clickers

 Karen Pryor, Ken Ramirez, and swedish agility authorities Eva Bertilsson and Emelie Johnson Vegh discuss clicker training in this Petcast by pet columnist Steve Dale.

Agility can be a fun sport for anyone. That is the premise behind Agility Right from the Start, celebrating its first birthday this month. Praised for adding needed clarity to the application of clicker training to agility, the book by Swedish agility experts Eva Bertilsson and Emelie Johnson Vegh has taken the agility world by storm.

Its comprehensive approach and focus on good handling has made Agility Right from the Start a must-have resource for both the beginner and the most accomplished competitor. Many agility participants describe the book as the only agility resource they’ll ever need. But perhaps what is most significant about this book is that the foundation skills that Bertilsson and Vegh outline not only apply to agility, but to all dog sports—and to everyday life. What kind of foundation training are we talking about? Training that uses positive reinforcement and that focuses on building behavior step-by-step. This type of training is not only key to creating a happy and confident team, but is the invaluable recipe for getting any behavior you want—right from the start.