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Sometimes the Clicker is Quicker

Leah Roberts | Tue, 10/05/2010 - 18:30

There are people in the industry who dog trainers look up to as heroes, mentors, and gurus. One of our most notable leaders is Dr. Ian Dunbar, who was responsible for bringing dog training methods out of the too-harsh-for-puppies dark ages to the modern reward-based puppy classes of today due to his creation of the lure/reward method of training.

Phasing Out Tools In Training

Dr. Ian Dunbar | Tue, 10/05/2010 - 12:27

Whatever tools you use to train your dog, it's important that you phase them out eventually. Ultimately you want a dog that will listen to verbal commands under any circumstances, off-leash, at a distance, surrounded by distractions. It's just as easy to become dependant on a leash or a shock collar as it is to become dependant on food treats. With lure reward training you can phase out the use of food and replace it with life-rewards, the fun and play that are probably you got a dog in the first place!

A Day Just Like Today

Sue Pearson | Mon, 10/04/2010 - 20:19

It was October 4th, twenty four years ago today, and I was cruising down Interstate 80, headed east toward the Mississippi River. It was the kind of day that made you remember why you loved living in Iowa – trees on fire, with their crimson and gold leaves waving against a cobalt blue sky, and Hawkeye football on the radio.

I always remember this day like it was yesterday. The Hawks were trailing in the final minute of a cliff-hanger and they had just pulled one out of their proverbial hat -- er, helmet. I don’t remember much more about the game, only that I eased the car off the interstate to listen to the final moments of a totally unexpected 24-21 Hawkeye football victory.

Embedded thumbnail for Lure &amp; Reward Training Done Right

Lure & Reward Training Done Right

Dr. Ian Dunbar | Mon, 10/04/2010 - 12:30

Forty years into my career and I still believe lure/reward training is the way to go. Here I explain why.

Wait For That Behavior

Leslie Fisher | Mon, 10/04/2010 - 10:55

Talley, my 5 year old bouncy anxious English Lab inspired me to get busy and write. When excited or anxious, which is often due to her temperament, she becomes, well…..bouncy! (all three labs give me plenty of scope for practice.) This behavior has been quite consistent over the five years of her loveable short stocky labbie life, and is unlikely to change. True to form this morning, excited by an impending trip to the pond, there was much bouncy bouncy behavior at the backyard gate, the magic gate to freedom. Talley knows the drill, which is why I wait for the desired behavior to happen.

Why does this chicken spin?

Chirag Patel | Sat, 10/02/2010 - 05:54

This video illustrates a few different points:

1. We can and do unintentionally teach our animals things all the time. In this video I teach this hen to spin, but only realise this after I watch back the training videos.

2. Watching yourself training, back on video is a great way to help yourself improve as a teacher and learn more about your self as a trainer.

Talking Dog: The "Guilty Dog"

Chirag Patel | Thu, 09/30/2010 - 17:02

Dogs “talk” to us all the time, we usually don’t understand them or are not even listening. If we stop whispering to them, dominating them and commanding them but try and look at things from the dogs point of view we maybe better able to “hear” them.

Below I discuss the "guilty look", some things that we may not see or even misinterpret.

Bosco makes eye contact -- the first sign of trust

The Six Pillars in Action with new project, Bosco

Rachel Friedman | Thu, 09/30/2010 - 16:25

He's been here just a little over 24 hours and he's already got his first video posted! Meet Bosco. Like Flick, my banner model who graces the top of A Better Pet's web presence, this border collie mix is very smart. Unlike Flick, he is a little less manic (a LITTLE) and he's come with no apparent major baggage despite his having been rescued by my cousin Paula and her family three nights ago when he turned up in her headlights scared yet got in her car and poof, 36 hours later he arrived here and poof, six hours after that he had settled in enough to have a little lesson.

Continued Saga of The Six Pillars Path

Rachel Friedman | Wed, 09/29/2010 - 08:59

Taking a proactive role in one's life -- setting up for success [versus waiting to be disappointed by perceived failure of various proportions yet reacting with negativity without having realized it's YOUR FAULT because you failed to figure out what you want at any given time] permeates well beyond the dog training exploits that wend their ways in various forms into the The Six Pillars Approach to Dog Training.

I guess I'm just relieved I finally got The Book up online for a beta group of clients for fine tuning before making it available for sale.

Fair and Balanced - Or Just Unbalanced?

Edie Jarolim | Wed, 09/29/2010 - 08:16

The other day, on a website designed to find expert sources for articles, I saw the following request:

"Working on assigned story for a  major website that covers pet health and behavior issues....designed to briefly explain both positive reinforcement as well as the owner as alpha type method... to look  at the pros and cons of each method and to help people thinking  of hiring a dog trainer know which method is best (for example, maybe treats and clicker training won’t work with a dog that  needs serious rehabilitation).

I already have a trainer to  interview for the positive reinforcement side of the story. I’m  looking to...interview a trainer who adheres to the owner as alpha method...what techniques they use and why they work. Specifically  that might include hand as mouth correction, prong or choke  collars, alpha roll, other leash techniques, or flooding and  gradual desensitization."