Markers and Nonreward Markers

In training we have markers and non reward markers (NMR). A clicker or the words "yes" or "good" are markers that are paired with a treat, or 'charged', to teach the dog a reward is coming. A non reward marker, such as "no", "ah-ah", "oh-oh", "oops", "wrong" or "try again" are used to communicate with your dog that the response was not what you were looking for and to give it another shot. Failure in training is something we want the dog to understand and accept. It's important to know that failure happens, however, the game can continue if right choices are made. My dogs personally know that a wrong choice doesn't mean they will be punished but that they simply have to try something else to get their reward.

It's imperative that once you've charged up a marker such as the clicker that you honor your marker with a treat even if you click on accident. If you get into a habit of not rewarding even if you click, you'll likely end up lowering the value of the clicker and eventually the dog won't see much of anything special in it. Along with that, you want to remember only to click once for a marker. The clicker was made to have a unique sound and is an incredibly valuable tool. Poisoning it can make things more difficult if you like to train by shaping behaviors. Not only that, but even though you can use your voice as a marker for correct behavior, your voice is not as accurate and consistent as a clicker is.

 "You learn something every day if you pay attention." -Ray LeBlond

Markers and non reward markers can be incredibly useful in training because they give us a way to communicate in an effective, clear and concise manner with our dog. They are great precursors for what is to come or not to come. It's important we understand the power of these markers and use them correctly. If you're ever unsure about how to use markers or in what context one can use them in, brush up on your reading of behavior modification and training. A great book that covers clicker training and it's basics is "Don't Shoot the Dog" by Karen Pryor. This as well as her website are excellent resources to recall the basics and make sure you're doing it right. It's great that these tools are available to use, but in order to be successful in our training and communication we must be sure to use them correctly. Otherwise, what are you using it for?