Mary Allen
If a cat is to learn something through clicker training, the behavior of the owner also plays an important role. The tips described below can certainly help you when practicing.
Not too much, not too long, and never under stress: if you want to clicker with your cat, a comfortable atmosphere and lots of positive reinforcement are a must. The best thing to do is to take these tips to heart.
Clicker Training With Cats: Calm & Patience
If you want to teach cats tricks, you usually have to be a little more patient than a dog owner. So plan ahead that it might take longer and don’t lose patience. Only those who practice consistently, regularly, and calmly will reach their goal.
Of course, you should never scold your pet if it doesn’t learn a trick right away. If he associates clicker training with a bad experience, he will most likely lose interest in it and stop cooperating with his owner. Pressure, stress, and compulsion have no place on the cat’s training schedule.
Further Rules of Conduct When Practicing
It is important that you practice regularly with your house cat and do not overdo it during the training sessions. If your velvet paw just doesn’t feel like playing and shows itself to be uninterested, it’s not even worth starting to practice and the training should be postponed to a later date.
Once you find a good time, brief exercises will suffice and should be completed at a time when the cat is still enjoying it. They should also end with a motivating sense of achievement if possible.
Practice slowly and gradually, and don’t confuse your pet with ambiguous commands. You should also not keep talking to your pet, because that could confuse your cat. A quiet environment is also just as important as your own composure – if you have just come home from work stressed, the start of the training is probably rather bad.