Last year I had a fantastic time when I attended ClickerExpo. If you’re not familiar with ClickerExpo, it is the world’s largest gathering of positive animal trainers. The event is hosted by Karen Pryor Clicker Training and features 3 days jam packed full of fascinating lectures, hands-on learning labs and countless opportunities to interact [...]
Temple Grandin Movie: My Review
Have you seen the Temple Grandin movie yet? I finally got a chance to see it early this week. I thought HBO did an excellent job chronicling Temple Grandin’s many accomplishments, as well as some of the huge obstacles she has faced throughout her life. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Temple Grandin, [...]
When do I start clicker training?
Can all horses be clicker trained? Does the horse need to know anything before we start clicker training? Can clicker training work for shy, scared, abused or aggressive horse? This is a revised version of something I originally posted on the clickryder yahoo discussion group. (Message number 80910). Some horses aren’t ready for clicker training. [...]
Happy Happy Horses and Karen Pryor comes to UNT
Spring is in full bloom in Texas. Green grass, green trees and lots and lots of blue bonnets and other lovely wild flowers! The horses are enjoying the weather. They’re kicking up their heels and then burying their heads in the wonderful spring grass. I’ve been busy too, playing with the ponies as well as [...]
Scientific Accuracy
National Geodetic Survey officials say the Four Corners marker showing the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah is about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) west of where it should be, the Deseret News reported. The only place in the United States where four state boundaries come together was first surveyed by the government in [...]
B.F. Skinner and Shaping Behaviors.
We’ve been talk about shaping in class, which is one of the neatest things about clicker training. (Actually, there are a lot of neat things about clicker training!) Shaping is teaching a new behavior through successive approximations. Basically, you start with a very low criteria and gradually increase your criteria until you reach your target [...]
Aggressive Training Methods and Aggressive Dogs
How do we train our dogs? Do we need to be the alpha dog, the most dominant member of the pack, and insist that our dogs obey us, even if we must use force or punishment? This is the view still advocated by many trainers, but is it a scientifically sound way to train our [...]
What’s the best way to train an animal?
Stale Cheerios will help you learn new knowledge and techniques to take your training skills to the next level. So stick around, your animals will be grateful!
I'm a graduate student studying the science of behavior and training. On this blog I share stories of my animal training adventures, as well as tips, techniques and tricks to help you improve your training. Although most of this blog centers around training rescue horses, the ideas discussed apply equally to all species. The other animals I work with, including dogs and rats, also appear occasionally on the blog.
Mary Hunter
cheeriotrainer@gmail.com
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