This spring, as I teach my online shaping skills class, I’ve been thinking a lot about the decisions we make during shaping. I find that many trainers don’t know quite what to do when their animal is almost, but not quite, performing a desired behavior. For example, imagine you’re working with your animal on backing […]
What is advanced training?
I’ve been having a lot of fun recently working through Alexandra Kurland’s new “Getting Started with Clicker Training” virtual clinic. The name of this class is a bit deceptive, as it is designed for both beginner clicker trainers and those with more experience. One of my favorite sayings from Alexandra Kurland is that “advanced training […]
Assess your reinforcement delivery
This past weekend, I gave a mini PORTL workshop at All Fur Fun, a dog training facility in Addison, Texas. (What is PORTL?) We spent part of the workshop talking about reinforcement delivery. Reinforcement delivery is a really important, but often overlooked, piece of training. Small changes in how, when, and where you deliver a […]
Jumping to conclusions when picking training solutions
When trying to address “problem” behaviors, most people look for ideas based on the appearance of the unwanted behavior. For example, if the person’s dog jumps on people, the person may ask, “How do I teach my dog not to jump on people?” However, behaviors that look the same may be happening for different reasons. […]
Are you clicking for your own behavior or your animal’s behavior?
I watched a video awhile back of someone working with an animal who did not like having his ears touched. The trainer started by touching the animal’s neck, then touching close to the ear, touching near the base of the ear, touching the ear briefly, and eventually touching the ear for a little longer. The […]
Horse agility obstacles: The noodle walk
This year, Apollo and I have been working on some horse agility training. Horse agility is similar to dog agility. The horse and trainer must navigate a series of obstacles with teamwork and precision. One fun obstacle that is often used for horse agility or horse obstacle courses is a pool noodle obstacle, sometimes called […]