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Michele’s Tuesday Training Tip – Stimulus Control

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Stimulus Control? That Sounds Complicated!

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Hopefully I didn’t just frighten anyone away by the title of today’s blog, but don’t be afraid of the term, it really isn’t that complicated! A stimulus can be anything that we have a response to, which can be learned or not learned. The sound of the doorbell is a stimulus which has a specific meaning to it; we learn that the bell means that someone is at the door. In training, we refer to our cues as a discriminative stimulus because the cue is a stimulus that has been learned and has a specific meaning. My dogs have learned that my hand spinning in a clockwise motion means that they should spin. That hand motion only means spin to them because it is different than any of their other cues and they are able to discriminate it from other hand cues. [Read more…] about Michele’s Tuesday Training Tip – Stimulus Control

Michele’s Tuesday Training Tip – It’s a No No to say it Twice Twice

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Don’t Repeat When Working on Training Cues

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There’s a dog trainer out there by the name of Gary Wilkes and he writes interesting to read articles about training. One of them in particular has left me with a phrase that I will never forget. This article titled, “What you teach is what you get”, is about over cueing and what happens over time; it concludes by stating, “It’s a no-no to say it twice twice”. If you’re a training nut like me, you probably laughed out loud just like I did!
Once a dog knows a verbal cue for a behavior such as sit, we should only have to say it once in order for the dog to perform that behavior. If we say “sit sit” or “sit sit sit (take a breath) sit sit” because the dog hasn’t performed after the first time you said it, overtime that conditions the dog to ignore you and respond to your cue on the second, third or fourth time. Obviously we want our dog to respond to the cue the first time we say it.
The best thing to do if your dog doesn’t respond to the cue right away is to pause and wait a couple seconds before asking again. Just remember, “It’s a no no to say it twice twice!” Can you imagine how I’d be able to run agility with my dogs if they didn’t listen the first time I said something? It wouldn’t work out very well! Check out this video of Gino from our most recent agility trial and check out how in tune he is with what I’m saying.

Michele’s Tuesday Training Tip – Maintenance

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Wash, Rinse And Repeat for Optimal and Consistent Behaviors

Sometimes the wheels fall off the bus and some work has to be done to get it back to its full working order. Even solid, well known behaviors can deteriorate over time, which is why maintenance is needed in order to maintain these behaviors. An easy way to try and get the behavior back, is to regress or go back to a stage of the learning process of that behavior in which the animal can successfully complete. From here, you can work the behavior back up. [Read more…] about Michele’s Tuesday Training Tip – Maintenance

Michele’s Tuesday Training Tip – The Power Of Patience

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When Working With Animals, Patience Is Key.

Remember the saying “patience is a virtue”? Keep remembering that when training! All animals work and learn at a different pace so be patient with them. By being patient you are less likely to get frustrated with your animal which means that the chances that the training session will stay positive is greater.

Agility competitors know what I mean when I say, “enjoy the journey”. Or what about, “focus on the journey, not the destination”.  Enjoy the moments of success and challenges along the way because there is no rush when you are committed to your dog. [Read more…] about Michele’s Tuesday Training Tip – The Power Of Patience

Michele’s Tuesday Training Tip – Buffy?

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What Does Buffy have To Do With A Weekly Training Tip?

In honor of October being Adopt a Shelter dog month, I wanted to share Buffy’s bio and how together we have promoted the use of positive reinforcement in dog training.

I was attending college in southern Indiana when I fell into volunteering at the local humane society. In a back room reserved for the littlest of puppies, was where I first noticed Buffy. She was definitely older than the other puppies kept there and unlike the others who had torn up their newspaper bedding and decorated their space with poopy paw prints, Buffy always seemed to be patiently waiting. She was calm, quiet and appeared to be house broken and I could only think that this seemingly great dog was being passed up for the younger puppies in the room.

Each fall, the humane society helps organize and run a haunted house that raises money to operate the facility. In order to keep people entertained while waiting in line to get inside the attraction, shelter volunteers would bring adoptable dogs to walk along the lines of people outside. The dog that I was planning on bringing got adopted before the event, so I decided to take Buffy. Since the event was taking place after the hours that the humane society was open, I had to keep her with me overnight and in that short time I got attached and here she is with me today.

Around the same time I adopted Buffy, a trainer I worked with at Shedd Aquarium, named Chris Dignan, was starting up The Dog Saving Network. The goal of the organization is to promote shelter adoptions and the use of positive reinforcement training. Knowing Chris for several years he knew my history of training dogs and doing agility, he asked if I’d like to be a part of a stage show with Buffy. So, very quickly Buffy went from the shelter to the stage and we haven’t turned back.

In 2009 and 2011 we performed in Chicago with other dogs that auditioned to be a part of the group and we’ve been teaching and inspiring people to use positive reinforcement ever since. Buffy has been a great ambassador for positive reinforcement and shelter dogs. Together, we’ll keep increasing awareness about training and about the millions of great dogs out there that need homes.