This is a video I posted to my FaceBook page a couple of days ago. It shows Swagger with his new toy (which is a great confidence building toy for puppies). At the end it shows how I start my puppy's jump training. Swagger turns 5 [...]
Following up on my last post on NRMs I mentioned that the only place I really use one in my training is when the lack of information will create an expectancy of reinforcement for my dog. I mentioned the teaching of weave poles as one [...]
I think I have neglected you blog readers a bit by posting a lot of my updates about Swagger on my new Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/SusanGarrettDogAgility). So today I am going overboard, with this mega- blog post. And yes, I promised to get back to our [...]
Great conversation about non reward punishers over the past week or so. More on that later. For those of you not on facebook I thought I would post a few new pictures and videos of Feature's little boy "Swagger." He turned three weeks old yesterday [...]
Now to answer an unanswered question from last week; when exactly DO I use a NRM? The answer is I only use a NRM if, by not using one, the dog can earn reinforcement. Routinely I can only think of two examples in my training [...]
Feature's puppy has taken over my life. I just can't get any work done he is sooo darn cute, I can just sit and watch him all day long . . . and I do! He is no longer going by his puppy name of [...]
To follow up on a comment written on yesterday's blog; what do we do when we are shaping one thing but our dogs get “stuck” offering something she already knows. My first choice is to set things up in my favor to avoid this from [...]
It seems everyone has a slightly different slant on their application of Non Reward Markers (NRMs) in training. Here is a little more on my approach. First of all, I never use them in training during a value building session (shaping). Actually, I rarely use [...]
I thought it was time to address my thoughts on the use, abuse, misuse and the misunderstanding of the “non reward marker” (NRM) in dog training A non reward marker is usually a word or phrase that when spoken to your dog, lets him know [...]
Last week my friend Lynda and I went for a walk with the dogs. Yes the snow was close to a meter deep (that is about a yard for our American friends) but the dogs didn’t care -- they wanted their walk! Now walking up [...]
I am writing this blog post today not from a position of a great depth of knowledge but reporting from two singular experiences. I am hoping anyone reading this that has gone through a similar situation will offer their perspective. I suppose for many of [...]
Those of you that are not on Facebook, that were unable to follow the links in my last post to the “surprise” here it is. Last November, while teaching in Australia I made arrangements for Feature to be bred to a lovely male that had [...]
