Many people who have recently heard about clicker training may think it is something new, but actually "clicker training" has been used by professional animal trainers for many years. It wasn't called clicker training until Karen Pryor coined the phrase over twenty years ago. Before that it was simply known as animal training.

Remember the old series "Baretta"? Ray Berwick was the owner/trainer of Fred, the greater sulphur crested cockatoo. Ray Berwick was using a clicker back then for training Fred. He even wrote a book titled "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR PET LIKE A TELEVISION STAR" which included a clicker.

So by now, you may be asking "ok, so what is this clicker and what is clicker training all about"?

Clicker training is operant conditioning training with the emphasis on positive reinforcement. The word operant means voluntary, operating and interacting with the environment. Conditioning means causing an organism to exhibit a specific response to a stimulant. Operant conditioning is defined as: a process of behavior modification in which the likelihood of a specific behavior is increased, maintained or decreased through positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment or negative punishment each time the behavior is exhibited. The subject comes to associate the pleasure or displeasure of the reinforcement or punishment with the behavior. What defines clicker training is we focus primarily on positive reinforcement increasing the likelihood of the behavior being taught and maintained. We occasionally may use a time out from positive reinforcement, but never force or punishment. Reinforcement has great value in training and is far more than just food when it comes to training parrots. The attention, praise, petting, and communication can be just as reinforcing.

The clicker is a box shaped metallic device. When clicked, makes a clear distinct sound. The click communicates to the bird that a reinforcement (reward) will be given. We use the clicker to "mark" the precise second the bird makes the desired approximation toward the completed behavior. By doing this, the animal knows exactly what he is being "paid" for.

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