How Do You........

[Blackrose]

In order to "Cliker Train" you don't need to use a clicker. I free shaped with my two older dogs to teach them to retrieve a stick from the ground and hand it to me (a Lab and a Lab mix that don't play fetch...weird, I know) and I never once used a little plastic box with a metal slab in the middle.

The marker word I use is "Yes!". At the moment when someone using a clicker would be clicking, I say, "yes!" It's simple, not a word I use much in day to day conversation, short, it leaves my hands free, and I always have it with me.

I agree with the training methods listed above. "Hold it" sounds like a good command to use.

[Giselle]

Clickers are simply markers. You mark the right behavior, you stop, the dog thinks and performs. In essence, the dog is teaching himself. You're just there to guide the dog. "Yes!" works, but not nearly as efficiently as clickers. Voice pitches vary and, speaking from personal experience, my body thinks faster than my voice

The clicker is a marker of good behavior - nothing more. Sounds too simple if you ask me, but that's all there really is to it! If you can find a better marker, use it