EZYDOG is know for making high quality dog apparel, leashes, and training equipment. Recently they released their Command Clicker, which sports a few interesting features but comes with a hefty $10 price tag. So, we picked one up and used it during training for about a month, to see if it really lives up to its lavish cost.
About the EZYDOG Command Clicker
Here is some information about the clicker before we go over our initial impression. The EZYDOG Command Clicker is advertised as an ergonomic and “hands-free” effective training tool. It sports a unique design and is intended to be used with one hand. The bean shaped body of the clicker is split into two parts: the top half is made from a solid plastic while the bottom is made of a semi-pliable silicon.
The biggest feature that sets this clicker apart from other clickers is the silicon underside has a universal finger clasp. This finger clasp is designed to fit a majority of adult fingers and holds the clicker pretty securely in place.
On the top side of the clicker, the button that produces the “click” sound, sticks out from the rest of the body and is very easy to press. The actual sound that is made is quieter than other clickers I have used.
Training indoors there would be no issue with the dogs hearing the click, but outdoor background noise may cause the marker to go unnoticed. The clicker also comes with an adjustable wrist strap, so you do not have to put it in your pocket when you are not using it. Overall the EZYDOG Command Clicker is well constructed and definitely well made.
As mentioned above we used this clicker during training session for a month before sharing my opinion on it. There were quite a few things I did like about it but a couple that I was not fond of. Here is my list of Likes and Dislikes.
Likes
- Overall Construction – This clicker is made from nice materials, it feels good in hand and has a well-made sense to it. If used under normal trying conditions, I believe it would stand up to the test of time. If you are not dropping or throwing this thing on a regular basis, I cannot see it breaking anytime soon. I like the shape of the body of the clicker and how easy the button is to reach. I have not seen many clickers this bean shape, but I am a big fan of it. It fits well in your hand and you do not have to do much fidgeting to get the clicker in the right position.
- Wrist Strap – The wrist strap that EZYDOG decided to use is an adjustable draw-string lanyard. I like this choice over your common elastic band that typically comes with a clicker. This strap I find way more convenient and useful. It keeps the clicker in place without getting in the way or cutting off blood circulation. It is a minor detail but contributes to the overall high-quality feel.
- Clicker button – Although it may seem like a small detail, I think it was one of the biggest features I liked about this clicker. The button is clearly defined and easily found if you are scrambling to click for a desired behavior. The clicker is easily pressed and there is lots of spring back so continuous clicking is a breeze.
Dislikes
- “Hands-free” – One thing I found odd when looking at the packaging when I first got the clicker is it advertises itself as “hands – free”. The clicker is designed to be attached to either you index or middle finger so that the clicker is not hanging off your wrist when it is not is use. To claim to be hands-free is just simply not true.
- Finger Clasp – I will give EZYDOG credit in that this is a design of clicker I have never seen before. I tried the finger clasp, I tried to like it, but in the end, I am not a huge fan of it. When it is attached to your finger it just feels clunky and clumsy. The clicker seemed to get in the way of things more when it was attached to my finger than when it was hanging around my wrist. I found that if I cradled the clicker with my 4 fingers and clicked with my thumb as normal, I enjoyed using this clicker a lot more. When attached to a dominant finger on your hand like that it renders that whole hand useless.
- Clicker speaker placement – On the face of the clicker there are holes that allow the sound from the clicker to be heard. Because the placement of the holes is right below the clicker button the sound from the clicker gets muffled quite a bit. Like I mentioned above, indoors this would not affect training too much but outside in a semi noisy environment the sound of the clicker may get lost.
- Constant rattling – Probably the first thing that I noticed about this clicker is whatever noise making mechanism that is used internally, it rattles…constantly. The slightest vibration, bounce, or jiggle will cause it to make a considerable amount of noise. If used consistently enough in training, this rattle can begin to cue the dog, allowing them to predict what happens next. In training we do not want this. This clicker is so sensitive to vibration that even if it was in my pocket and I was walking around, I could clearly here it with every step that I took, and I am not a very heavy-footed person.
So, is it really worth the $10 price tag?
Working with this clicker I did not hate the experience at all. The clicker is well built, fits well in hand (not on your finger), and has a unique/ambitious design. Even though the overall experience was not horrible, there were still numerous flaws. I think that if the clicker didn’t have such a high price tag, I would not have had such an issue with these flaws. But because of these issues I do not believe the EZYDOG Command Clicker is worth the $10. There are many other clickers on the market that work just as well, if not better, for a fraction of the price.