On July 11 we had our first on-line all day email discussion. The topic was Clicker Training [0] in the Shelter Environment. Hundreds of people signed on. Dee Ganley and Nancy Lyons of Upper Valley Humane Society [1] pitched in all day long. So did I. So did Melissa Alexander [2], Kathleen Weaver [3], and many other distinguished clickeristas. The questions and the answers were extraordinary.
The Discussion is now available on our website. Go take a look [4]. It reads like a novel, as one person and then another share the astonishing things that people are doing with naïve animals and clickers. It's a goldmine of practical tips if you are volunteering in a shelter, working at a shelter, or working with rescue dogs. More than that: it's a mind-blowing education.
My advice: download it to a computer file and read it on-screen, instead of printing it out. It's lengthy if you print it, but easy to skip through by topic if you read it on-screen.
Did you read that? Click! Here's your Treat.
A children's novel-a 'Young Adults' story-about clicker [4] training. "Shaper," by Jessie Haas [4].
Jessie Haas is a wonderful writer of children's books. Her novels about teens and pre-teens, often involving beloved but problem horses, have won her an enormous following and many awards. Your school and your local library have a bunch of Jessie Haas novels, I guarantee you, and the librarians love to recommend them.
Well, Jessie sent me her latest, out of the blue, and it's all about clicker training. She's written a delightful summer tale of a disgruntled 15 year old boy with a dog he doesn't like and …well, it's a great beach read for anyone you know who deals with kids, or who IS a kid, and who appreciates what might happen when a mentoring clicker trainer moves onto the farm next door.
The first novel about clicker training! Probably not the last, though! I loved it. I phoned her. It turns out she discovered clicker training through the books we publish by Morgan Spector [4] and Alexandra Kurland [4].
'Shaper' by Jessie Haas. We like it so much we're carrying it in our store.