikipedia:
“Radio-carrying cats were steered through cities and into buildings under a contract with the CIA. Dolphins located targets many miles from their trainers, at sea. Ravens and other birds, carrying cameras and directed by lasers, could fly to a specific window of a skyscraper and photograph the people inside. Gulls, expert sea searchers by nature, could locate and report life rafts and swimmers far offshore.”
Furthermore, imagine trying to ‘force’ an elephant to ‘sit’ like most people train their dog. You can easily see that this isn’t feasible. This is why clicker training is honestly the only way to go. Once you have mastered it, and your dog has learned how the game works (and he will view it as if it were a game), it becomes fun and enjoyable for both you and your dog.
References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clicker_training