When I first adopted Chewie, I took her on some exploration walks around the ranch where she lives. Wait, I probably should revise that sentence. I didn’t take Chewie out walking — I let her take ME for some walks! Going for a walk with Chewie We usually went walking early in the morning, when […]
Where has the time gone? I can’t believe Chewie and I have now had six months together. I spent a bit of time this week reflecting on what we’ve accomplished during the last six months, as well as looking forward and thinking about some of our goals for the future. Since February, I’ve been blogging […]
We haven’t done much training with food up to this point because Chewie wasn’t ready. Chewie needed time to settle when she first arrived and when she moved pastures a couple of weeks ago. I’ve also been gone some at conferences, and we dealt with a spell of nasty weather in February. Chewie is now […]
Karen Pryor passed away earlier this month. I encourage you to read this obituary that the New York Times wrote about Pryor; it is a well-written overview of her life and accomplishments. Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz hugs Karen Pryor at the 2017 ASAT Conference. I met Karen several times at conferences, and I had the great […]
You’ve just started a training session with your animal learner. Your animal does several great reps of the behavior you’re teaching. Click and treat! Then, your animal does something you hadn’t anticipated. The behavior isn’t quite the same as your goal behavior… However, it’s pretty darn close to the behavior you want… You freeze! Should […]
Clicker training seems easy. You just click when the desired behavior occurs. However, it’s important that you click at precisely the right time. Experienced animal trainers understand the importance of good timing. If your clicks are often too early (or too late), you may accidentally reinforce the wrong behavior. If your timing is inconsistent, you […]
