Practices and perceptions of clicker use in dog training: A survey-based investigation of dog owners and industry professionals

Clicker training is an animal training technique derived from mechanized laboratory-based studies of animal learning. However, clicker training in the real world often takes place with a human trainer in an environment that is not as well controlled as a laboratory. Attempts to empirically evaluate applied clicker training techniques using testing protocols adapted from laboratory-based studies have been largely unsuccessful in replicating the learning benefits seen in laboratory animals. One proposed explanation for these inconsistencies is that methods used in the scientific evaluation of clicker training, and methods used by trainers in the industry, are not the same. The purpose of the present study was to determine what clicker training is, why people use it, and what methods are considered best practice in the context of applied dog training. A total of 586 dog owners and dog training professionals completed an online questionnaire. The results suggest that individuals do neither restrict the definition of clicker training with training using a clicker device but also include alternative signals such as verbal markers. Overall, individuals reported that clicker training was successful but acknowledged that certain handler skills need to be mastered before a person should begin clicker training with a dog. Survey respondents also showed substantial methodological variety in how they believed clickers should ideally be used. Systematic investigation into these methodological differences, along with empirical assessment of purported benefits, is now required so that evidence-based best practice recommendations in clicker training can be developed. Closer alignment between scientists and practitioners is likely to benefit both groups and the many animals that are currently trained for companion and working roles.