Category Archives: Clicker training

Clicker training, Dog training, Genie Leave a comment

Revelations from Puppy Kindergarten

I’m a dog trainer with many years’ experience. I’ve taught puppy classes, basic and competition obedience, beginner and advanced agility. I’ve studied dog behavior extensively. I’ve observed thousands of dogs and their human partners in countless situations. I’ve watched both dogs and their humans become happy, sad, thrilled, impatient, excited, bored, ecstatic, confused, astonished, overwhelmed, pleased, angry, embarrassed – pretty much the entire gamut of vertebrate emotion. In all of these situations, the dogs act as dogs do – quite

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Clicker training, Dog training Leave a comment

Not sure about clicker training? Here are some reasons to try it

Clicker training is a wonderful way to teach your dog any behavior. Clicker-trained dogs are more than trained – they are excited about learning, interested in what you might teach them next. They become active participants in the training game, rather than automatons that don’t think and merely perform at your whim, without enthusiasm or interest. They learn to learn, and actually learn to think, which enables them to achieve more than dogs taught by the old traditional dog training

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Cats and dogs, Clicker training, Dog training Leave a comment

Shaping versus Luring Behaviors

Confession: My dogs don’t know the common obedience cue, “Stand.” Once upon a time I taught all of my dogs to stand on cue, but since I stopped doing competition obedience I didn’t feel the need for it and just stopped teaching it. Recently, in doing Canine Freestyle, I discovered a need for it. And now, while working on conditioning my couch potato Aussie Frenzy, it becomes even more important. I dawdled with it from time to time over the

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Agility training, Clicker training, Dog training, Joon Leave a comment

Excuses…

Joon lives. Really. I know I haven’t written anything since NOVEMBER 28th! (I actually didn’t realize it was that long ago! Oh my.) Let’s see, first of all I caught a cold – had no voice, a head full of stuff, and then it segued into an ear infection, and now I can’t hear. It’s been cold. Or hot. Or raining. There was a bunch of holidays in there too, disrupting any semblance of a “normal” life around here. Though

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Clicker training, Dog training, Tuck Leave a comment

Adversarial Relationships

The other day I was reading one of my e-mail lists (probably Clicktrain) and came across a post in which someone said something like if you find yourself in an adversarial relationship with your dog, you’re doing something wrong. This brought me up short. I know it to be a truth, but sometimes I guess I just need to be reminded. As you have probably read, Tuck and I do not share the same views about where dogs should defecate.

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Agility training, Clicker training, Joon Leave a comment

Joon’s Checklist

LONG-TERM GOALS For Joon to be a stable, happy dog with plenty to keep her occupied physically and mentally, interactive with other dogs and humans, comfortable in her own skin. For her to be a successful agility competitor to the level of her handler’s competence. SHORT-TERM GOALS (OH MY!) {Goals to be achieved are in black; goals felt to be achieved in green; and additional goals are in red.} Housebroken. Learn name. [11/26/06] Gain confidence. Play with me – tug,

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