Wishing all of my clients and followers a wonderful Christmas!
A muzzled dog is a dog who can't shove their nose into a drainage grate. Don't forget to turn up that volume so you can hear his sniffing
This dude's personality is such a good fit btw. We're always having conversations about how excited he is and how fun it is to be a dog!
Crosby has great toy "drive." I love using toys as reinforcers because it gives me a way to engage with a dog that food can't. That's not to say I won't push you to use food when you're training.
This video is of me trying to figure out why he keeps wanting to perform tricks to get toys but not actually want the toys
(Oh and use food while you're training)
#positivereinforcement #dogbehavior #mixedbreed #beaglemix #dogtraining
What the heck? My dog is 11 years old and can still jump this high without a running start?
Here's to doing everything I can to keep him active enough to help his arthritis but not asking him to do things that will make it worse either. Trick training is perfect for getting safe types of movement in. Btw, I rarely ask him to jump like this because his welfare comes before my entertainment^1
Oh, but uh... before I forget, you should probably make sure your dog is structurally sound and therefore capable of doing certain tricks such as Sit Pretty, jumping, anything involving tight turns or repetitive high impact behaviors. Some breeds can do certain tricks and some can't because they're prone to or have certain health conditions. I would not ask a Dachshund to do a Sit Pretty because the length of their bodies means falling over backwards can be far more traumatic than it would be for my dog. (Who I also won't teach Sit Pretty^1
Research your breed to ensure you're protecting them to the best of your ability!
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^1 my old man was shot in the hip while he was a stray, picked up around 2 years old, and lived with my friend for a few years before making his way to me. If you had told me he'd be able to do this high of a jump and much, much more at 11 years, I would have called you a liar. I have so many tricks that I want to do with him like Middle (between my legs) but I can tell it hurts for him to do that more than once at a slow speed. My next dog will probably not have a permanent injury â„ïž
#bordercollie #positivereinforcement #dogtraining #dogbehavior #doghealth #tricktraining #responsibledogbreeding #responsibledogownership
I've been trying to get around more reptiles over the last few years so I can try my hand at training them. I still need to do more research on the species (Bearded Dragon) and their ethology but I know this lovely girl will work for some Dubia roaches.
Tagged are two wonderful animal trainers who work with multiple species. They are the ones who have inspired me to never stop learning or loving all animals. Thanks you two for all that you do and post online!
I do want to note a few things though. 1) Nose targeting is my go-to behavior when I work with a new animal because it's usually super easy to teach and provides lots of quick successes that in turn build confidence and trust.
2) I should have proceeded with the training differently. I tried showing her the target stick and then giving her a roach. I also tried gently booping her nose with my target stick and then immediately giving her a roach to create a +CER to it touching her nose. I didn't really see the results that I wanted to see but I immediately recognized that I was not following LIMA.
Were my actions incredibly aversive or invasive? It didn't seem like it based on what I know about bearded dragon distress behaviors. She seemed very engaged with me and specifically the roaches, but certainly disinterested in the target stick. That's fair. She's never seen it before. The important thing is that I recognize that I was using an invasive technique without exhausting the other options first. I have since reached out to a fellow animal trainer who works with reptiles to see if they can provide me with better resources on how to follow LIMA with this sweet girl.
Remember, lack of skill/knowledge on the trainer's part is not an acceptable excuse to use aversive and/or invasive techniques to modify behavior.
Be kind. Be patient. Be empathetic. Know who to look to for advice. And above all else, don't stop learning how to be a better trainer.
When we know better, we do better.
#beardeddragon #positiv
"Stop running in the house you crazy puppy!!"
