Reinforcement based training takes a hit when people on the outside see it fail. That is the truth with any systematic way of training. Critics use those that have little success as a warning sign of impeding doom to any that would attempt to train [...]
Following on from my blog post "Birds, Sheep, Rats and other Out of Control Rewards"... So why do I believe it is easier for me to get control of a dog when in the presence of their highest value rewards than it may be for [...]
Road trip this past weekend. John, myself & all the dogs packed into the RV. We drove convoy style with John & Lynda and their trailer Penny & Yvon and their fifth wheel rig all the way down to Virginia for a three day trial. [...]
Some great comments from yesterday's post. Here is the kicker though, not all dogs that are trained with positive punishment will cower in fear or tuck their tail oreven dislike training. The truth is, a very skill trainer that has brilliant timing can produce a [...]
Everyone who does it, can sight (what they feel is) a valid reason for using positive (often physical) punishment in their dog training. Many avenues of dog training still justify their choice of using physical punishment but claiming it is necessary. The truth is everyone [...]
I have always been driven by the need to improve; myself, my dogs, my students, the world, whatever. Recent I have taken up a new habit which I would like to share because it has been a good one for me. On and off in [...]
It was hard to leave home again last Wednesday to head to my current teaching post in Finland, especially hard to leave Buzzy. Although he is much better I can’t help but feel the stress of me leaving may be contributing to his distress, but [...]
So, I have a workshop this weekend that I have never taught before. I can't really go into too many details because I know some participants read my blog. In order for this curriculum to be successful, it needs to be mysterious and scary:). The [...]
Wrapping up some lose ends here. First of all thanks to everyone that contributed to the Shaping Challenge. I hope you all had fun and learned lots. I did promise I would reinforce one of you so the winner is . . . Chelsea and [...]
First of all thank you. All of your comments and concern really did wonders to get me out of my funk yesterday. You guys rock, I mean that, thank you. Now I need some input. I know many of you live in areas where Lyme [...]
I haven't written much in the last week because honestly each time I try to write I am overwhelmed by depressing thoughts that I don't think belong here. I have always preserved this blog to be as uplifting as possible. However, I figured maybe by [...]
First of all a big congratulations to Alexandre Bilodeau for bringing Canada it's first ever Gold Medal at an Olympic Games that we where hosting (sadly in Montreal in '76 and Calgary in '88 we as a nation earned no gold medals). What a relief [...]
