Monthly Archives: January 2013

Safety Behaviors: Down at a Distance and Recalls

Posted on January 28, 2013 by eileenanddogs

These behaviors may save a dog’s life someday. Today I practiced two of our three main safety behaviors: coming when called, and dropping and staying at a distance. We left Zen, the third, for another day. Down on a hand … Continue reading →

Posted in Cues, Dog training hints, Reinforcement, Treats | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

“Errorless” Learning

Posted on January 21, 2013 by eileenanddogs

Addendum, 2/9/13. Please be aware that there are some historical inaccuracies in this post, mostly related to the origin of the method and term Errorless Learning. The mistakes affect some of my conclusions as well. Please read Errorless Learning II … Continue reading →

Posted in Cues, Discrimination, Dog training hints, Operant conditioning, Terminology, Training philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

Contest! The Faces of Summer

Posted on January 16, 2013 by eileenanddogs

Just the other day I told a friend that I would never have a contest on my FaceBook page or here on the blog. It’s always presented as one of the number one ways to get people to Like, read, … Continue reading →

Posted in Arousal, Dog behavior, Dog body language, Resource guarding | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

2013 Pet Blogger Challenge

Posted on January 10, 2013 by eileenanddogs

Thank you to Go Pet Friendly for the Pet Blogger Challenge. I’ve never participated in one of these before, but here goes. I look forward to learning about some blogs that are new to me through this challenge, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Training philosophy | 20 Comments

The Perils of Premature Premack

Posted on January 10, 2013 by eileenanddogs

Sacrilege! Is it possible that in some cases, using the Premack principle in choosing reinforcement for our dogs is not the best choice? Can attempting Premack cause problems?* In my experience, yes. It can go wrong with some behaviors, with … Continue reading →

Posted in Arousal, Dog body language, Operant conditioning, Premack Principle, Reinforcement | Tagged , , , , , | 22 Comments

Get Out of My Face! Teaching an Incompatible Behavior

Posted on January 5, 2013 by eileenanddogs

Ever since she arrived at my home at the age of 10 weeks, Clara has been a challenge. One of her more problematic behaviors was her mugging of my face whenever it got within range. It happened all the time. … Continue reading →

Posted in Arousal, Cues, Dog body language, Examples for Teachers, Human and dog misunderstandings, Premack Principle | Tagged , , , , , , | 20 Comments