Is it better to train dogs with a clicker or yes?
Jasper Zulauf
2025-06-25 18:12:01
Count answers: 10
You can use a clicker during training to help your dog recognise when they’ve carried out a behaviour that will lead to a reward. Using a clicker can be more predictable for your dog, and they will likely more strongly associate the sound with getting a treat. It’s easy to use marker words throughout the day outside of a training context which can be confusing for your dog, especially if it’s not followed by a reward. Our voices also naturally vary in tone, pitch and volume depending on lots of different things, but the clicker sound is consistent, and your dog will easily recognise it. You can also use a marker word for training, such as saying ‘Yes’ but if your dog is noise sensitive and the clicker sound is worrying them, you can muffle the sound by clicking the clicker from inside your pocket. If they are still scared of the sound you should use a marker word instead.
Alyson Monahan
2025-06-25 16:46:36
Count answers: 8
I don’t use clickers for all training. However, I’ve always used clickers for trick training. Tricks are often asking a dog to do something she doesn’t normally do, and so the precision of a clicker when you are shaping a new behavior is invaluable. There is no question that clicks have many advantages over words as markers. For one thing, they are short, usually only 100-200 milliseconds or so, while even a one syllable word is going to be at least twice as long. That’s part of why clicks are more precise. In addition, clicks are what are called “broad band” sounds, meaning that the sound contains energy in a broad range of frequencies, from high to low. Clicks are very much like those tall vertical bands, whereas speech is far messier and less precise. I still don’t use the clicker all the time, and for the last few years have used “yes” as a verbal marker.
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