Editor’s note: Be sure to view each section of Laura’s accompanying video as you read through her article.
clickers
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
Teaching "Off" with Positive Reinforcement
By Joan Orr on 11/01/2011Self control is one of the most critical skills a dog needs to learn, and it is a skill that is required multiple times a day. Dogs are expected to refrain from picking up something forbidden when it appears within reach. Some examples that come to mind include: dropped medication, chicken bones, the hamster, dead birds, Granny's hearing aid, Susie's favorite stuffed toy, the last remaining baby soother...
What Makes a Reward Rewarding?
By Kay Laurence on 10/01/2011"Reward your dog." We've heard this many, many times in many formats. It takes a lot of experience to get the best from a reward—where the reward delivers everything the dog needs in order to offer the behavior again and again, with passion.
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?
