I’ve heard people talk about "clicker training." What is that?

Clicker training is a form of positive reinforcement training which makes use of what’s called a "clicker" - a noise making device. In our first session, we’ll go through a process called "charging the clicker" which will teach the animal to associate the sound with a reward. The click becomes what’s known as a "secondary reinforcer" and marks the exact moment when the animal performed the behavior you liked. It also lets them know that a reward is forthcoming. The clicker is sometimes called a "bridge" because it bridges the moment between when the animal performed the behavior, and when the reward is delivered. The click is a very succinct noise, and always has the same sound, regardless of our health, our mood or who is using it.

Making use of a clicker, we’re able to speed the learning process by removing the ambiguity from our training situations. For instance, if we’re working on teaching our dog to sit without using the clicker to mark the moment, and instead used a phrase such as "Good dog!" when they sat, by the time we got the words out and delivered the reward, the dog might've stood, taken a step, sniffed, etc. Which of those was the behavior that earned the reward? What if we were sick or had a rough day and our voice sounded different? Animals are very sensitive to little nuances in their environment, and when even slight change occurs (such as tone of voice), confusion can creep in. Using a clicker helps avoid these ambiguities and aids in speeding the training process.