Sometimes the important things in life are handled as part of the daily routine, and the urgency becomes lost in the ritual. Our actions become mechanical; our emotions are disengaged. Until we are jarred awake.
Special Situations
How to Train Your Dog to Find a Lost Pet
By Annalisa Berns on 07/01/2012Editor’s note: You may have heard of search and rescue dogs that find people, but there are search and rescue dogs that find pets, too!
How Trainers Make a Difference: Ready…Set…for Groomer and Vet!
By Laura Monaco Torelli on 06/01/2012Necessity made fun
Therapy Dogs Serve Children with Autism
By Patricia Stokely on 11/01/2011Editor’s note: Poodle-loving school psychologist, dog training coach, and Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner Patricia Stokely writes movingly about the
Yes, But Does This Work with Kids? How TAGteach Made a Difference at School and Home
By Stephanie Tagtow on 09/01/2011Editor's note:
Karen Pryor introduces Stephanie Tagtow's success story.
Karen Pryor introduces Stephanie Tagtow's success story.
I hear this question often: "Yes, but does it work with kids?"
Do you think of clicker training as something that's good for dogs and other animals, but not right for people? The principles of learning are always the same. The technology of training without punishment, and with a marker, works with any organism with a nervous system.
Adapting positive reinforcement training to human problems just requires slightly different methods. For example, you can tell your learner what you will click for. We call these special techniques for humans TAGteaching. We call the marker sound a TAG. We call the criterion being clicked a TAG point. Beyond that, the training is the same: being sensitive to reinforcement choice, breaking behavior down into successful units, creative thinking, and timing.
The outcome? Just what you'd expect. The learner is thrilled. Long-standing problems vanish, to be replaced with good new behaviors. Even the beginning teacher has success, so the teacher is thrilled, too.
The story below is a great example of TAGteaching—see what you think! Is there anything going on in your life that could use a little tagging?
