Clicker Vs. Voice Training

In recent times, clicker training has become quite fashionable. And rightly so. Clicker training has a lot going for it. The basic principle is that dogs learn to associate the sound of a click with some kind of reward, and this association facilitates learning desired behaviors. For clickers to be effective, they have to be “biologically charged,” meaning that initially the sound of the clicker has to be paired with something that is biologically meaningful to a dog, such as food. At the sound of the click, the dog is given a favorite treat, and over time the dog learns to associate the click with good things happening in her life. The click can then be used to reinforce desired behaviors, because the click becomes the reinforcer for the behavior through associative learning.

By judicious use of clickers, dogs can be taught a variety of behaviors. If the clickers are used correctly, it represents an easy way to teach good behaviors.

However, clickers have their downside as well. For one thing, a clicker is easily lost or misplaced, so that it may not available at all times and may not be on hand to reinforce behavior. And one of the key aspects of learning in dogs is to be consistent in behavioral reinforcement. Another downside is the timing issue. For clicker training to be effective, the sound of the click has to co-occur within a second of the presentation of the food reward during the “biological charging” phase, and has to occur within a second of the performance of a desired behavior during the training phase. Too much time between the click and the reward, and the dog will not associate the click with the reward. Similarly, too much time between the performance of the desired behavior and the click, and the dog will not associate the behavior with the click. Timing is everything, and many people have a lot of difficulty getting the timing to work correctly.

An alternative to clicker training is using the voice. Here the idea is that when a dog does something that is desired, the dog is reinforced by saying something like, “Good Dog!” in a high-pitched, happy sounding voice. As with clicker training, biologically charging this is very desirable, by initially saying “Good Dog!” and giving the dog a food treat or other kind of reward that the dog likes.

There are a few advantages that voice training has over clickers.One advantage is that using a high-pitched, happy-sounding voice mimics the whine that dog mothers use with their puppies to reward the pups for correct behaviors, and dogs are predisposed to respond well to such sounds. Another advantage is that we usually always have our voices with us, while we might forget our clickers on the kitchen counter. A third advantage is that the time that it takes to say “Good Dog!” usually overlaps the desired behavior, making the timing issue less of a concern.

A disadvantage of voice training is that it is sometimes difficult for people, particularly those with deep voices, to say “Good Dog!” in a high-pitched voice. Some people find it physically impossible, while others are too embarrassed by what their neighbors and friends would think to say something like that with the right pitch and happy note.

Ultimately, it comes down to being a matter of preference. In either case, timing is crucial, and if done right, either one will work. In my dog training classes, I have had great success in teaching most people to use their voice as a reinforcer for desired behaviors, and a number of people who started out using a clicker converted to using their voice once they lost their clicker at the laundry or the kids’ soccer game.

One of the great things about dogs is that they are so eager to learn from us, even when we are not the greatest of teachers.

--- Con Slobodchikoff

Comments

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Regards