Click to Calm

By using the clicker you can reinforce behavior that you like (calm) and as it becomes more frequent (due to reinforcement), gradually it will take the place of the more active behavior that you don’t like.

Prerequisite

Your dog should be conditioned to the clicker and it should be reinforcing to him/her. You can do that by:

Stock your treat pouch with small, soft treats.
Select a low distraction environment.
When your dog does anything that isn’t obnoxious, click and toss a treat in front of him.
Be careful not to reach for your treat until you have clicked.
Repeat this until your dog responds with anticipation when he hears the click.

Tools

A pouch full of pea sized treats.
A clicker.

Training Environment

It’s always best to have as few distractions around as possible, but you can do this anywhere.

Recommended Treat Position

Toss the treats in front of your dog unless he/she is lying down. If your dog is relaxed on the floor, put the treats right in front of his/her mouth so he/she will remain in the relaxed position. This is what we’re after!

Steps

Identify your dog’s triggers. Try starting this exercise with something that makes him mildly excited in the environment (it may be you). For more difficult triggers (cats, strangers, etc.) it should be far enough away that he doesn’t lose his mind.
Click for anything that isn’t completely nuts. Look for split seconds where your dog is not reacting to the exciting thing.
Toss the treat on the floor so he has to go get it.
You will see the more relaxed behaviors begin to replace the excited behaviors. When this happens, make it slightly harder on your dog. You can add the following to the exercise ONE AT A TIME and only after success.
- Dog in down while trigger is far away.
- Trigger moves slowly closer.
- You change position. If you’ve been sitting on the couch, get up and practice.
If at any point your dog falls apart, go back to the last step you were successful with and practice more.
Once your dog is bored with a trigger, if you have others you can start at the beginning and work through each.

Homework

Practice this for 5-10 minutes when the situation presents itself (for example, a guest comes over). Be sure your dog is on a leash so he/she cannot harass your visitors, and ask permission in advance. If someone doesn’t want to participate, put your dog away in a back room.

Set up a scenario where your dog is struggling but not totally out of control, and practice for 5-10 minutes, 3 or 4 times each week.

At the End of This Step

When you finish this exercise with each trigger, that trigger should be less exciting to your dog. Work new triggers as they present themselves.