Ready Player Dog

03/30/2024

Allen Neuringer writes about his exploration of repetitions and variations. Skinner advised us to "Make deliberate changes in the ways in which you do things...if you are inclined to go in one direction, try going in another. Try especially, to avoid doing things as you once learned to do them-- if only to see what results. The more extravagant the variation, the more valuable."

Neuringer has applied what he has learned into his own life. "Most evenings after dinner, I mix variations and repetitions. I sit at a Yamaha electric piano and improvise, sometimes starting with an arbitrary (or random) sequence of notes or sometimes with a from-the-past song. I generally cannot predict the outcome of the improvisation but find the undertaking to be satisfying, and my behavior has been maintained over the years. Similar intermixing can be applied in other venues: social interactions, love-making, competition, problem solving, art, and music. Perhaps most importantly, varying our attempts, repeating what succeeds, and intermixing the two, may help us as we confront the challenges of our day."

Read more on page 16 of Operants. https://indd.adobe.com/view/4d65a0ea-3d11-4c29-a2b1-5e4a0389cdee

03/17/2024

Working through some learning now to be able to offer you all critical thinking skills to adapt to your dog’s needs during training. Good stuff is on the way! Cross your paws that my day job won’t rob me of a life again.

Back The Blue K-9 Force with a truth bomb!

03/12/2024

Free dog enrichment summit!

This month, Mary Hunter will be speaking as part of the FREE 14-day Dog Enrichment Summit.

If you’re looking for some entertaining new enrichment ideas for your dogs or other pets, you should register for the summit and join the fun!

The summit is organized by Barb Buchmayer, author of the book “Enrichment Games for High-Energy Dogs.”

The summit started yesterday and features a total of 25 world-class speakers.

Best of all, the whole event is both virtual and free!

You can register using the following link:

https://summit.dogenrichsummit.com/mary

Hope to see you there!

02/28/2024

Update: Saturday is booked! A few more spots can be available on Sunday if enough interest is there, DM Karen Schroeder Photography asap ☺️

Pet portraits for a good cause? Karen Schroeder Photography has some spots left! Contact her ASAP if you’d like to get your furkid entered in the pooch playoffs! Your $100 entry benefits Prairie Paws Animal Shelter - Manhattan KS and gives you an opportunity to win prizes as your pup advances through the bracket. Your entry also comes with a photo keychain & goodie bag gift.

02/03/2024

I have had an insatiable thirst for learning how dogs (and other species) learn, and why it is that conventional training remains popular. This is from Melissa Holbrook Pierson’s book, “The Secret History of Kindness: Learning From How Dogs Learn.” I checked this one out from my local library, but I’ll be adding this to my bookshelf. Such a good read.

01/30/2024

Hey! Want to get geeky with me? Join me on Help My Dog’s member hub! Dr. Tom Mitchell - Behavet is offering this amazing resource, with perhaps the thing I’m most excited about - the Gorse Diaries!

Gorse is Dr. Tom’s mini dachshund that was unfortunately attacked and bitten by a rottie while they were on a walk last summer. She required two surgeries to address issues from the attack and is now fully healed, but now Dr. Tom is sharing with us her journey to overcome the trauma from that attack. Check the comments for a link to his FB live today - tons of learning value!

01/30/2024

On today’s episode of being a dog trainer… 🧀🧤

01/23/2024

The geeking out has not stopped! I’m on dog book number five since 19 Dec.

This week started four weeks of UpDog Challenge judge refresher training. Then on 6 Feb, Behavior Explorer’s part 2 of the Shaping Skills workshop will be going for six weeks 🤩🤓 I’m so excited! Me and Archie make a cameo in the part one video - check it out in the comments.

01/17/2024

Cold Weather Guidance for Your Dog:

01/05/2024

“If you’re not careful about cues, you can cause the very behavior you want to stop.” - James Clear, 𝐴𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝐻𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑠

12/29/2023

One need that’s very, very often overlooked is CLARITY, which goes along with putting more effort into communicating with your dog.

Credit to The National Institute For Canine Ethics for the infographic 🤓

12/25/2023

📸: of J&C Imaging

12/25/2023

My favorite thing to see is when management leads to a default behavior.

For example, when working a SDiT called Jack, his default behavior is to be in the heel position.

At home? After dinner, all the pups get a dental treat. To preserve the peace, I’d crate the puppies with their treats while Rza enjoys hers loose. Though, tonight, I opted to give everyone their dental treat from a different location in the kitchen, and the pups defaulted to their crates to eat their treats.

Management is training.

*SDiT = Service dog in training

12/21/2023

🤌🏽

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12/15/2023

Thinking ahead - expect to see the game Jenga at some point when you train with me 😆

10/28/2023

THISSSS

It breaks my heart when I see dogs in sports or obedience trials that are showing signs of anxiety and the guardians aren’t aware. They’re often too consumed with winning.

Just had a client who does agility with her and her newest dog barks the entire time and has a hard time focusing. She’s not had a dog like this before and wanted me to help her stop her dog from barking. I watched in awe at how hard this dog was screaming to be heard saying “I hate this, stop making me do it”. I asked a million questions about the rest if his life at home, on walks etc and it was glaringly clear this dog was not wanting to compete in agility. After a long consult I asked if she was open to not competing with this dog and she teared up. The tears were gratitude. When I shared all the signs of anxiety her dog was expressing she realized that it wasn’t something this dog wanted and she never even thought of it in this way. She thought it’s in the breed and so they must love agility and competition not aware of the emotions of individual dogs. She was so happy and relieved to learn this and will never force a dog to do something they don’t want.

I find this common amongst show and competition guardians. Many are old school and think ‘it’s a dog and this is what they’re bred for’ with little to no concern for the emotions of the dog. They aren’t aware of the body languages of stress and anxiety and push the dog for their own entertainment and the win.

I’m grateful for those who are open to learning more about the emotional lives of dogs, especially those who show and compete.

09/27/2023

Come learn with me!

Auditing spots still available!
FUNctional Obedience with CB Wing!
October 28 & 29
Rugged Mutts Ranch in Manhattan, KS
Sign up link in comments
Auditing Spots are $150 (includes lunch both days)
"FUNctional Obedience" means we'll dive into the world of play-based learning, using food and toys as tools to teach essential obedience concepts such as positions, recall, remote stop, and loose leash walking. Through interactive lectures and discussions, we'll demonstrate how leveraging play can transform your dog's learning experience and make obedience training an enjoyable adventure for both of you.
Who Should Attend:
This seminar is tailored for dog enthusiasts of all levels, whether you're a seasoned trainer or a first-time dog owner. No matter the age, breed, or size of your dog, this seminar will equip you with practical techniques to enhance your play and reinforcement system, fostering obedience, relationship building, and engagement.
Key Learning Objectives:
By participating in this seminar, you'll gain invaluable insights and skills, including:
Enhanced play techniques that foster engagement and learning
Understanding of the predatory modal pattern and its role in shaping play
Diverse strategies for reinforcing behaviors and encouraging performance
Introductory knowledge of basic obedience concepts, from positions to recall
A happier and more responsive dog eager to learn and interact.

09/25/2023

Presence doesn’t mean access - puppy sibling edition! Each puppy gets a turn in the xpen as they learn how to play adjacently.