Category Archives: Training

The title says it all. I will use this term to mean general training concepts and practices. Just remember that learning is learning. Changing behavior is changing behavior. It’s the same dog regardless of whether you are teaching it directed movements in the field or teaching it to pee in the same spot in the yard.

Secondary Reinforcers: Primary Blather

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In the language of modern dog training a clicker is a “secondary reinforcer.” Sorry, but the term “secondary reinforcer” is simply eight syllables of blather. Why? Because reinforcers must, by definition, strengthen a behavior connected to them. That isn’t what happens when you click a clicker (or say the word, “NO”) and then not provide the tangible event that is supposed to follow. I can prove it. No, I have proven it – at MIT no less. You can prove it too, in the privacy of your own home. No lab coats, no rat or pigeon cages needed. Just you, a clicker and a hungry dog.

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Broom-Whacking 101

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The most commonly used tool for changing a pet’s behavior is punishment. When a dog chews the couch, eliminates in the house or barks excessively, our first thought is to create an unpleasant consequence for Fido’s actions. Despite our common leaning toward aversive solutions for bad behavior, it might surprise you to know that few people know the first thing about it. This ignorance is responsible for the fact that punishment rarely works as planned.

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Why is the tone-first important when using an e-collar to stop a behavior?

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A special thanks to Tyler Muto for inspiring this post. It’s a work in progress, but I realized that I needed to get started explaining this important topic even if it wasn’t perfect yet – Gary Wilkes.

Dog learns how to react to aversive events in general, whether you structure the process or not. However, a trainer’s job is to create structure that facilitates learning. To teach inhibitions, electric shock collars are the only tool that can apply aversive control away from the trainer and/or in what the dog thinks is the absence of the trainer. The dog’s question is always going to be “why did I get zapped?” Continue reading →

What is Real Clicker Training?

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Note: I have noticed from the enthusiastic response to this article something rather interesting. The objections presented in the comments run to several basic themes. One type of objection picks a tiny point and emphasizes it well beyond the main theme of the article.That is called a “straw-dog” argument – where contradicting a lesser point is supposed to neutralize the bigger issues. The rest of my blog has the equivalent of a 300 page book on topics that all relate to the real world. Some of those articles may answer your questions in the broader context. As you read this I would suggest that this is about real animals – straw dogs need not apply. Continue reading →