Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Posted by Animals at 6:29 PM Thursday, September 3, 2009

Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Real Life Clicker Training

Posted: 01 Sep 2009 07:52 AM PDT

Good-dog-Miles-with-DrLarry My friend and neighbor Cheryl got a new mixed breed puppy last spring. She adopted Riley from our local humane society at about 10 weeks of age. I sent her the Puppy Pot Pourri post I did for my daughter Claire and I think she found it valuable.

As most readers know I'm a big advocate of basic training for all dogs. I've been watching Riley's development from afar and I have to say Cheryl is doing a great job. So much so that I asked her If I could write a post about her experiences training Riley. She agreed and I went over this morning, notebook and camera in hand.

Cheryl took Riley to our local Kennel and Pet Care facility called Mis Amigos. It's a very nice place and most of my friends leave their pets in the good care of Mis Amigos when they are forced to travel alone. It's much more than simply a nice kennel as you'll learn.
 
Mis Amigos uses a reward based training system grounded in the science of operant conditioning. The basic idea is to reward  your puppy or dog for doing the right thing. A hand held clicker is used to get the dog's attention. The clicker is simply a signal that identifies the action or specific behavior you are trying to train. The clicker is referred to as a "Conditioned Reinforcer" and in the early phases of training is used to signal that a treat is coming.Riley-Cheryl-work-outdoors
 
The idea is that once your pup understands that the clicker is followed by a desirable treat you can train them do almost anything. The clicker followed by the treat is the reward for the desired behavior. Once the pup has learned the behavior you can begin to substitute other reinforcers for the clicker and the treat. A kind word and a pat on the head can be just as effective as food for a well trained dog.
 
Cheryl enrolled Riley in a six session training program using a book and system by trainer Karen Pryor entitled Clicker Training for Dogs. She gave me the handouts for the class and it certainly looks very comprehensive. I was also very happy to see a handout with all the reasons for not using punishment in training.
 
The owner at Mis Amigos is a graduate of a hands on train the trainer class by Karen Pryor. For my money, it's well worth it to learn from an expert. You could buy the book and try it on your own but there is no substitute for hands on expertise. Plus you get the benefit of socialization when you work with others. It's one thing to get your pup to behave in the back yard and quite another in a setting like a dog park where there are so many distractions.

Riley walks at Cheryl's side without pulling and looks up to Cheryl for constant feedback. Riley also sits, Good-dog-Riley stays, comes and will remain in a particular area when asked. Riley understands the idea of "Mine" as opposed to "Yours". Cheryl has taught him to leave her stuff alone. That's a very valuable lesson for a puppy. If my daughter's dog, Miles, had learned this lesson I wouldn't have had to buy her a new cell phone last week. 
 
It's really great to see theory put into practice successfully. Watching Cheryl work with Riley this morning was something. It's not just that he is well behaved. It's very clear that there is a loving relationship happening before your eyes. Cheryl and Riley will be a team for years to come.   

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