Clicker training is an operant conditioning method for training an animal using a clicker, or small mechanical noisemaker, as a marker for behavior. The method uses positive reinforcement - it is reward based. The clicker is used during the acquisition phase of training a new behavior, to allow the animal to rapidly identify that a behavior is sought and also the precise behavior of interest.

Clicker training was originated through Marian Bailey (née Kruse) and Keller Breland, who as graduate students of psychologist and eminent behaviorist B.F. Skinner taught wild-caught pigeons to "bowl" (push a ball with their beaks) while participating in military research. According to their work, animal training was being needlessly hindered because traditional methods of praise and reward did not inform the animal of success with enough promptness and precision to create the required cognitive connections for speedy learning. Similar methods were later used in training at least 140 species including whales, bears, lions, chickens and domestic dogs and cats, and even humans (TAGteach).

Victoria Stilwell (born July 20, 1969 in Wimbledon, England) is widely known as a dog trainer, author, and television presenter. Stilwell served as a judge on the CBS show Greatest American Dog and presents the Animal Planet dog training TV show It's Me or the Dog, counselling families with problem pets and solving their dogs’ behaviour problems.

Stilwell originally trained as an actress, playing roles in Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992, ITV1's The Bill in 1994, and onstage in London's West End theatre, as well as several commercials and voiceovers. She received a BA honours degree in Theatre from Middlesex University. In order to supplement her income as an actress, Stilwell's veterinary nurse sister suggested Victoria start a dog walking agency. Within a month Victoria was walking 20 dogs per day - 10 in the morning, 10 in the afternoon - and immediately recognized the need for qualified professionals to help her clients with the training process. She then expanded her focus to dog training by learning from some of Britain's most respected positive-reinforcement dog trainers and behaviorists. After moving to the U.S. with her husband in 1999, Stilwell co-founded several successful dog training companies up and down the East Coast. Born and raised in Wimbledon, England, Victoria Stilwell is one of the worlds most recognized and respected dog trainers, reaching fans in over 50 countries. She is best known for her role as the star of Animal Planet's hit TV series “It's Me or the Dog”, through which she is able to share her understanding and desire for positive reinforcement dog training by taming some of the world’s most uncontrollable pets as she counsels families on their pet problems.

Zak George is a professional dog trainer.

He was born in Atlanta, Georgia on December 3, 1978. He has three dogs: Venus, SuperNova and Alpha Centuari. He used to be a real estate agent before becoming a dog trainer.

He stars on SuperFetch, a show on Animal Planet, and 'Who Let the Dogs Out', a show on the UK station CBBC. In his shows, he teaches dogs several unusual tricks.

Zak George is a proponent of the so-called "positive" school of dog training, which teaches that only gentle, reward-based methods, without physical aversives, should be used for dog training. He has publicly stated his opposition to Cesar Millan and his methods, calling him "Yesterday's Dog Trainer", although Millan states that he "rehabilitates dogs, and trains people". Zak George shows his considerable skills as a dog trainer in his YouTube videos and on his shows. However, as is being discussed on his YouTube channel, there is some contention about the validity of his methods when applied to seriously aggressive dogs with major behavior problems, which are the target of a dog behaviorist or canine psychologist, as Millan describes himself.