You’re Already Doing Clicker Training (Whether You Know It or Not)

Sara Scott
5 days ago
6 min read

I was talking to someone recently about clicker training, and they explained why they weren’t interested: they didn’t want to get stuck carrying a clicker around all the time, and they’d rather just use rewards without having to click every behavior. I get it—the image of wearing a clicker around your neck for the rest of your dog’s life isn’t exactly appealing. But here’s the thing: a clicker is a learning tool that comes out during the teaching phase, not something you’re meant to use forever. More importantly, whether you want to do clicker training or not, you’re already doing it. Something is always acting as the marker—you’re just either aware of it or you’re not.

What Is a Marker, Anyway?

Simply put, a marker is a signal that tells your dog “yes, that exact behavior you just did is what earned the reward.” It could be a click, a word like “yes,” or even an involuntary sound you make. The marker bridges the gap between the behavior and when you can deliver the reward, giving your dog crystal-clear information about what they did right. In this article, we’re using the term “clicker training” to describe any training approach that focuses on using a marker system—whether that marker is an actual clicker or something else entirely.

The Markers You Don’t Know You’re Using

If you’re not using a clicker, something else is still functioning as the marker—a predictor that you’re about to deliver a reward. And if you’re not aware of what that marker is, you could be accidentally reinforcing behaviors you don’t want.

I remember attending Clicker Expo in Oakland back in 2018 (how time flies). Ken Ramirez—now CEO of Karen Pryor Clicker Training, though he wasn’t at the time—was working with someone I knew and their pit bull on training mechanics. He asked the handler if he was using a marker, and the guy said no. Ken suggested we all watch closely because while this person wasn’t intentionally using a marker, he absolutely was. He was holding treats in his hand, and right before delivering each treat, he’d roll it with his thumb and then extend his hand toward the dog. The dog was keenly aware of all these details, and that thumb roll had become the marker. Once Ken pointed this out, you could see the lightbulb moment—now this handler could train more effectively because he understood what his dog was actually reading.

Imagine if every time you roll your thumb, you’re unintentionally telling your dog “yes, that’s exactly what I want you to do,” but you have no idea you’re doing it. You can see how quickly this would muddy the waters.

Other unintentional markers are just as common. Moving your hand toward the treat pouch becomes a marker if you’re not giving your dog a clear signal first. Think about how sloppy your training would become if every single time your hand started moving toward your bait bag, your dog believed they’d just performed the correct behavior you wanted them to repeat. You’d be reinforcing all sorts of things—good or bad—completely unintentionally, and your communication would deteriorate fast.

Choosing Your Marker Intentionally

Once you understand that a marker is happening regardless, it becomes clear why being aware of your marker is essential for streamlined, effective communication with your dog.

Your marker should be unique—not something your dog hears or experiences all the time. It also needs to meet your dog’s specific needs. A dog who can’t see needs a different marker than a dog who can’t hear, and both need something thoughtfully chosen for their particular situation.

What’s great about a clicker is that it’s a very unique sound, so it’s easy to protect the clarity of that marker, whereas our voices can get lost in the fray of daily life. If you do use your voice, make sure you pick a word that’s not already in your regular repertoire. Many people want to use the word “good” as a marker, but you very likely already use “good” as praise—telling your dog they’re wonderful after they’ve done a behavior. Praise falls into the reward category, which comes after the marker. So it might look like this: “Yes!” (marker—you did the thing correctly), then here’s a cookie, and then “Good job! You’re so wonderful!” Good isn’t an effective marker because of this overlap.

A lot of people choose the word “yes” as their marker because it’s unlikely you say that to your dog often. But you could use a whistle, a hand clap, a hand signal—the possibilities are endless. I used to work with a deaf dog and would simply give them a thumbs up as the marker. I’ve also used a laser pointer as a marker for a dog who couldn’t hear, flashing it in front of their face to let them know they’d done the correct behavior. I’ve used physical touch as a marker, tapping a dog’s shoulder to communicate they’d done what I wanted.

What matters is that you understand the concept and then pick a marker that’s going to work for you and your dog—whether that’s a clicker or something else you’ve purposely thought out.

How to Charge Your Marker

Once you’ve chosen your marker, the next thing you want to do is charge it—build an association that the marker predicts food is coming. This is where you practice clean mechanics, which is essential for communicating clearly with your dog.

Start with a bowl of food sitting on a table or counter next to you, out of your dog’s reach. Call your dog over and offer them one piece of food from the bowl. Then, with both of your hands empty, give your marker—that might be clicking the clicker, saying your specific word, or giving your hand signal. Pause one second, then reach over to the bowl, grab a treat, and deliver it directly to your dog, handing it from your hand to their mouth. Pause a beat, then repeat this 15 to 20 times. Do this for 2 to 3 more sessions and your marker will be conditioned.

You’re looking for your dog to have a physical reaction to the sound of the marker. For example, when I click, my dog’s eyes open up slightly, their ears perk up, and their tail wags as they expect a treat. This tells me the association is complete.

Putting It to Work (And Eventually Fading It Out)

Once the association is complete, you can begin using your marker to capture behaviors you like and tell your dog what you’d like them to do more of. For example, if I’m working on teaching my dog to lie down, the second they lie down I can mark it and then offer them a treat. If they continue to stay for a longer period of time, I might mark again and offer another treat, letting them know I like it when they stay put.

Once your dog is clear on a behavior, you can work on putting it on cue and fading out the use of the marker. The marker is something you only use when teaching a behavior. Once your dog reliably understands a behavior and performs it on cue—for example, you say “sit” and your dog promptly sits, and they’ve been doing that regularly and reliably in many different environments—it’s time to remove the marker. When the dog sits, you can simply reward the behavior. Over the long term, once the dog responds reliably, you can intermittently reward the behavior, keeping it robust without having to reward continuously. It’s really that simple.

So let’s circle back to where we started: you don’t have to carry a clicker around forever, and you’re not signing up for a lifetime of clicking every behavior. The clicker—or whatever marker you choose—is a teaching tool that helps you communicate with precision during the learning phase. Once your dog understands what you’re asking for, the marker fades out and life goes on. But here’s what doesn’t fade: the clarity you gain from understanding that something is always acting as a marker, whether you intended it or not. By choosing your marker intentionally and using it with clean mechanics, you’re giving your dog the gift of clear communication. And that’s what great training is really all about.