Q: I have started target stick training with my 4-year-old lab, Carter. He is very quick to learn and really enjoys it. I've gotten him to touch the stick in many situations, and have shortened the stick, but he still wants to touch the end of the stick when I say "target." Where do I go from here? How do I teach him to touch objects and not the stick each time? I would like to teach him to maybe turn lights on and off or something challenging and interesting. He learns so quickly he needs a constant challenge. Any suggestions?
Dogs
I Didn't Plan to Be a Clicker Trainer But...
By KPCT on 05/01/2004From Emily S.: This method is wonderful, and I can't even imagine going back. We all smile now when we train. Me and the dog! It dawned on me today that I never got a chance to thank you, or even let you know that I converted! After my intro yesterday, and receiving my new copy of Don't Shoot the Dog today I thought I would write you and tell you thank you so much. You changed my life.
Making the Connection: Behavior Chains
By Karen Pryor on 05/01/2004During the first season of ClickerExpo, it seemed to me that a lot of people had questions about behavior chains and back-chaining. I'd like to shed a little light on the subject. A behavior chain is an event in which units of behavior occur in sequences and are linked together by learned cues. Back-chaining, which means teaching those units in reverse order and reinforcing each unit with the cue for the next, is a training technique. We use this technique to take advantage of the intrinsic nature of the event.
Success with Puppy Weaned too Early
By KPCT on 04/21/2004From Charleen Cordo: I am a member of APDT and have been clicker training and teaching clicker training in my classes for about the past 7 years now. I also have the youth at the Colorado Boys Ranch learning to use it. We work with shelter dogs whom we adopt out to appropriate homes through a program called New Leash on Life. These are "throwaway" dogs but they respond so well that they adapt readily and appropriately into their adoptee families after we work with them for 9 to 10 weeks.
ClickerSolutions: Clicking for Joy
By Melissa Alexander on 04/01/2004In February 2004, my book Click for Joy! received a Maxwell award from the Dog Writers Association of America for "Best Training or Behavior Book of 2003." The award itself is a heavy medallion, reminiscent of an Olympic medal. Writing a book is much like running a marathon, so I suppose an Olympic medal is fitting, but, in the case of Click for Joy, I think an Oscar metaphor is more apt. This book was a team effort, and there are many people to thank, including the thousands of people who are or have been members of the ClickerSolutions mailing list. Without ClickerSolutions, there would be no Click for Joy.
