Using clicker training and rewards, Karen soon has Misha running and playing with all sorts of toys!

Watch as an old dog learns a new trick!

by Karen Pryor on 12/21/2009

You’d think that all dogs just love to play with toys, but its not true. Some dogs are scared of toys. With these dogs you have to teach them to play again.

Karen Pryor’s harelquin poodle, Misha, (that we talked about previously) is one. Misha’s late canine house mate Twitchett ruled the toy kingdom at home and rarely let poor Misha get in his fair share of fun and games. So, toys haven’t held much interest for Misha and can sometimes really scare him.

Read the rest of Karen’s article on overcoming a dog’s fear of toys here.

A Dog's Fear of Toys is a post from: Dog Obedience Training Blog

Some people would tell you that you shouldn’t do this because it’s not safe for your dog.  They reason that even the most well trained dog sometimes has uncontrollable urges and might dart out into the street after a cat or some other unforeseen circumstance and the truth is yes that’s possible. So it’s up to each and every one of you to weigh the risks and look at your specific situation to see if you think it’s for you.

By Steve Benjamin on 12/01/2009

Draw the lines yourself

Would you like to train your dog to stay in your yard without resorting to electrical shock? There is a way to do it that is inexpensive, takes about the same amount of time, and is just as reliable as the electronic containment systems commercially available.

Electronic obstacles

There are potential problems with containment systems that rely on electrical shock to punish a dog for crossing a boundary.

• Electronic containments systems can create phobias in dogs. There is no way to control or determine what the dog is focused on when it receives the shock. The dog could be looking at a squirrel running up a tree across the boundary, or at the next-door neighbor, the neighbor’s dog, or the neighbor’s young child. Whatever the dog is focused on when it receives the aversive (shock) could become associated with the aversive. The next time the dog looks at the tree, or sees the neighbor or child, it may growl or act in another aggressive manner in response.

  Conversely, some dogs shut down after receiving an aversive shock. They can become highly stressed; some dogs won’t leave the porch or deck, or even the house. These dogs assume that anything they do outside may result in an aversive.

• Electronic containments systems can be beaten by many dogs. With systems that provide audio warning beeps, the dogs realize that the beep itself does not harm them. They stop at the beep, and while the electronic collar resets, the dog advances across the boundary before the collar can be reset and the shock delivered. Nearly all electronic containments systems sold in stores for self-installment work this way.

  Another system works a little differently. After a few seconds of beeping, the collar delivers a shock if the dog is still within the boundary zone. The dog doesn’t have to move forward to get shocked; it must learn to back out of the zone to avoid the shock. But if the dog runs right across the boundary zone, he is not shocked. Why? The dog runs too fast for the collar to respond (it beeps for about two seconds and then delivers the shock—any dog at full speed can cover a lot of ground in two seconds). Dogs learn that if they run fast enough, they can go wherever they want and avoid the shock. Many dogs learn to bolt as soon as they are let outside; once this happens the fence is totally ineffective.

• When a dog does run across the boundary (and gets shocked or not) it is stuck. Dogs run out of the yard, but walk back. So even if a dog avoids a shock leaving the yard, it does not understand to use the same strategy to come back. As a result, many dogs don’t come home at all.
• Electronic containment systems are expensive even for small areas—then add the time and effort to install them.

Since most people don’t want to even think about shocking their dogs, boundary training is an alternative way to solve the problem.

Read the rest of the article here on the ClickerTraining.com Blog

How To Clicker Train Your Dog TO Stay In The Yard is a post from: Dog Obedience Training Blog

How Clicker Training Will Help You and Your Dog!

Clicker training helps your dog learn behaviors. Rather than simply guessing what you want him to do and running through his gamut of tricks, your dog will actually learn the behavior.

Clicker’s are simple and easy to use. It’s a small handheld tool that makes a clicking noise when you press it. It’s this noise that marks the behavior so while anyone can learn to use it you must practice clicking.

Clicking embraces positive reinforcement training techniques. Positive reinforcement has been shown to activate chemicals in a dog’s brain. These chemicals create associations in the brain – positive associations, strong associations.

Clicker training helps build a bond of trust. When you click and reward, click and reward your dog learns that you are a person who holds true to your word. You are a person to be trusted and relied upon.

Clicker training creates structure. Dogs, and most people, prefer a structured environment. Now that doesn’t mean they’re not adaptable but by and large they want to know what to expect. Clicker training tells them what to expect.

Clicker training can be used on just about any animal, not just dogs. Animals and people too, respond well to operant conditioning – particularly when the consequence is a pleasant thing.

The benefits of clicker training have a broad reach. It’s a fairly simple method to use and when you have the right training guidelines and information clicker training is one of the most effective and efficient training methods available.

Depending on the training resources you utilize, clicker training is also very cost effective. With the minimal cost of a clicker and the information found here you’ll be well on your way to a happy and healthy pooch!

The Benefits of Clicker Training is a post from: Dog Obedience Training Blog

Clicker training is based on the behavioral psychology concept of operant conditioning.  Without getting too technical, because this is not Psych 101, operant conditioning states that when you use consequences you can modify behavior and training. 

However clicker training doesn’t use punishment as consequences like older more traditional forms of dog training, but rather uses rewards to modify behavior and training.  There are of course, many benefits to using clicker training and positive reinforcement.

A Clicker is a Conditioned Reinforcer

A clicker, a small handheld device which makes a clicking noise when pressed, is a conditioned reinforcer.  Meaning that the specific sound a clicker makes marks a desired behavior.  You can pick them up at most pet stores for just a couple bucks. 

For example, you ask your dog to sit and he sits, you click and that signal marks the behavior.  Your reward so that he begins to make associations.  Your dog begins to relate the treat to the click and the click to performing the behavior you request.  

Why Clicker Training is Important

Why this is so important to learning.  While sit isn’t such a difficult behavior for dogs to learn many behaviors are.  Many behaviors take several steps to perform correctly and therefore it’s very important your dog knows when he’s performed all or part of the behavior correctly.  Now you might be asking, “Why can’t I just say ‘good dog?’”  

Our voices change inflection, we use different words, and we’re unable to speak as accurately as a simple click.  That being said, you will absolutely need to practice clicking to achieve the accuracy necessary for it to be useful. 

You certainly don’t want to click a split second later when your dog has decided to stand up again after the sit command because now you’ve just marked the standing up behavior – not what you were intending on teaching! 

Tomorrow I’ll post the benefits of Clicker Training. You can also read some more on Clicker Training For Dogs here.

What is Clicker Training? is a post from: Dog Obedience Training Blog