"At the Louisville Zoo, it's not art for art's sake; it's for the sake of the animals -- and, as often as not, their human keepers too.....Keepers bond with the animals -- even through something as abstract as art -- through operant conditioning, 'a training that really is a form of communicating with the animals,' said Diana DeVaughn, the zoo's media/promotions coordinator. 'It builds their trust' by forming an association between a behavior and a positive consequence."
Press
Clicker Beagle stars in national ad
By Karen Pryor on 10/07/2005Clicker trainer Tonji Stewart, of Newfoundland, Canada, has seven dogs including rescued beagle Piper. Piper is currently the mascot for North Atlantic Petroleum. His photo appears on billboards and the sides of oil tanker trucks all over Canada. He won the modeling job in a contest which included the province's top obedience dog.
Dogs Behaving Badly - The Dispatch
By Bill Peña on 09/30/2005This story on dog aggression from the Gilroy Dispatch is a great little piece on how aggression can be managed with positive reinforcement and clicker training, a topic that's of great interest to us here at KPCT. Emma Parsons, KPCT's Training Director, wrote Click to Calm: Healing the Aggressive Dog and gives Click to Calm seminars around the country. It's nice to see this idea that aggressive dogs don't need to be choked into submission, that there are positive ways to deal with this behavior, spreading in the press.
Doggone Crazy! Hits the US Airwaves, Coast to Coast
By Bill Peña on 09/30/2005Doggone Crazy!, manufacturer of the Doggone Crazy! board game and Clicker Puppy training DVD, will hit the airwaves across the US in the coming weeks with pre-Christmas product promotions. Animal Radio will air an interview with Doggone Crazy! co-creator Teresa Lewin on-line and with its 37 affiliate radio stations. A Doggone Crazy! promotion will be heard 700 times on 92 radio stations with the popular Joy Grdnic segment. All Star Radio Networks has selected the Clicker Puppy DVD for its innovative Contest in a Can promotion, distributed to 350 radio stations across the US and will also provide Morning Show content including Doggone Crazy! safety messages to 350 radio stations.
Camp Gone to the Dogs -- NECN Video
By Bill Peña on 09/26/2005Camp Gone to the Dogs is an agility dog training camp in Stowe, VT where you can spend a week with your dog weaving, jumping and learning. NECN (New England Cable News) just did a story on them, and you can watch it here.
