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Ineffective Punishment pt3
Let's keep looking at the mistakes people make when they try to utilize punishment. Punishment does not teach behavior Punishment alone does not build behaviors or teach dogs what TO do. The ONLY thing punishment does is teach a dog what is wrong. So what's the...
May is Dog Bite Prevention Month!
It's that time of year again... National Dog Bite Prevention Month! Two of my most popular blog posts to date were from last year's Dog Bite Prevention Series. They've gotten a little funky with their format for some reason but can find To Pet or Not To Pet and How...
Ineffective Punishment pt 2
Let's continue our look into the mistakes people make when choosing to use punishment. Last week I wrote about two common mistakes people make: Correcting Unknown Behaviors and The Punisher Not being Unpleasant but those are only two of the issues I frequently see...
Ineffective Punishment pt 1
Ineffective Punishment pt 1 Honestly, it's a rarity when I use any punishment for Shayne or Rio's mistakes in basic obedience/tricks--no click is, in most instance, enough information for them to know that wasn't what I was looking for. If they make a mistake, they...
Punishment… it happens
Punishment... it happens It is one of my biggest pet peeves when people call clicker trainers permissive. I may not use physical punishments but I'm probably one of the "strictest" doggie moms out there. I have rules and expectations of my dogs and have no problem...
Busy at Tugs By Tena
Holy cow, it must be coming up on agility season or some such fun because I've gotten lots of tug orders in the last week--6 orders for a total of 40 tugs. So, I've been braiding and braiding and braiding! Tug making is a surprising workout! I never realize the amount...
Common Mistakes–trouble shooting pt. 3
It's been a while since I talked about a few common mistakes I see with dogs and their handlers along with some solutions to these problems. "My dog hates to sit. She'll listen to other things but hates to sit and won't when I tell her to." I heard this while out and...
Get Creative With Reinforcements
Reinforcement--anything that, when added or removed, makes a behavior more likely to happen again. Although I use and suggest food as reinforcement during classes, it is not the ONLY type of reinforcement that exists. Since food is such a common reward, for this post,...
Wordless Wednesday–Shayne Edition
Don't let your leash hold you back
Don't let your leash hold you back Believe it or not, I find that leashes very frequently become weights holding back the potential for training. The more one relies on the leash during the beginning stages of training, the more it hinders training at higher levels....