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.
Fundamentals
Podcast: Are You Clicker Training, or Training with a Clicker?
By Kathy Sdao on 10/01/2009Listen to Kathy's podcast (available at the bottom of the page) to find out more about Are You Clicker Training, or Training with a Clicker?
How to Practice Clicker Mechanics
By Tia Guest on 08/01/2009Do you remember when you learned to tie your shoes? Maybe that's too far back and the details are fuzzy. How about when you learned to type? I remember that well. It was during my freshman year of high school, the first period of the day, bright and early. My fingers were still asleep! As I clicked away at the IBM Selectric typewriter, it seemed so awkward. But as I practiced each day, I became more and more comfortable and my skill improved. By the end of the semester I was typing over 50 words per minute.
How to Create a Reactive Human in 10 Minutes or Less
By Casey Lomonaco on 06/01/2009Recently, I was chatting in the classroom with a few of our more experienced students. They mentioned encountering the following scenario quite often while exercising their dogs at a local park:
Individual is walking dog on leash. Dog sees other dog, barks, leash goes tight. Owner pulls dog back on leash, saying, "Be nice! Be nice!" and fumbling with a tight leash until the distraction has passed.
Sounds like a recipe for reactivity, right?
Podcast: Are You Clicker Training, or Training with a Clicker?
By Kathy Sdao on 05/01/2009Kathy Sdao is a top trainer and ClickerExpo faculty member. She began teaching people how to clicker train their dogs in 1996. “At that time, most pet owners had never heard of clicker training and few class instructors took it seriously. Mine was the only advertisement in the local Yellow Pages that mentioned the word ‘clicker.’ I had to persuade students to even try this novel gadget. A decade later, clickers are now common in dog training classes. But, I suggest, clicker training still is not. I do believe 'clicker training' is an unfortunate term for what we do.” Why? Listen to Kathy’s podcast and find out. Read the original article here.
