A very popular technique that is being used for Pit Bull terrier training is with the help of a “clicker”. Clicker dog obedience training makes use of a small plastic box that has a metal button on top of it which makes a clicking sound once it is pressed. Clicker training is hit or miss, your Pit may react well and learn from it or he may decide otherwise. There have been a lot of success stories with clicker training.
Canine training research has shown in many dog studies that the clicker promotes obedience training without the use of harsh discipline or negative reinforcement. The idea behind clicker training is that whenever your Pit does something positive, he’ll get rewarded and continue to behave in that manner. Dogs are extremely intelligent and if they do something that earns them praise or a tasty treat, they’ll quickly learn to repeat the action.
Training your Pit Bull terrier with a clicker is a good way to reinforce positive behaviors. If your Pit obeys you by following your “sit” command, simply give the clicker a “click” and immediately reward him with a treat. The next time your Pit Bull obeys, do the same but don’t say anything verbally. Your dog will soon realize that whenever he sits, he hears a “click” and gets a treat. This is powerful because he will associate the clicking sound with positive reinforcement and will soon obey even without the treat.
Clicker dog training is never used in conjunction with negative reinforcement because researchers believe that although punishment does stop some bad behaviour, it could also potentially create other unwanted behaviors. Punishment, or negative reinforcement, is almost always practiced after a dog has done something wrong. Therefore, dogs see punishment as a random consequence which makes in ineffective as a training technique.
