• Have the clicker in one hand – and make sure your treats are easily accessible.
• Hold your hand out, palm flat and towards your dog.
• Most dogs will come and investigate your hand – and the moment their nose touches your hand, click the clicker and give them a treat (dropping it in the ground is usually easiest).
• Repeat – sometimes the second time takes a bit more time while your dog thinks about it but be patient (and if you need to, move your hand so it is a bit more obvious).
• Then practise until your dog is touching your hand every time you hold it out to them.
• Move somewhere slightly different each time to make this more dynamic and exciting.
• Once your dog has got the hang of it, you can add the cue word (“touch”) the instant before your dog’s nose is about to touch your hand.
• Then you are ready to say the cue word and your dog will touch your hand.
• Once they can do that reliably, you can begin to fade out the clicker but still reward good nose touches.

And that’s all there is to it – you have clicker trained your first exercise. What you have also done is taught your dog that “the thing you did that made me click the clicker, has earned you a reward”. It has become a conditioned reinforcer.

4. Using the clicker for more advanced tricks

Now your dog understands what the clicker means, you can use it to mark any behaviour you want your dog to repeat. So, when you are training more advanced exercises, or at times when you can’t immediately get the treat to your dog because they are not next to you, you can use the clicker.

This can be things like teaching your dog to go and close the door or do spins and twists – or just to do basic exercises like sit or down.

5. Remember the ‘clicker rules’

One of the joys of clicker training is that there aren’t many rules – but there are a few.

The first is that if you click, you must treat – even if you clicked in the wrong place. For the clicker to have value, the dog has to believe that it always means a treat is on the way.

The clicker marks the end of a behaviour so don’t click if you want your dog to continue a wait or a stay.

Do not ‘fire’ the clicker at your dog or sound it close to their ear.

6. You do not have to carry a clicker forever!

Once your dog understands each exercise and is doing it reliably, you can start to reduce the clicks and the treats – until eventually they are doing the trick or behaviour on a cue word alone. Keeping the clicker for sessions to brush up tricks or do a reminder session every now and then however can be really useful. A clicker trained dog seems to work with a lot more enthusiasm so it's a great thing to get out if you think your dog is getting bored or a bit stale.

7. Keep the sessions short

The joy of clicker training is that you can do short fun sessions and then have a break. It is far better to do a 10 minute session several times a day than do one long one where you both get bored and fed up.

When it comes to the things you can teach your dog using clicker training, the sky is the limit – so get imaginative and have some fun.

Teaching your pup new tricks should be fun and easy and with dog clicker training you’ll soon have a very skilled furry best friend that you can show off to friends and family next time they come over. If you’re a beginner, check out this guide on basic dog training cues next!