Clickers Turn Behaviours Into Tricks. And A Little On Treats.

if dog trainers were honest – they would tell you that clickers in reality turn behaviours into tricks. You are “marking” a behaviour and offering a reward.

I do enjoy watching trainers work with other animals – and Jamieleigh Womach is one of those people. She has a channel on youtube called BirdTricks and she is great at what she does. I’ll throw a wonderful video link at the bottom – it’s the final edit of Morgan the Macaw. It’s a beautiful journey to watch. Jamieleigh is very honest, very straight up about what she does and that’s what I really appreciate about her – and she has taught me a few things too. She will show the good with the bad – there is nothing hidden. We all make mistakes and I do so appreciate people that are willing to share those mistakes. 

And she will tell you that the bird is selfish in many way – they are all about them – not about you. And to that end, she employs clickers and treats – but confesses that the clicker simply turns the behaviour into a trick. Many of these birds she works with have never experienced flight – so – flight is a behaviour, the birds very body is designed around flight –  and she turns the behaviour of flight into a trick using the clicker and treats.

Birds are completely opposite from the dog. The dog cares about you, the dog wants to be with you, the dog wants to do for you – so the reality is – none of this stuff is necessary.

I would never use a clicker on a dog – yes, they do work. But these things are being sold willy nilly with no training – and as a dog owner with no proper instruction? When I walk into PetSmart and there is a training session going on – it sounds like a clicker fest – what clicker is the dog paying attention to? Do you actually understand just what you are clicking? And I’ll be straight up – clicked behaviours can be difficult to remove.

If you are trying to click a dog out of aggression and/or reactivity? Then you need to understand the possible dangers. A clicker is a big reinforcer – and aggression and reactivity are due to an increase in cortisol. Do you understand the ramifications of this? You are reinforcing the dogs cortisol levels in certain situations.

If a tool has any chance of being used incorrectly – it’s better to not use it. If you don’t understand what you are doing with any tool – you can do some serious damage. And that damage isn’t always physical and clickers can do mental damage.

Treats themselves are Primary Inducements – not Positive Reinforcements. You are trying to induce the dog to do for you using a secondary reinforcement – and isn’t that by definition manipulation. The problem is – when you are using that primary inducement – you are damaging your dogs view of the positive reinforcement that you are supposed to be. You’re being told to replace that with manipulation tactics – food.

Think about it this way. You are supposed to be the most important thing in your dogs life – their Positive Reinforcement. Say you’re trying to teach recall with food? The dog now has a decision to make – chase the thing in the environment – or go get a piece of food?

Where does that put you? The dog has a choice between something in the environment or a piece of food. You have replaced yourself with a secondary reinforcer – a primary inducement.

I love this video – it’s Morgan the Macaw finale.