Like most of us, I've always been intrigued by herding dogs. Here's a letter from a retired doctor that posed a "clickerly" question about herding.
Dogs
The Shape of Shaping: Some Historical Notes
By Karen Pryor on 04/10/2007Shaping is a concept that many pet owners find hard to grasp. We're used to making animals do things by leading them or pushing them into the behavior we want—and it is hard to believe that there is another way. Common sense tells us that there is no possible way to get an animal to do something it has never done before, doing nothing yourself but reinforcing spontaneous movements.
Congratulations to the Canis Film Festival Winners!
By KPCT on 04/01/2007Laura VanArendonk Baugh won Grand Prize at the first-ever Canis Film Festival, a contest designed to showcase innovative animal-training videos. This unique festival focuses on short films of seven minutes or fewer that educate animal owners and professionals about the power of training based on the science of operant conditioning.
Advanced Trainers Find Depth at ClickerExpo
By Karen Pryor on 03/13/2007Every year at ClickerExpo we save a few spaces for special guests: distinguished trainers, scientists, or leaders in other fields. This year one of our honored guests was Sue Ailsby, a very well known clicker trainer and teacher from Canada. I'd like to share with you one of Sue's posts to the ClickerExpo list after ClickerExpo Los Angeles.
Clicker Training a 2 on / 2 off Contact Behavior on the Dogwalk
By Deborah Jones PhD on 03/01/2007Having a solid, reliable 2 on / 2 off contact behavior on the dogwalk is a great advantage in agility. The 2 on / 2 off is a clear, specific position that most dogs find easy to learn and perform. It also requires the dog to wait until you catch up and release him, which allows for better handling of subsequent sequences. My method for training this behavior involves early foundation skills, clicking for correct position, feeding in position, and back-chaining.
