Category: Theory, Terms & Abbreviations ¤
  Author: M. Shirley Chong ¤
   Title: When To Stop Using the Clicker ¤

   Sionag Black asked at which point one stops using a clicker once a 
behaviour is well established and reliable.
   I think you answered your own question, Sionag! <smile> When it is 
well established and reliable... you don't need the clicker anymore.
   In the learning phase, the precision and accuracy of the clicker 
(or other CR) is important for best efficiency of training. Sure, 
dogs (and other animals) can be trained without a CR but it's like 
trying to paint moldings with a four inch brush--the job gets done, 
but you spend a lot of time on clean up! The CR allows you to get 
what you want, more precisely and without getting a whole bunch of 
other stuff you don't want.
   Once the dog understands the task, the pinpoint accuracy is no 
longer necessary. You can move to a variety of (less precise) CRs.
   Depending on what you are training, you may end up using the 
clicker to work on isolated bits of the behaviour more or less 
forever. Heeling is the thing that comes to my mind. The difference 
between walking nicely on lead and competitive heeling is like the 
difference between walking to the bus stop and what Fred Astaire did 
with Ginger Rogers in the ballroom. The competition in obedience is 
basically decided on style points and anything that relies on style 
needs constant maintenance. Why? I think it has to do with the 
imprecision of muscle memory--try as I might, my gait changes from 
time to time and so does the dog's gait. People debate this all the 
time--I'll just note that Fred and Ginger spent as much time 
practicing as they did in front of the camera actually performing. I 
don't think anyone believes they didn't know what they were doing!
   I also tend to whip out the clicker and use it every now and then 
as part of my personal uncertainty factor. I would like to believe 
that my dogs find me fascinatingly unpredictable--what will I 
reinforce next? In actuality, I'm probably a lot more predictable 
than I should be (but they let me keep my illusions, as good dogs are 
willing to do). Chamois and Bidge learned to sit a looong time ago, 
but every now and then, I still reinforce that and only that (and 
generously). They just never know what I might do next (so I like to 
believe).

M. Shirley Chong
The Well Mannered Dog