Karen Pryor Clickertraining - Special Situations

Clicking for Cancer

Miranda Hersey Helin — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0600

The olfactory power of dogs has made headlines again this month, with new research supporting our canine friends' ability to "sniff out" the presence of cancer. While these findings continue to astonish many, one aspect won't surprise fans of operant conditioning: the dogs in this study were clicker trained.

Clicking a Deaf Dog

Karen Pryor — Sun, 01 Jul 2001 00:00:00 -0500

The best example of a clicker trained dog that I know personally is Lynn Gardner's Aussie rescue named Maggie Mae, in Ontario. Maggie's owner has trained her to recognize over 200 cues, and often does clicker demos with her in schools. Maggie's click is the blink of a flashlight, just a regular pen light pointed at her; and most of her cues are American Sign Language words. The trainer holds the light in one hand along with the target stick if using one; and treats in the other, just as we do with target and clicker. The dog has to be watching the trainer to see the blink, but she watches very carefully, you may be sure! Once when Maggie was sitting in front of Lynn, at attention, Lynn gave her a hand signal, and the dog rolled over on one haunch and scratched herself. I couldn't help but ask, "What was THAT signal?" "Relax," said Lynn.

Aggressive Dogs: Nature or Nurture?

Aidan Bindoff — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:00:00 -0600

"Aggressive dogs aren't born, they're raised that way."

How many times have you heard this statement? Have you ever wondered how much truth there is to it?

Training Your Dog to Recognize a Smoke or Fire Alarm

Virginia Broitman — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 10:00:00 -0600

Reacting appropriately to the sound of a smoke or fire alarm is an important skill to teach a dog, especially a Service Dog assisting a person with a hearing impairment. Pet dogs can also be taught to recognize these alarms, and to alert owners who are such heavy sleepers that they would not wake up on their own.

Energetic, Anxious, or Reactive Dog? Try the Calm-O-Meter Method

Aidan Bindoff — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 09:00:00 -0600

Wouldn't it be great if your dog came with a big dial on his or her back that told you exactly how anxious, frightened, or excitable he or she was? Wouldn't it be awesome if you could turn this dial and calm your dog?

Holiday Safety Tips from Doggone Safe

Joan Orr — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Family gatherings at a relative's home are the source of fond memories for many. But, the family dog may not enjoy these events as much as the rest of the family. Noise, confusion, and changes in routine are stressful for dogs. Even a normally calm and docile pet may become agitated enough to bite under the extreme circumstances of a boisterous family celebration. Supervision may be lax if each adult thinks that another is watching the children, and children are the most likely victims of dog bites in this situation.

Managing Your Dog's Separation Anxiety

Aidan Bindoff — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Dogs are pack animals. With human owners as the "pack," domesticated dogs naturally prefer the companionship of their humans. It's one thing to have your dog follow you around the house amiably, however; it's quite another to learn that your dog howls relentlessly when you're at work or defecates in the house to show his displeasure at your absence. When your dog's behavior in your absence seems extreme, he might be experiencing separation anxiety.

When Excited Becomes Rude

Emma Parsons — Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Emma Parsons, canine aggression expert, tells agility enthusiasts how to put clicker training to work to calm and focus their dogs during competition in Clean Run magazine: "When Excited Becomes Rude" (PDF).

JavaDawgs: Clickers and Coffee

Miranda Hersey Helin — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0600

Clearly, JavaDawgs is more than your average dog training group. "This is not a top down training group," explains group founder Lisa Clifton-Bumpass from her home in Hayward, CA. "We function as a team, working for the betterment of each dog-owner team and as a larger team of people focused on bettering themselves as dog enthusiasts. Not all members are on the field at once. Some members work their dogs, others act as training coaches, and others are observing dog body language, timing-criteria setting, and handling skills. All voices and observations are of value in this process as we are all developing our skills as a team."

Animals and Grief

Karen Pryor — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0600

In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, we were all moved by the TV scenes of lost or abandoned dogs hanging around their flooded homes, some fearfully evading capture, others swimming desperately after the rescue boats. They had lost their familiar lives. They surely missed their familiar people. And what if there had been more than one animal in a house? Do animals miss other animals? Do animals grieve for each other?

SHIP for Battered Mothers and their Children

KPCT — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0500

The six mothers and their 15 children are housed in a transitional living apartment complex for battered women. In many ways, these are the "lucky" families. These courageous women have made the difficult decision to leave their abusive partners. They have spent up to 30 days at the battered women's shelter and, subsequently, have made the even more difficult decision to not return home—ever. In seeking a safer life for themselves and their children, they live in TLP, the Transitional Living Project, run by the Greater Cincinnati YWCA. For up to two years the women are offered job counseling, employment support, skills training, and therapy groups.

