I have a security camera set up at the barn, since I’m generally only there for a couple of hours per day. I can use the camera to see what Chewie and Liberty are doing and monitor the property for anything unusual or unsafe. Most of what I catch on the camera is rather mundane, […]
Training Stories and Tips RSS feed for this section
Dogs, horses, and rats. Birds, goldfish, cats. Dolphins, raccoons, and elephants. What animals can’t we train? In this section you’ll find lots of great training stories and tips. You will also get to meet many of the wonderful animals that I get to train. I hope that you’ll enjoy reading about my adventures (and misadventures) and that these articles and tales can provide you with insight that will help you with your own animals.
Chewie’s Diary Week 83: Tambourine target
Chewie looks at and listens to the tambourine Earlier this week, Chewie and I spent some time playing with a small tambourine! We’ve spent a lot of time exploring new and interesting objects, including various objects for Chewie to stand on. (You can check out the exploration sessions tag to read about some of our […]
Chewie’s Diary Week 82: Markers as cues (video)
Last week, I did a webinar for Animal Training Academy about the topic of multiple markers. (The webinar replay is available for ATA members on the Animal Training Academy website.) Positive reinforcement trainers often use a clicker as a marker. However, many other types of auditory and visual signals can also be used effectively as […]
Chewie’s Diary Week 81: More mutual grooming (video)
It’s hot here in north Texas! I’m hot. Chewie’s hot. Liberty’s hot. We’re still doing a little bit of training every day, but we’re definitely ready for some cooler weather! I wrote several weeks ago in Diary #78 about how Chewie and Liberty have started mutual grooming with each other. Since that post, I’ve seen […]
Chewie’s Diary Week 80: Scary hoses
This picture may not look like much, but it’s a bit of progress! Chewie drinks from the water trough Chewie and I worked a lot last summer on sponge baths. However, Chewie still doesn’t like to be hosed off. She thinks the hose is pretty scary. So, for now, I don’t give her baths with […]
Chewie’s Diary Week 79: Stay with duration
Chewie and I are making a lot of progress with her new stay behavior. (You can read about the beginning of this project in Chewie’s Diary #76.) We first gradually increased the distance until I could walk about 12 feet away. Why twelve feet? It’s about as far as I can walk away from Chewie […]