posted
on Monday, January 22, 2018
in
Pet Help
The Animal Rescue League of Iowa promotes using positive reinforcement methods to not only train your dog but to build and strengthen your life-long relationship.
Is your dog up for the next starring role in “Dog-zilla”? Do you live with more of a “Marley” than a “Lassie”? Through the use of a training technique called POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT, you and your furry, four-legged housemate can be well on your way to a great human-animal bond. This type of a relationship doesn’t just happen overnight, it needs to be built over time through structure, guidance and communication. The good news is it can be achieved through positive reinforcement, practice and best of all, it will be FUN!!!
Clicker training is a method of training based on the scientific principals of learning. A behavior that is rewarded is more likely to be repeated. SIMPLE! Pay what you like! Remembering that most behaviors we want our dogs to perform and maintain may not be “natural” behaviors to them, it makes sense, that during the learning phase, new desired behaviors should be rewarded while undesired behaviors are ignored or managed until they are replaced.
Clicker training incorporates a marker (the click) to communicate with the learner that they performed what the trainer was looking for at the very instant the behavior was performed. The “click” signifies to the learner that a reward will be coming. Since dogs don’t speak human (and we don’t speak dog), using a clicker will help to bridge the communication gap. The sound of the clicker is more consistent and is more reliably reproduced than using the human voice to say “good dog”, “way to go”, or even “nice boy”. This precision in marking correct behaviors will help to speed up the learner’s understanding and therefore the training process.
Pretty simple really….. GET IT, CLICK IT, REWARD IT!!
Happy dog, happy human ready for their starring roles in America’s Got Talent!