Dog Training Book Review: Click & Easy- Clicker Training for Dogs

I am a big fan of using clicker training as a form of operant conditioning when training dogs (although it can be used to train just about any animal from cats, to horses to dolphins to rats). I find that using a simple clicker, the dog will catch on to the new cue and behavior faster and more efficiently.

And, on that note, as I am a big fan of clicker training, I tend to pick up new clicker training books. Generally, though, I do not pick up every clicker training book as once you have the basics, you're good to go.

I do, on the other hand, pick up clicker training books that teach you why it works and different techniques to using the clicker in order to successfully train a dog new cues and behaviors.

Click & Easy- Clicker Training for Dogs by Miriam Fields-Babineau is a great clicker training book that I definitely recommend, and below you will find out why it's one of my favorites as well as a few snippets from the book.

Clicker training has three general steps- lure, click, and reward- and Click & Easy thoroughly covers all three steps with clear verbiage that lays out clicker training in simple forms.

You will learn how to implement clicker training with basic obedience as well as select tricks and advance training, such as obedience in public not on a leash. The way that Fields-Babineau lays out the steps in training using the clicker, you should not have any problems starting from square one.

My favorite sections of Click & Easy is chapter 5- Click to Behave- and Chapter 8- Smile, Don't Growl. Chapter 5 outlays common problem behaviors and how to correct or prevent them using clicker training, which is very helpful and can potentially prevent you from having to give your family pet away due to problems behaviors such as constant barking, digging, and destructive chewing. Chapter 8 describes types of aggression and calming signals, which can be great to help redirect aggression in your dog.

Click & Easy is probably one of the best dog training books about clicker training your dog, as it not only covers the basics of learning how to implement and use clicker training, as well as the more advanced uses of clicker training that many other clicker training books do not cover as well.

If you follow the steps that Miriam Fields-Babineau lays out in her book, you will be successful at training your dog basic obedience, tricks, agility, and even preventing and correcting the bad behaviors.

I definitely recommend that you purchase Click & Easy from the Amazon link to the left.

• A clicker marks the moment your dog has done something good. Through conditioning, your dog will learn that the sound of the click means he will recieve a reward.
• Clicker training alone in a quiet environment is a great way to begin, but this is not real life The real work is filled with distractions.
• As much as clicker trainers want to approach dog training with only positive reinforcement (using rewards, never punishment), it is rare that this works 100 percent of the time on 100 percent of dogs.
• Behavior shaping is done by breaking down any skill you wish to teach into easy-to-learn increments.
• Eventually you want to have clean communication with your dog without the assistance of training tools. That is the goal of nearly everyone who trains their dog.
• Clicker training isn't limited to basic obedience or to dogs of any particular age. Because the clicker is so effective for marking the moment when Teddy has done something right, it can be a quick way to teach housetraining and to help correct bad habits- or, in the case of puppies, prevent bad habits.
• While it is great to have a dog who obeys your commands at home off leash and outdoors on a leash, it is far better for Teddy to also be reliable off leash in public places.
• Once your dog understands clicker-reward-based training, there is no limit to the things you can teach him to do.
• Reality dictates that while some dogs have the benefits of good breeding and careful rearing, most do not. If fact, most dogs are the result of either poorly planned or accidental conception.
• There are as many different canine personalities as there are human ones, so we can rarely place a label on a dog's overall propensity for specific behaviors.