Applied Behavior Analysis
I just finished a whole 8 week course on Applied Behavior Analysis. I was already familiar with ABA when class began but I learned a lot in these last 8 weeks. I want to share some of the key points that really hit home with me. What is Applied Behavior Analysis? “ABA is defined as…
Crates are Great!
I recently spoke to someone over the phone about their potty training issues. She mentioned that another trainer had recommended getting a kennel for her 4 month old puppy to help with potty training and she didn’t want to do that. I explained to her that it was only temporary and that if it was…
Guest Post: My Crossover Training Event
I am honored to publish a guest post by Shade Whitesel (Shade’s Dog Training), a nationally recognized Schutzhund trainer. She has been working in Schutzhund/IPO for 15 years. Shade has achieved 100 points (a perfect score) in Schutzhund Tracking with two dogs. Her current competition dog is Reiki vom Aegis, who in his off time trains for French Ringsport…
What is a “qualified” trainer?
How can the normal dog owner choose the right trainer? What’s the difference between dog trainers? Who’s the best? There are three “types” of trainers you’ll come across: Modern, aversive-free trainers – use positive reinforcement and negative punishment Balanced trainers – use all four of the operant conditioning quadrants Correction/Dominance based trainers – use positive punishment and…
Why Bother Hiring a Professional Dog Trainer?
With all the information available through the internet and the advice given by friends a family, why would anyone bother paying someone for help with their dog? This commercial explains exactly why you should rely on professionals to get the right advice. In many professions, especially in dog training, there is a lot of conflicting…
Another Crossover Story: Knowledge is Greater Than Force!
This is Jason Currie’s story about how he crossed over to positive reinforcement methods. Visit Jason’s website here: http://k9solutions.webeden.co.uk/ I’d like to tell people about my journey from the stone age training methods to modern science based training, a term often used for this is “crossover trainer”. Some see us as bleeding heart liberals or tidbit…
Skinner’s Quadrants Series – Part IV
Be sure to read about the first three parts here: Part I, Part II, and Part III. Positive Reinforcement is the last and my favorite of all four quadrants. Positive – adding something Reinforcement – increasing the occurrence of that behavior in the future In dog training, it is about adding something the dog thinks is good to…
Skinner’s Quadrants Series – Part III
It you haven’t read Parts I and II, please check them out here: Skinner’s Quadrants Series – Part I Skinner’s Quadrants Series – Part II Today’s quadrant is Negative Punishment. Sounds bad, right? In fact, it is much less invasive than positive punishment and negative reinforcement as we discussed in the previous two parts. In this…