Vizsla Clicker Training

Do you want to know how to clicker train your Vizsla fast?

I feel your pain… I spent 12 months with an ‘out of control’ dog before I found relief.

Clicker training is among the best and most effective methods for changing and reinforcing your dog’s behavior when attempting to teach them basic commands. Like any new skill, it takes a little time to master clicker training, however, with a well operated clicker, you can teach your dog virtually anything.

The Theory Behind Clicker Training

The concept behind clicker coaching is that you are training the dog to link the sound of the clicker – a robust, pointed sound that they can hear from 20+ yards away – with a particular command you give. The point of the training is to mark particular desirable behavior and then reward it with the sound of the clicker.

Of course clicker dog training does not start with a clicker. You must first teach your dog that the clicker is a reward for good behaviour. This can be done with a bag of treats and a simple, two dollar clicker from your local pet store.

The reasons why should you follow this method…

* Your Vizsla will associate the clicker with ‘doing a good job’ and ‘receiving a treat’ only

* Verbal commands are given in a variety of situations – this can cause confusion in your dog’s mind and therefore verbal commands are often not as strong as a clicker response

Clicker Training – The Method

There are 3 very simple steps to train your dog to respond to a clicker.

Step 1. Ask for the behavior – ask your Vizsla to do something you want. It can be sitting, staying, lying down, or whatever other behaviours you are attempting to teach.

Step 2. After you’ve gotten them to perform their behaviour, mark it with a click.

Step 3. Give them a reward.

It generally takes only 2 or 3 markings before your dog learns the connection between the behavior and the click.

Once the dog has done the behaviour and received their reward, continue doing it to reinforce the behaviour as much as possible. You do not have to use treats every time. Praise and petting work just as well and can eventually replace the behaviour.

Clicker obedience training is effective because of the speed of the connection between behaviour and click in the dog’s mind. An oral command on the other hand can take a little longer to train.

Transitioning to a Command

Once your Vizsla has associated the new behaviour with the click – it is time to transition to a command.

Step 1. Give the command Step 2. Click Step 3. Give a Reward

Your dog will quickly learn to associate all 3 steps.

Ultimately, with good clicker training, your Vizsla will respond to oral cues and praise for behaviour without the need for treats.

As you might imagine, clicker dog training has a number of applications. It can make training your Vizsla so much easier in many ways. With a simple, sharp command, you can mark and reinforce nearly any behaviour.

The question is, can you alter your Vizsla’s bad behaviours for good? Yes you can! Check out Andrew Cox’s FREE e-book on How To STOP Your Vizsla’s Obedience Problems For Good!, and learn how to become the APLHA dog. Free reprint avaialable from: Vizsla Clicker Training.

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