In the simplest terms, marker training is the process of teaching a dog that a word or sound predicts a reward. We then use this when training new behaviors to tell the dog the instant they have done what we want. This lets the dog know exactly when they did the right thing, and helps them understand what we are looking for, and allows them to repeat the behavior. The paragraph is going to talk about the history of marker training, and . how we know it works, so if you don't care about that, feel free to skip down to "So what does this mean for our dogs?" If you are the type of person who wants to know all the "whys" behind something, then this next section is for you.
The History of Marker Training
Most people these days have heard of Pavlov and his dogs, but if you haven't, here's the quick version. Pavlov had a kennel of dogs, and the were fed together by machine. A chime from the machine came just before the dogs' food was about to be delivered went from being a neutral sound to a positive sound. The dogs learned that the sound of the chime meant food, and came to find the sound of the chime to be as rewarding as the food itself as long as the association between the two remained consistent. Further testing of the dogs revealed that hearing the sound created the same excitement as actually recieving the treat. The sound became what is known as a secondary reinforcer, which just means that it has the same value to the dog as the actual reward. This was, in a sense, the first documented time that dogs were marker trained, with the chime as the marker.
So what does this mean for our dogs?
This means that our dogs, also, can be taught a marker. We can use a word or sound and give it the same value as the reward itself, because it lets the dog know that the reward is on the way. As for why we want to do this, consider the following scenerio.
You want to teach your dog to sit on cue. You tell your dog "sit" then try to get them to take the position. Once they do, you reach for a treat, and your dog gets up, but since they sat, you give them the treat. Now they should know what you want right? So you tell your dog to sit again, and they just stare at you. So you repeat what you did before, get them into a sitting position, and reach for a treat. Your dog sees you go for a treat, gets up, and gets their reward. This goes on for a few more repetitions, but no matter how many times you go through it, your dog won't sit reliably. Sometimes they do, sometimes they just look at you. Why? Because the dog is not clear on why it is getting the treat. You have the dog sit, reach for the treat, and the dog gets up and gets the treat. Since you ask the dog to do one thing (sit), but then seemingly reward another (standing up) there is no clarity for the dog. They aren't sure what they are getting the treat for, so progress is slower while they figure out exactly what you are asking of them. Without clarity, dogs can get frustrated and not want to try to learn. This will make our job even harder, because now not only do we want to teach our dogs something new, but they have no interest in learning it.
Now, let's consider this scenario again but with marker training. You tell your dog to sit, and get them to take the position. You say "yes" and your dog immediately understands that they are getting a reward, so even if they get up they know the reward was for sitting. The marker lets the dog know exactly what they are getting the reward for, which helps them understand what we are asking. And since they not only understand what we are asking, but get rewarded for doing it, the dog will be a willing participant in the training. They will be more motivated to learn what we are trying to teach, and their progress will be faster.
Marker Training is the foundation of how we train dogs here. My personal dogs, my client dogs, it doesn't matter. Any dog who I am responsible for training, I marker train. Marker training lets us be clear with our dogs, builds rewards into training in a way that makes sense for you and your dog. Now, if you're ready to go ahead and start marker training for yourself, check out our post Marker Training Part 2: How to Get Started."
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