Clicker Training Tips for Vet Techs

Karen Pryor — Sun, 01 May 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Actually, this modest little gadget can be valuable, not as a training tool but as an accurate way of communicating. The click doesn't sound like anything else. It's not your voice, it's not a word or a command, it's just a click. It communicates two facts to the animal: "A treat is coming" and "Something you did made a click happen." That may seem confusing to us, but animals understand it right away.

Service with a Click

Gale Pryor — Sun, 01 May 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Debi Davis, service-dog trainer and ClickerExpo presenter (Minneapolis, November 2005), writes training articles for national and international magazines and is an Internet mentor for service-dog teams in training. In 1998, she co-founded OC-Assist-Dogs, a Yahoo Group Internet discussion list for those clicker training service dogs, now the largest service-dog discussion list on the web. In 1999, her papillon, Peek, became the first toy breed and first clicker trained dog to earn the Delta Society's National Service Dog of the Year award. In 2003, Peek was among the Pedigree Paws to Recognize Canine World Hero nominees. Peek and Debi were also profiled on a segment of the international television program Dogs with Jobs. A member of the APDT, IAADP, IABC, and the Delta Society, Debi lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her husband and five clicker trained dogs. Recently, we spoke to her about clicker training assistance dogs and her experiences attending ClickerExpo San Diego.

Mini-Horse, Maxi-Guide

KPCT — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0600

Ann Edie is blind. And, like many blind people, she used a guide dog to help her get around. When her dog suddenly died, it was a very sad thing for Ann. Not only did she miss her special friend, but she also missed his help. What would she do?

She could use her white cane, of course. And she could get another guide dog. But dogs can work for only a few years. So she came up with a different idea: "What about a guide HORSE?"

Clicker Training Transforms Families at Risk: SHIP

KPCT — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0600

"Dogs and cats, like us, have feelings. They cannot be abused or treated unfairly. Please treat your animals the way you Want to be treated."
-Five-year-old SHIP program participant

Many clicker trainers have experienced it. You are training your dog, clicking and reinforcing for desired behavior, making swift progress toward your goal, and communicating with your animal at a level you never dreamed possible. Suddenly, it dawns on you that clicker training is so much more than a training technique; it is a powerful new way of interacting, a technology and a philosophy rolled into one-that can change lives.

An Interview with Sheri Soltes, Texas Hearing and Service Dogs

Gale Pryor — Mon, 01 Nov 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Sheri Soltes is the Founder and President of Texas Hearing and Service Dogs. She pioneered positive training in the assistance dog industry. Recently, we spoke to her about her new training facility and her plans for the future.

How to Say Hello: Teaching Manners to Aggressive Dogs

Emma Parsons — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

While emotions drive behavior, the reverse is also true: emotions follow physical expression, or behavior. In psychology, the practice of "smile therapy" advises clients to hold a smile on their faces, whether they feel like it or not. The theory is that even a forced smile washes away the emotions that prevent you from smiling, increasing your motivation and confidence. In other words, if you want to be happy, act happy. In addition, changing the consequences of a behavior can alter an emotional state. While the psychologists are concerned with human behavior, clicker training accomplishes both objectives for our dogs. We can teach our dogs to perform separate social behaviors on cue while interacting with other dogs. If these behaviors are solidly on cue, they can help them relax, and spark spontaneous appropriate interactions.

Changing Stress Cues to Calm Cues: A Training Recipe from Click to Calm

Emma Parsons — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

In her new book Click to Calm: Healing the Aggressive Dog, Emma Parsons presents several groundbreaking concepts in treating canine aggression through clickertraining. One of her remarkable new ideas recognizes the impact of the handler's body language on a dog's aggressive responses. She describes the moment in which she realized her own signs of stress were cueing her Golden Retriever Ben's aggressive display:

Fear of the Elevator

KPCT — Mon, 01 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0600

I took four dogs to dog shows this weekend, one of them was a young Labrador that I own with a family about an hour away from my home. I had seen the dog off and on for the past year but she has had no real training other than coming to puppy class. This pup is clicker wise. I stayed in a hotel and had to bring each dog up to the fourth floor of the hotel! Pearl had never been in an elevator and decided to put the breaks on—there was no way she was taking a step into that scary looking place with the shiny floor.

Kittens Harassing Elderly Cats

Karen Pryor — Mon, 01 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Young active kittens and cats confined to a house with older cats are inevitably going to want to roughhouse and playchase those older cats. And the older cats, politely, are unlikely to respond aversively. Besides, fighting back might be fun for the kitten; keeping a low profile is probably a safer strategy.