Let's get it straight

I hear it over and over from trainers who don't understand training using +R.
"+R does not work since we ignore bad behavior" No we don't. Positive is not permissive. We don't let the dogs run in the house, we don't let them jump on the kitchen counters, we don't let them run away. (That is kind of funny to think we ignore the dog for running away. >bg< )
+R is used in training a behavior we want to see again. For example: sit. We don't reward a down, stand, roll over. We reward the sit. Lying down is not a bad behavior, just not something we are going to reward the dog at that time, since we are teaching the sit. If we don;t want the dog to jump on the counter we don't kick it, jerk it off the counter, yell at it or booby trap it.
First we manage it. No dog allowed in the kitchen. 100% supervision. No temptation, no food on left on the counter.
Second we train an incompatible behavior. Sit, or down, or four on the floor. We reward when the dog is no jumping on the counter. It really works.
Manage-Train vs Set-Up For Failure and Punish

Chain Leashes

On a recent discussion forum the topic was, using chain leashes for dogs that bite the leash when they become aroused by environmental changes (seeing another dog). How about teaching a dog not to bite the leash, PERIOD. Biting a chain leash will not keep a dog who is over threshold from biting a leash. Biting chain leashes cause broken teeth, that is a fact.

Train the dog to leave the leash using clicker training methods before exposing him to environmental changes that puts him over threshold. The rules of Tug of War and keeping the dog under threshold apply in the case of the exuberant Lab (as seen on the show: "It's me or the Dog".)

Rule # 1 Drop it and leave it must taught

Rule # 2 Only tug when I ask you to.

Rule # 3 Only tug on toys I want you to tug on.

Rule # 4 Dog needs to be kept under threshold and desensitizing to other dogs before going out for a real walk.

I was a bit disappointed that Victoria used a shortcut to teach the owners how to train their dog. But live goes on and dog dentist need to make a living, too.

WW Lola

This is Lola, a Puppy Class attendee

Announcement

Clicker Expo location for 2010 has been announced. It will be in Doubletree, Oregon on January 29th-31st.
Already time to start planning some of next years seminars?

Jim Basic Seminar

I went to another seminar. This one was with Jim Basic from California. Sigh! I miss CA.
Him and Nancy Guyes have a series of training articles in the Clean Run Magazine that are very popular. Gamblers was the topic all three days. First day was all about foundation. Driving ahead, teaching the out, not loosing to much "real estate". I really needed to hear about the "real estate". Something simple that will determine a Q or a NQ.
Ryker was a working dog on day three. I felt a bit out of place as he was hyped to the max and even a simple wrap around the jump seemed to much for him. Being in the car the two previous days did not help.
In the end we were able to be were we needed to when the gamble whistle blew. I collected more training tools and will use them in my classes for anyone that is interested in distance games.
Next..... July Stacy Camp with Anne Braue, Stephanie Spyr, Karen Holik and Stacy

Pre-Agility Class

I just finished up a pre-Agility class at a local SLC park.
It has been challenging at times. There were three dogs, all Black Lab mixes at different training levels. The most challenging one was the girl. Very enthusiastic about "live+". I taught the owner how to positively teach impulse control. We did some doggy zen and lots of rewards for doing the behaviors correctly or just sitting still. I saw a lot of improvement within a few weeks. One of the dogs was a bit more on the shy side and I introduced some motivational games with food and toys. We also did some chute training and after a few sessions he had become confident in running through.
The 3rd dog came with more advanced behaviors. He was able to sit and down stay and had an awesome recall. The dog learned a perfect straight chute at full running speed. I was also able to introduce come to hand exercises.
Near the end of the classes I would ask them to perform some basic CGC exercises. This improved some handler/dog focus.
The owners and I were happy with the results at the end of the session.
Everyone had a small taste of how demanding training for agility can be.

Puppy Class using a clicker

Teaching puppy class is one of my favorite things. I love puppies of all temperaments, sizes and breeds (or mixes). I introduce the clicker and at first the owners are very skeptical. However, when they see that within minutes their puppies are paying so much more attention they all want to learn more about it. Since I don't specifically teach a clicker class I give all my students a choice of using a clicker or only a marker word. Clicker trained dogs always come out on top of the class. It doesn't matter what any of the goals are. Training Manners, Tricks, Competition Obedience, Rally, Agility, Flyball or Freestyle; it is all trainable with a clicker. For more information on clicker training visit www.clickertraining.com