Cat Clicker Training
Cat clicker training
clicks are made by small plastic clickers. It’s actually based on a child’s toy. It is nothing new; it was already being used as
early as 1940. Cat clicker training has proven to be a very good way to
mark the successful accomplishment of a special behaviour. In the beginning the clicking sound is meaningless, but it doesn’t take long for
the cat to understand that it signals something good. The same thing happens from the noise made by a can opener.
Clicker training doesn’t
take much time to learn (nor for you or your pet). It only takes a few minutes per day. First you need to head out and buy a clicker kit
and then you can get started.
Before you start:
First you need to find a quiet spot where you can be alone and undisturbed with you cat. You also need to get a big supply
of yummy food treats for your cat. Keep it in a bowl out of reach for your cat. It's important
to not let the cat see the food treats since it might become distracted and the whole session is ruined.
Keep the clicker in your hand or attached to your belt.
- First you need to learn the cat to associate the click sound with a reward. So just start to click-reward, click-reward and so
on. After a while you should notice when you click you get your cats full attention and it is expecting a reward (just like when you
open a new can of cat food).
- Now you can start to click and reward only when the cat has done something you wanted. If you tell it to sit and it completes
the task you click and reward it. You might need to help it into sitting position in the beginning. You could also start by click and
reward when the cat does a step in the right direction. Say you want it to come to you and it takes a few steps towards you, then you
can click and reward.
- Now the cat clicker training start to get a bit more difficult. You need to issue a verbal cue that tells the cat that a
special behaviour performed subsequently will be rewarded. If your cat perform spontaneously without a verbal cue you should just
ignore it.
Keep in mind that you can vary the time between click and reward. Sometimes you give the reward
immediately and sometime you wait two seconds before you give the reward. Your cat will learn that if he performs a behaviour you like he can
make you click and that means a reward for him. So all you have to do is to decide what kind of behaviour you want to reward and what you rather
ignore and you can get the cat to do what you want. Good luck with the cat clicker training and if you have any questions feel free to
email me. Now you can give cat leash training a try which can be very difficult at the beginning.
| 