Teaching Your DeafBlind Dog a Marker

If you've ever heard of clicker training, a tactile marker for a deafblind dog is essentially the same thing, except you tap a specific spot on your dog's body instead of clicking a clicker. A marker means "yes!" and tells your dog the exact moment they did something you liked. The marker is always followed by a reward or treat.

Aston's marker is a key part of our training process. His marker is a gentle tap on the top of his head, but your marker can be anywhere that is convenient and doesn't startle your dog, such as a tap on their snout or chest.

Teaching your dog a tactile marker is incredibly simple. Once you've decided what to use for your marker, stock up on treats and go somewhere that your dog doesn't find very distracting. Then just tap your dog wherever you want their marker to be and immediately give them a treat. Repeat this many times in a row: mark, treat, mark, treat, mark, treat...

Then you can mark, pause for a brief second, and then give them the treat. If your dog shows that they are anticipating a treat in any way after you give their marker, (for example, Aston lowers his nose because he expects my hand to appear near his mouth with a treat), then you know your dog has begun to understand their marker.

But what is the point of a marker instead of just giving your dog a treat on its own? Here are a few ways Aston's marker is beneficial:

• I can mark the exact behavior I am rewarding more precisely without trying to shove a treat in Aston's face the second he does something well.

• The marker increases anticipation and helps build excitement in our training. If I want to reinforce calm behavior without getting Aston excited, I often choose to deliver a snack without using his marker.

• I don't need a treat in my hand at all times and can take a moment to grab and deliver reinforcement after using Aston's marker.

Here is a video of me using Aston's marker while we practice a new trick: crossing his paws!

Bonus Tip: It's okay to teach your dog more than one marker! Aston's first marker was a tap on his chest, but eventually I wanted to reinforce behaviors where his chest was inaccessible, so I added his new primary marker which is a tap on his head.