Today is the first ever blog hop for Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Dachshund Nola, Cascadian Nomads, and Tenacious Little Terrier! I was so excited for this when I read about it on Thursday--so excited, in fact, that I decided to write my post that night because I knew I wouldn't have time for it afterwards. On Friday, I had to pack up from my lovely-but-last-ever three week long winter break, and then early Saturday morning, I loaded up the crew and headed back to the Dog House with my parents! We did a few projects around my place, since I seem to be incapable of getting anything done on my own.... They left yesterday after we enjoyed yet another fabulous brunch at our favorite spot.
Since I--(interrupting to quote my dad at the moment, to my mom, "[Morgan] wants some eggs cooked right now, honey." Mom just grabbed the pan....)--am writing on short notice, there aren't any fun videos today. Oh wait, there have never been fun videos here! Boo. But, BUT, there will be some soon! I got a new cell and tablet for my birthday that are a step up from the cell camera I used to have.
For now, I just want to say again how excited I am for this new blog hop! Positive reinforcement ("PR") focused training is fun, effective, and efficient! I can't say that enough! Anyone unfamiliar with my training path can check out the page called Training and Behavior, on which I shared my story, as well as some great links!
What I didn't write about on the training page, though, was the very first book I read about marker training:
If you haven't read it, go grab it, now! Trust me, you want to. It's an oldie but a goodie. Fun & easy to read and applicable to more than "just dogs." (I hate that phrase! I swear, I am going to punch my older brother the next time he tells me that.)
The second book I read was pretty much the above book but summed down into an even more approachable how-to book!
I could go on and on, but I think you can see from my book list over to the right that one book just led to another. Now, admittedly, I haven't finished them all (sad face), but I'm workin' on it!
So tip number one: Go grab a book! Not sure whether it is PR focused? All the ones on my list are, or if you want even more options, everything in Karen Pryor's (and probably most of Clean Run's) store is PR. While there are some amazing trainers and behaviorists that hold doctorates and veterinary degrees (Patricia McConnell, Sophia Yin, Ian Dunbar to name a few!), a couple easy things to look for in your reading are the CPDT or KPA initials following an author's name.
No time to read? Tip number two: jump onto Youtube! I posted multiple comprehensive Youtube channels on my training page. Trust me, you will find more than enough videos from those trainers to get you started!
Tip number three: Kikopup. She has a Youtube how-to for pretty much everything from stopping jumping to teaching two dogs to hug each other.
I think that's it for today!
Here's Champ practicing impulse control with a "leave it" (taught by clicker training, of course) next to our newest book received in a Secret Santa gift exchange (more on that soon!):
(Yep, we are doing it! Check back to see what we worked on this month!)
Yay! We are so glad you joined the hop. And with such excellent advice too. Even though we live in an area with tons of different choices in dog training classes I gave up on finding the right PR style for me and stick to books and YouTube for ideas and advice. So obviously I love, love, love your tips!!!
ReplyDeleteWow! It sounds like you have a great collection of training books/tools that I should check out! We use the clicker but never read that book (is that bad? BOL).
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday,
Oz
Awesome tips!! And some great books to look into. We are in an area where PR is a totally new thing and not many (if anyone) does it. So I have relied on the Internet mostly and the help of a friend a few hours aways via Messenger for help. I will have to get some of these books. Thanks!! I'm loving this hop!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you joined! I gotta say, "The Other End of The Leash" is still my all time favorite dog book!
ReplyDeleteAmanda
I use Youtube a lot for new tricks too. It helps to see them in action. I've read the first book you mentioned but not the second.
ReplyDeletePS: Nola's off leash radius is quite flexible when it comes to increasing/decreasing. For example, the beach we frequent most is a mile away from a large road and is only accessible from a small, single lane dirt road. Nola's allowed up to about 300ft away from me here. Another beach we go to is only about 50 yards from a 2 lane, slightly busy street (you can't see it from the beach; it's flanked by high dunes), and here Nola's only allowed about 50ft from me. When she goes off leash at either location, I'll tell her "go ahead" if I want her radius larger, and "stay with me" when I want it smaller. Only takes two or three times for her to get that this her her space for this adventure.
ReplyDeleteHave a happy time training. Having fun whilst learning is the best. Looks like you have a wide variety of things to do. Have a terrific Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
Stopping by from the blog hop!
ReplyDeleteLove your tips and advice. I prefer learning from books and videos and you have some great suggestions. Kikopup is a favorite of mine. :) Thanks for sharing!