A recent paper from Gilchrist et al. (2021), “The click is not the trick: the efficacy of clickers and other reinforcement methods in training naïve dogs to perform new tasks,”

Behavior chains seem pretty straightforward: it’s when an animal does a series of behaviors in a row, like links in a chain, ending in a reinforcer. Yet, behavior chains

The controversial clicker Should we stop using a clicker? Is it really needed? A study by Chiandetti et al. published in November of 2016 in Applied Animal Behavior Science has raised many questions

I’ve always been fascinated by the cognitive abilities of animals. I used to teach a graduate course on animal intelligence. The popularity of the course was indicative of

Why all the barking? Barking happens for a reason. Sounds obvious, right? It didn’t always, according to applied ethologist Julie Hecht, writing in the spring 2013 issue of The

In April 2010, TIME magazine ran a cover story about paying kids cash to get better grades. The objections to cash ‘rewards’ for schooling have been around for a long time and

Before starting this article, I polled a clicker training group about training myths—about both clicker and more traditional training—the members had heard. The responses poured in. It became

The limited hold is scientific terminology—laboratory slang, really—for a good way to use the marker and reinforcer to speed up response to a cue. We’re all used to sluggish responses. Suppose you are

Below are The Ten Laws of Shaping, as included in Don’t Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor. Since it was first published, we have learned more about the

This article is shared for historical reference and enjoyment. While it reflects the best practices at the time of publication (04/01/1997), standards and recommendations have evolved.  However, this article is