A prospective client called me last week and I turned away her business.
Was I stupid? Crazy? Self-sabotaging? On drugs?
NO! I just thought there was a better, more effective (and probably less expensive) solution for her.
She wanted her dog to get along with her sister’s dog when the two women visited each other. After hearing a little bit about the situation, I suggested clicker training.
Clicker training is a positive-reinforcement, hands-off communication tool disguised as a training system.
Clicker training was developed by Karen Pryor, one of the first professional dolphin trainers in the world. Standard coercion training methods prevalent at the time wouldn’t work, so she made the dolphins want to do what she wanted them to do.
During my marine biologist days, I spent a lot of time around animals trained by this method (dolphins, orcas, tigers, and dogs) and what I noticed was that the animals were in charge and the trainers adapted to suit them and the result was a win-win situation.
I re-discovered clicker training when my new puppy Dazzle’s breeder recommended some You Tube training videos. Impressed and excited by what I saw, I tried a few sessions with 3 month old Dazzle. Within a couple days (!), she was reliably performing several key behaviors: sit, down, stand, up, come, let’s go, look at me when I call your name, and stay.
The real test of how well the lessons would stick came a couple weeks ago when we ran into another Aussie on a walk in Bidwell Park. The two dogs played together and rather than get tangled in two leashes, I unclipped Dazzle and let her play.
When a jogger went by, Dazzle followed him for a 10 or 20 yards. As soon as I called “Daz Daz,” she turned and looked at me. I praised her (she wiggled her butt in response) and I said “Let’s go!” as enthusiastically as I could. She came running to me, tongue hanging out of her mouth and her feet a blur. I pet and praised her ecstatically, but she wanted to play with her new friend more than get rewarded for her amazingly disciplined response.
Here’s why I love clicker training: It’s positive, off leash, specific and direct, concise, effective and fun (for human and animal). It’s based on a fundamental respect for the animal the person is working with and the animal directs the process with his or her own choices. And the behaviors learned this way are learned quickly and they stick!
As I told my would-be client on the phone, dogs don’t always know what you want them to do or how you want them to act.
Clicker training allows you clearly, quickly, and easily show your dog what you want by clicking on the exact behavior that you are looking for.
No more misunderstandings!
So whether you have a dog, cat, pig, horse, chicken or a dolphin, check out clicker training! I think you’ll love it, too.
{If you liked this post, please pass it on to a friend and/or join our community. There is a link in the upper right hand corner.}
Was I stupid? Crazy? Self-sabotaging? On drugs?
NO! I just thought there was a better, more effective (and probably less expensive) solution for her.
She wanted her dog to get along with her sister’s dog when the two women visited each other. After hearing a little bit about the situation, I suggested clicker training.
Clicker training is a positive-reinforcement, hands-off communication tool disguised as a training system.
Clicker training was developed by Karen Pryor, one of the first professional dolphin trainers in the world. Standard coercion training methods prevalent at the time wouldn’t work, so she made the dolphins want to do what she wanted them to do.
During my marine biologist days, I spent a lot of time around animals trained by this method (dolphins, orcas, tigers, and dogs) and what I noticed was that the animals were in charge and the trainers adapted to suit them and the result was a win-win situation.
I re-discovered clicker training when my new puppy Dazzle’s breeder recommended some You Tube training videos. Impressed and excited by what I saw, I tried a few sessions with 3 month old Dazzle. Within a couple days (!), she was reliably performing several key behaviors: sit, down, stand, up, come, let’s go, look at me when I call your name, and stay.
The real test of how well the lessons would stick came a couple weeks ago when we ran into another Aussie on a walk in Bidwell Park. The two dogs played together and rather than get tangled in two leashes, I unclipped Dazzle and let her play.
When a jogger went by, Dazzle followed him for a 10 or 20 yards. As soon as I called “Daz Daz,” she turned and looked at me. I praised her (she wiggled her butt in response) and I said “Let’s go!” as enthusiastically as I could. She came running to me, tongue hanging out of her mouth and her feet a blur. I pet and praised her ecstatically, but she wanted to play with her new friend more than get rewarded for her amazingly disciplined response.
Here’s why I love clicker training: It’s positive, off leash, specific and direct, concise, effective and fun (for human and animal). It’s based on a fundamental respect for the animal the person is working with and the animal directs the process with his or her own choices. And the behaviors learned this way are learned quickly and they stick!
As I told my would-be client on the phone, dogs don’t always know what you want them to do or how you want them to act.
Clicker training allows you clearly, quickly, and easily show your dog what you want by clicking on the exact behavior that you are looking for.
No more misunderstandings!
So whether you have a dog, cat, pig, horse, chicken or a dolphin, check out clicker training! I think you’ll love it, too.
{If you liked this post, please pass it on to a friend and/or join our community. There is a link in the upper right hand corner.}
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