Karen Pryor Clickertraining - Dogs

How to Stop Unwanted Barking

Melissa Alexander — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 02:00:00 -0500

When you deal with barking, it's important to look at the whole situation. Barking is sometimes a symptom of another problem—for example, fear, boredom, or stress. If you fix the problem, the symptom will likely go away. However, if you simply treat the symptom, the problem will just manifest itself in a different way-one which may be worse! Treat the problem not the symptom.

Training Your Dog to Sit

Melissa Alexander — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Q: I'm trying to teach my dog to sit, but she's not really getting it quite right. What should I be doing?

Housetraining Your Puppy

Peggy Tillman — Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Your goal is to teach your puppy the right place to eliminate. Here's how to potty train your puppy with clicker training.

Training "Leave It"

Emma Parsons — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0600

Q: I have a rescue Border collie/lab mix. He is about 5 months old, and an absolute delight. He picks up things very easily and constantly needs a job. We have been working on clicker training and we both really like it, but I have a couple of "positive training" questions. First. How do I train "leave it"? Second. How do I train him not to chew the house up? Third. How do I maintain the bond that I have developed, but have him listen to other people?

Dog in the Kitty Litter

Karen Pryor — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0600

Q: How can I stop my dog from eating cat poop?

Clicking for Cancer

Miranda Hersey Helin — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0600

The olfactory power of dogs has made headlines again this month, with new research supporting our canine friends' ability to "sniff out" the presence of cancer. While these findings continue to astonish many, one aspect won't surprise fans of operant conditioning: the dogs in this study were clicker trained.

Ben: An Aggressive Dog Case Study

Emma Parsons — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0600

Editors' note: Award-winning paper!

What I am going to present to you is my own case study about my golden retriever, Benjamin. It was through Ben that I met Karen Pryor and, thus, found some of the most effective ways to deal with aggression and fear-based behavior in dogs.

Child Guests Scared of Dogs

Karen Pryor — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0600

Q: During the holidays last year, we had a young relative visit our home who was terrified of our dog, who is a little excitable but very good natured. I couldn't seem to convince the child—or his parents—that there was nothing to be afraid of. What can we do for such encounters in the upcoming holiday season?

Overcoming Fear of the Clicker

Karen Pryor — Mon, 01 Nov 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Q: I've successfully clicker trained my dogs in the past, but I now have a retriever who's scared of the clicker. The sound bothered him at first, and now he won't respond to anything I've tried—he heads for the hills as soon as I take the clicker out. What can I do?

Preventing Jumping on Strangers

Karen Pryor — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Q: Can you give me some pointers for using clicker training to stop my dog from jumping on visitors? I have gotten her to stop jumping on family and frequent visitors, but new people are at her mercy.

Finding the Right Training Class

Peggy Tillman — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Okay, so you've started clicker training your dog and you think that taking a class would be fun. It will take a little work on your part to make sure that the class you take meets your needs.

"NRMs" No Reward Markers

Melissa Alexander — Tue, 01 Jul 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Humans are notoriously verbal creatures. We love to talk, and we do so automatically, even when the person we're talking to doesn't speak our language, can't hear what we're saying, or even when the "person" isn't a person at all.

Implementing a Clicker Program in Your Shelter: An Overview

Karen Pryor — Sat, 01 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Clicker training is fun and easy to learn, for animals and people both. The clicker is a consistent signal, giving the animal confidence, no matter who is clicking. From a click and treat here and there shelter dogs can learn desirable behavior such as sitting instead of jumping up at the kennel door, or being quiet instead of barking. Dogs that have learned how to "make people click" tend to become calmer and more confident, and thus more adoptable. Even two or three extra minutes spent clicking and treating an individual animal can be time well spent.

Clicker Dogs and Owners Respond to September 11

KPCT — Thu, 18 Oct 2001 00:00:00 -0500

From Bob Sessions, Thunder, and Sky: Karen, I must thank you again for the training foundation skills you share so generously. I am with Maryland Task Force 1, one of the FEMA Task Forces. I was on the first recon team to enter the Pentagon on 9/11.

Clicking a Deaf Dog

Karen Pryor — Sun, 01 Jul 2001 00:00:00 -0500

The best example of a clicker trained dog that I know personally is Lynn Gardner's Aussie rescue named Maggie Mae, in Ontario. Maggie's owner has trained her to recognize over 200 cues, and often does clicker demos with her in schools. Maggie's click is the blink of a flashlight, just a regular pen light pointed at her; and most of her cues are American Sign Language words. The trainer holds the light in one hand along with the target stick if using one; and treats in the other, just as we do with target and clicker. The dog has to be watching the trainer to see the blink, but she watches very carefully, you may be sure! Once when Maggie was sitting in front of Lynn, at attention, Lynn gave her a hand signal, and the dog rolled over on one haunch and scratched herself. I couldn't help but ask, "What was THAT signal?" "Relax," said Lynn.

On Being a Change Maker

Karen Pryor — Sun, 01 Nov 1998 00:00:00 -0600

So you've become a clicker trainer. Naturally you are very excited. You want other people around you to stop using punishment-based methods and start clicking. So you introduce the clicker at your dog club or high school or wherever you are using it. And guess what: people not only don't change, they get mad at you.

Targeting vs. Luring

Gale Pryor — Wed, 01 May 1996 00:00:00 -0500

Soon after learning that a click marks the exact behavior and tells the animal what earned its reward, newcomers to clicker training wonder how to go about getting that clickable behavior. On this point, the answer they hear depends on whom they ask.

The Training Game

Karen Pryor — Sun, 01 Jan 1995 00:00:00 -0600

The Training Game is a great way to sharpen your shaping skills and have fun at the same time. It allows you to see and experience other trainers' decision points, and to be aware of what you might have done instead. It also allows trainers to make mistakes, and learn from them, without confusing some poor animal or unsuspecting person! Maybe most valuable of all, it allows you to see the training process from the viewpoint of the trainee, which is often a highly illuminating experience. The training game also helps us get rid of the superstitious behavior of putting the blame for problems on the person or animal we are working with, instead of on the training contingencies, where it belongs.

How to Train Your Dog to Play Soccer

Aidan Bindoff — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:12:00 -0500

Here's a trick that's sure to be a crowd-pleaser—and your dog will have good fun with it, too! Teach your dog how to play soccer (or "football" if you prefer).

Teaching Your Dog to Love the Water

KPCT — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:11:00 -0500

The majority of gundogs are natural swimmers and love nothing better than doing it for pure pleasure. There is a skill to it, and experience alongside confidence is also required. Some dogs find the paddling action difficult to master at first, causing them to lift out the water at the front end whilst the rear end sinks—lots of splashing but no movement. This is one of those skills where practice does make perfect.