Self control is one of the most critical skills a dog needs to learn, and it is a skill that is required multiple times a day. Dogs are expected to refrain from picking up something forbidden when it appears within reach. Some examples that come to mind include: dropped medication, chicken bones, the hamster, dead birds, Granny's hearing aid, Susie's favorite stuffed toy, the last remaining baby soother...
Cues and Cueing
How to Teach Give: A Winning Recipe
By Leah Roberts on 05/01/2008By the time most dogs get to my classes, their owners have already taught them that when they get hold of something special, it's going to be taken away. Most of the time, the owners get upset, yell, and force the object out of their mouths. So, when dogs find that deliciously smelly dead squirrel in the yard, they are more likely to hide the squirrel under the couch than allow their owners to catch them with it.
What Makes a Reward Rewarding?
By Kay Laurence on 02/01/2008"Reward your dog." We've heard this many, many times in many formats. It takes a lot of experience to get the best from a reward—where the reward delivers everything the dog needs in order to offer the behavior again and again, with passion.
Lessons from Llamas
By Karen Pryor on 09/01/2007Newcomers to operant training may place superstitious value on the specific tools they see others using, not realizing that it's the process, not the equipment, that counts.
Chasing Squirrels
By Karen Pryor on 07/17/2007In April of this year there was a discussion on the ClickerExpo Yahoo Group e-mail list about squirrel chasing. It became a hot topic, generating many opinions and replies. I responded to the ruckus with this post.
