Clicker Training 101: Who invented clicker training?

April 7, 7:01 PMClicker Training ExaminerEve Alexander

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Joel Silverman trained orcas at Sea World.

Karen Pryor and her dogs.

Modern clicker training originated in the 1960s in big marine parks like Sea World. Trainers wanted to move beyond training seals and parrots – they wanted to train dolphins and orcas (killer whales). The problem is conventional training did not work with large, powerful marine species that cannot be restrained or forced to perform.

Trainers decided to try something innovative – they would reward the behavior they wanted and ignore the behavior they didn’t want. It worked! They created a training system using a marker to signal to the animal the instant it does what the trainer wants, followed up promptly and faithfully, with a reward.

Joel Silverman, author of 'What Color Is Your Dog' was the first trainer to teach an orca (killer whale) to carry him from 33 feet under water to the surface and leap out of the water, propelling him into a swan dive.

Karen Pryor was one of those early pioneers working with large marine mammals. Her mission became to introduce dog owners with this new non-coercive and non-forceful method of training. Visit her website and you will learn about creative clicker training for all kinds of animals – dogs, horses, cats, rats, rabbits, ferrets, and even aquarium fish!

Karen Pryor is still the world’s foremost authority on the topic of clicker training for companion animals. She has written many books including the ground-breaking best-seller “Don’t Shoot The Dog – The New Art of Teaching and Training”.

The US Navy uses trained dolpins.

Other early clicker training pioneers include B.F. Skinner's students Keller Breland, Bob Bailey and Marian Breland Bailey who established the Animal Behavior Enterprises company and directed their efforts to training dolphins for the CIA, as well as covert operations featuring ravens and cats carrying cameras and radios into buildings undetected.

Alexandra Kurland started clicker training her horses in the 1990s and is now the preeminent authority on clicker training horses. She has written many very helpful how-to books and created videos with excellent explanations and illustrations. She addresses clicking while riding to improve performance and also playful activities like teaching a pony how to paint!

For more info: 
Karen Pryor's Clicker Training
Alexandra Kurland's Clicker Center
Interview with Bob Bailey and Marian Breland Bailey
Interview with Joel Silverman, Hollywood Dog Trainer and Author of 'What Color Is Your Dog'