What's the point of clicker training? Can I train my dog without it?

Question

What is the point of Clicker training? I’ve been doing my research and, it seems pretty useless. I could do the exact same method of training (hold the treat, wait for him to sit, give him the treat as soon as his bum reaches the ground, ‘click’) without the click. Wouldn’t he catch on the same way? I don’t see why the clicker training helps. Basically what I’m asking is, what does clicking before I give the treat do? Why does it help? Can I do it without the clicker and get the same results?

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

This is a great question! For training something easy like "sit", you're right that a clicker doesn't necessarily add much to the process. But for more complicated things, like training a dumbbell retrieve for obedience competition or teaching your dog to lie down on command at a distance from you, the clicker can be very useful. Basically, the click marks the specific behavior that you're going to reward. It doesn't matter so much when you're in position to reward instantly anyway - but for situations where you can't reward immediately (because the dog is far away, is holding something in his mouth, etc.) it makes a huge difference :) So use the clicker, or don't - it's really up to you, especially for basic obedience skills. But if you decide to branch out into more difficult or precise behaviors, it's worth looking into clicker training to make things easier.

What's the point of clicker training? Can I train my dog without it?

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