Six Minutes of Dog Training Wizardry!!

This could not have been planned! But it turned out AWESOME! If only dog training was as easy as being a wizard and waving a magic wand! Nope, that's not really very realistic, we and our dogs have to live in reality and reality is, it takes a lot longer than a few weeks or months to raise happy well-adjusted and trained dogs. Come down off your cloud and get real, get the right help so that you too can have a dog like this. And without using punishments that leave marks visually and mentally on your dog/s.

Lack of play behavior in dogs may be indicator for lack of well-being!

It’s not unusual for dog trainers to use a dog’s willingness to take treats, during training, as an indicator for lack of anxiety and/or fear. Given in the context of behavior modification, it’s often necessary to move reactive, fear and/or anxiety related dogs away from stimuli (targets) to reduce the reactivity cycle and facilitate the eating of treats. The premise is, when dogs actively take treats, during behavior modification, they are building new brain connections, using classical conditioning, that are more adaptive in those contexts, because dogs are learning (operant conditioning) to perform alternative behavior/s that are more desirable.

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Experiencing Anticipation Training Dogs – Using Time Outs versus Stops

“A common flaw in stimulus-controlled behavior is anticipation: Once the cue has been learned, the subject is so eager to offer the behavior that it acts before the cue has actually been given” (Pryor, 1984, 1999). I prefer to use the training correction “stops” given the context is connected with actively training dogs versus using timeouts for social corrections. There are inherent differences between the two types of context and use. To avoid confusion and provide consistent feedback between dog and owner/handler, understanding when, why, where, and for what reason should be considered at all times. Dogs learn best when provided clear rules concerning their behavioral responses, doing this avoids anxiety produced when any subject is unsure about any consequences that may result from their behavior. This also explains why using punishment, especially incorrectly, can cause serious learning deficits.

More on the dreaded “No Reward Marker”

Here's the video that sparked this post!  Dogs at play and my commentary! Darwin, Cooper and Boudicca Sept 2013  This is great! If you don't watch anything but the last 1 minute or less, the opportunity is presented and it's set up during the video with my added commentary and my well-timed use of a …

Continue reading More on the dreaded “No Reward Marker”

Pointing Test Two Trials 10 Repetitions Each Boudicca April 24, 2013

                                    After reading A Virtual Pack, to Study Canine Minds i tested Boudicca, a 7 year old female Jack Russell terrier, using the easiest test demonstrated in the video [link provided in sources]. If you’re interested in conducting …

Continue reading Pointing Test Two Trials 10 Repetitions Each Boudicca April 24, 2013