Advanced Clicker Training Game for Dogs
Once you’ve mastered beginner and intermediate clicker timing games, it’s time to focus on improving your timing when clicking small movements for complex behaviors. Yes, it’s time to push your clicker training skills even further.
Touch Your Arm (You’ll Need a Partner)
You’ll need a friend to help with this game. Ask your friend to touch your forearm with one finger. As her finger touches your arm, click. Basically, you’re teaching your friend “touch with one finger.”
Now, I’ve watched people try to cheat during this game, but they were actually learning to click too late. Instead of watching their partner’s finger, people have clicked once they felt the touch on their arm. Well, that’s clicking too late. If you click after “feeling” a touch, you’re probably clicking your friend for moving her finger away from your arm. Don’t believe me? Spin around and watch. 🙂
VIDEO: Improving Your Clicker Training Skills – Advanced Game
RELATED: Clicker Training for Dogs
Pause Button on DVR
By far, this is my favorite game to improve clicker timing! When watching TV, choose a specific behavior you want to “click” for, such as the below examples. Press your DVR pause button to freeze during a specific moment. Basically, you’re using the DVR pause button as a clicker. You’re clicking the pause button to capture a specific dog behavior.
- Person drinking: Placing glass against her lips or setting glass down on counter.
- Animal running: Pause when an animal’s four feet are off the ground (fully extended).
- Person talking: Pause when mouth is open.
You can choose anything to pause (click) with a DVR–use your imagination! Shoot, you can even pause blinking, pausing when a person’s eyes are closed.
VIDEO: Using a DVR to Practice Your Clicker Timing
READ MORE: Teaching a Dog “Look at Me:” Capture It
