Here is a rudimentary example of why it is beneficial to teach verbal 'markers' to your dog when training. **The repetition of the "Good Girl" marker is for demonstrative purposes to highlight the use. It need only be used once or twice in order to inform the dog that the behaviour is correct and that maintaining it will lead to eventual reward**
Markers ( clicker training for dogs is simply a mechanical variation of this ) open up a line of communication with your dog, a line of communication BEYOND the basic " I say, you do " of command-expectation training principles. Marker training is perhaps the closest you can come to actually having a conversation with your dog. Taught correctly, you can let your dog know not only what they are required to DO, in the command sense, but also HOW to do it without any PHYSICAL involvement from yourself. You can train ANY dog to understand several concepts through the well timed, well conditioned use of markers, such as:
Correct
Incorrect
Almost
Keep going
EXCELLENT!
If you think long and hard about it, there really isn't a great deal more you need to be able to communicate with your dog in a verbal sense, to get the best training results from them!
Marker training teaches YOU too! It teaches the most important part of training ANY animal - TIMING! Along with patience, the importance of clarity and understanding.
Do it!
Jamie Penrith
taketheleadtraining.co.uk
