Another Crossover Story: Knowledge is Greater Than Force!
This is Jason Currie’s story about how he crossed over to positive reinforcement methods. Visit Jason’s website here: http://k9solutions.webeden.co.uk/ I’d like to tell people about my journey from the stone age training methods to modern science based training, a term often used for this is “crossover trainer”. Some see us as bleeding heart liberals or tidbit…
Skinner’s Quadrants Series – Part I
In general, there is a lot of confusion (even between professionals) as to what Skinner’s operant conditioning quadrants are all about. I am dedicating the next four blog posts to Skinner and the knowledge he contributed to learning theory. B.F. Skinner was a scientist who “believed that the best way to understand behavior is to…
I’m Asking the Audience!
I think it’s time to “Ask the Audience!” What do you all want to hear or learn about? Do you have a question for me? What does your dog do that bothers you or confuses you? Any general training questions? I also wanted to say “Thank You!” to all my followers. I hope you all…
Find It!
I recently consulted with a fellow trainer, Michael Curran of Clicker Logic. Michael has a border collie who was highly reactive to both people and dogs. (As many of you know my dog, Loker, is reactive to other dogs and some people.) I asked Michael how he had such success with his dog and he gave me…
Creating Toy Drive
This is my second post about my reflections from Shade Whitesel’s Seminar: Play Your Way to Powerful Obedience. (Reflections from a Working Dog Seminar was the first post.) Using tug as a reinforcer during training is new to me. I had always casually asked my dog to sit or down before beginning play, but this seminar taught me…
Why Not to Say “No” to Your Dog
I “grew up” in the rescue community. I always did my best to find the homes of strays that I found on the street. And even though my parents didn’t let me foster animals, my neighbors were kind enough to let me into their homes to help them with their pets and fosters. In general,…
Reflections from a Working Dog Seminar
Last weekend I attended Shade Whitesel’s Seminar: Play Your Way to Powerful Obedience in Missouri hosted by Riverfront Working Dog Club. Shade has achieved some of the highest titles in Schutzhund with her dogs. “Shade has been involved in the sport of Schutzhund for the last 15 years. Shade and her current competition dog, Reiki vom Aegis,…
Use Your Neighborhood Park!
People often walk or jog through their local park but rarely do they take advantage of the man-made obstacles provided. Kids playgrounds or picnic tables are great tools to expand your dog’s mental and physical challenges during a walk. Including obstacles during a walk will help drain excess energy much more quickly than simply walking…