I love posts like this because I think everyone who starts clicker training after trying other sorts of training has a similar experience. This post from a guide dog trainer's journal describes a simple moment when some positive, rather than negative, response to animal management becomes the first response, and shows itself to be far more effective and easier than expected. In other words, this is about a clicker training who really "gets it"!
Clicker Training Blog
Feral Rabbits Trained and Socialized with Clickers
By Bill Peña on 06/28/2006A great story with some incredibly cute pictures from the Best Friends Animal Society, sent to us by Joan Orr, author of Getting Started: Clicking with Your Rabbit and ClickerExpo faculty member:
Pet nation
By Miranda Hersey Helin on 06/23/2006A record 63% of all US households now own at least one pet. We cherish them as playmates, friends, and part of the family. But would you throw a $30,000 party for your dog? NBC's Al Roker explores how doggone far we go.
Clicker training a deaf pit bull?
By Bill Peña on 06/15/2006This wonderful story from Maryland goes to show how flexiible clicker training can be ...
[Sara] Borin developed sign commands using a combination of American Sign Language and common sense. When Ms. Borin places an index finger on her nose, that means "watch me." That command is helpful when she wants to teach Sage new commands or tricks.
"I'm teaching her to weave in and out of my legs as I walk," she said. "Because it looks cute."
Ms. Borin teaches dog training classes using a clicker method, and Sage's ears will twitch if Ms. Borin clicks the clicker right next to her ear. She feels the vibration of the clicker, Ms. Borin said.The Frederick News-Post
Clicker training coming to msn.com
By Aaron B. Clayton on 06/12/2006Congratulations go out to Kathy Sdao, our friend and ClickerExpo faculty member, who will be writing a regular dog behavior column for msn.com at their recently launched dog site. Kathy's column will appear few times a month in the "Dog Talker" section. Kathy, a trained scientist, is a gifted teacher and trainer. She has been a practitioner of clicker training for more than 17 years and is highly respected among her peers in the training world. Kathy has taught and trained an incredible variety of animal species. Her passion for training is matched only by her skill.
The Cat Who Scared the Bear
By Bill Peña on 06/12/2006It's nothing but a picture, but what a great picture: A 15-pound house cat defending his property scares a black bear up a tree.
Clicker training, from the home to the shelter
By Bill Peña on 06/08/2006A reader sent us this wonderful story by email:
Hi Karen,
We had heard about clicker training several years ago, but quickly dismissed it as our 11 year old dog is terrified of any electronic clicking sound-so much so that he once destroyed 2 interior door handles, scratched the doors and attempted to dig through an exterior door and wall in his effort to escape when the electronic air filter started clicking one day we weren't home.
Gladwell misses on Millan
By Aaron B. Clayton on 05/24/2006This week, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a fawning piece about Cesar Millan in the New Yorker (May 22). Gladwell shows why he's a very good writer, but not a good reporter (which may be the reason I thought his last book, Blink, was a vapid but nonethless enjoyable read). In this article, Gladwell doesn't even indicate that there is anything controversial at all about how Millan achieves his ends. No scent of behavioral science enters the discussion. There's no attempt on Galdwell's part to be objective, ferret out alternative opinions or provide balance. Malcolm is definitely not in the middle. He's wonderous.
