Whether you know it as canine freestyle or heelwork to music—or you've never heard of this new dog sport at all—the time has come to dance with our dogs.
Competition
Dog Responding Slowly to Cues
By Melissa Alexander on 10/01/2005Q: My dog is responding slowly to the cue. How can I get a faster response?
Does the Click End the Behavior?
By Gale Pryor on 10/01/2005It seems straightforward: we click to mark a desired behavior, and then we reinforce. The act of reinforcing the behavior necessitates a change in action: the horse eats the treat, the dog plays with its favorite toy, and the animal in the process of being reinforced no longer performs the behavior for which it was clicked. The click, therefore, ends the behavior. The phrase has become a widely-repeated tenet of clicker training. Yet, is it true?
Helix Fairweather on the Art of Dog Play
By Gale Pryor on 08/01/2005Helix Fairweather became interested in the skills dogs need—and too often do not have—to play happily with other dogs. She decided to launch a series of Dog Park play sessions to allow skilled dogs to teach other dogs the art of playing and to teach handlers the observation skills necessary to understand canine communication.
Does the Animal Know the Behavior?
By Gale Pryor on 06/01/2005Sometimes this question is asked in a different way: Will I have to continue clicking and treating forever? In asking either question, what we really want to know is: When are we done? When can we call a behavior trained once and for all? The answer to these questions is (like most not-so-simple questions): It depends.
