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Acknowledgements
While I have learned from many dog trainers over the years, a few stand out. Thanks to Glen Johnson, who early in the 80s taught me about inducive training. And also to Bill Dotson, who introduced us to Schutzhund and Search & Rescue.
Thanks Tracey Louper for letting me help teach classes, and being my friend and sounding board for new dog training ideas.
Special thanks to friend and mentor Michael Ellis. Michael is a gifted dog trainer and teacher, and almost everything I use and teach these days comes from Michael.
And thanks to Ivan Balabanov, who started our club, Big Sky Schutzhund Club, on the way to becoming thinking dog trainers.
Category Archives: Dog training
Clicker Power
I’m a lazy trainer, I admit it. So part of the reason I use a marker word rather than a clicker is that I always have my voice with me. I have to look for a clicker and who knows where I might have left it. Even after reading Clicker Bridging Stimulus Efficacy by Lindsay [...]
Class Notes: Beginning Agility
Shaping teaches a complex behaviour by progressively and selectively rewarding any action that takes the dog closer to the desired final action.
Also posted in Beginning agility, Class notes, Dog agility, learning theory Tagged agility training, clicker training agility, contact training, hoops, shaping, tunnels 1 Comment
Book sale at J&J
Excel-erated Learning by Pamela J. Reid Ph.D. and How Dogs Learn by Mary R. Burch, Ph.D. & John S. Bailey, Ph.D. are on sale for $10.99 at J&J Dog Supplies http://www.jjdog.com/ . Look under Discontinued Items. These books belong in the library of anyone interested in learning more about dog training and how dogs learn.
Pitfalls of Luring
A common complaint about using food in training is “My dog only comes when he sees the treat!” This is generally because the dog was taught by luring. The lure has become the prompt for the dog to perform the behaviour. The dog is dependent on the lure, and if the lure is not present, [...]
Also posted in learning theory Tagged ABCs of dog training, Obedience training, operant conditioning Leave a comment
Class Notes: Beginning Agility Class
Timing is everything in dog training. Using a reward marker allows the dog to clearly understand what the desired action is, and what he's getting rewarded for.
Class Notes: Proofing
Called “generalizing” by behaviourists, proofing is taking the show on the road. It enlarges the mental picture the dog has of the exercise, and allows the dog to work around distractions, ignoring them and concentrating on the job at hand. Proofing should take place in as many new and different places as possible. Little League [...]
Also posted in Class notes Tagged Dog training, generalising, Obedience training, proofing Leave a comment
Class notes: Moving attention, retrieves
It doesn’t matter how accessible the toy is, the only way the dog will get it is to give attention and gain the release word YES. This is an important component of self control. "You have to do something to get something."
Also posted in Class notes, Retrieve, heeling, learning theory Tagged Dog training, Dog training friends, Dogs, Obedience training, Schutzhund Leave a comment
Shaping
Shaping: teaching a new behaviour by rewarding successively closer approximations of the target behaviour.
Class notes: Shaped retrieve
Day 1 Begin with the dumbbell either on the ground or in your hand. On the ground works fine unless the dog wants to hit it with his front feet. We want to reinforce any interaction with the dumbbell, but OTOH, we don’t want to reinforce anything we’ll have to get rid of later, such [...]
Also posted in Class notes, Retrieve Tagged clicker training for dogs, Dog training, operant conditioning, positive reinforcement dogs, shaping behav Leave a comment
Kitchen Training: Close Fronts