Drinking From the Toilet: Real dogs, Real training

Latest Episodes:

#64: Concept Training with Ken Ramirez Jul 18, 2018

Show notes

This week we are exploring a major rabbit hole with special guest, Ken Ramirez (Executive Vice President and Chief Training Officer at Karen Pryor Clicker Training), and talking about concept training and teaching modifier cues. Very nerdy subjects indeed!

For full show notes, visit: www.wonderpupstraining.com/podcast/64 For sponsor info, visit: www.karenpryoracademy.com/toilet/

#63: Training for Duration Jul 11, 2018

Show notes

Is training to increase duration of a behavior as simple as just waiting to reinforce longer responses? Maybe it's not so simple! In this episode, we discuss what we need to keep in mind when training for duration, and where to look if the training isn't going as planned.

For full show notes, visit: www.wonderpupstraining.com/podcast/63 For sponsor info, visit: www.karenpryoracademy.com/toilet/

#62: Human Behavior Change With RYANO Jul 03, 2018

Show notes

This week, behavior nerd worlds collide as I chat with Ryan O'Donnell (AKA "RYANO") about changing human behavior as it relates to training. Basically, why and how we need to train humans to train dogs. It's sort of like training inception.

Enter to win a free copy of The Science of Consequences: https://kingsumo.com/g/aiz0r7/the-science-of-consequences-dftt-podcast-giveaway

For full show notes, visit: www.wonderpupstraining.com/podcast/62

For sponsor info, visit: karenpryoracademy.com/toilet/

#61: Tips For Dogs That Are Worried Around People Jun 26, 2018

Show notes

Life is easier when your dog is confident (or at least comfortable) around other people. But what if your dog isn't? Good news! There is a lot we can do in training to help build his confidence.

In this episode, we cover my top 3 tips to keep in mind when working with dogs that act worried or lack confidence around people.

For full show notes, visit: www.wonderpupstraining.com/podcast/61 For sponsor info, visit: karenpryoracademy.com/toilet/

#60: Resilience in Dogs with Patricia McConnell Jun 19, 2018

Show notes

Dr. McConnell is an internationally known zoologist and a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist. In her career, she has worked with dogs with all kinds of serious behavior problems. She was also the host of the nationally syndicated Radio show "Calling All Pets", and she is a retired assistant professor of Zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is an amazing speaker… in fact, she was one of the first real dog seminars that I ever went to…possibly THE first if my memory is correct. So she is partly responsible for getting me hooked on dog training in the first place. She is the author of many beautifully written and well-researched books, most of which I have in my house, and are among some of my favorite books that I read over and over…particularly "The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs", which again was sort of a gateway dog book for me. And her book "For the Love of a Dog: Understand Emotion in You and Your Best Friend", I have in both hardcover and audiobook format. Her new book, "The Education of Will", which I have read and will read again, is also beautifully written and insightful. It's a little different in that it's written as a memoir. She shares stories from her own life and her experience with trauma, fear, and anxiety…something I know a lot of us can relate to. But they are interwoven with stories about the dogs she's worked with, particularly her own dog, Will, and their journeys with trauma and anxiety. And among those of course, she includes glimpses into what we know about the science of fear and what we can do about it. Fair warning, I did cry a little. So just a heads up. In the book, the theme of resilience comes up. And it's a topic that really fascinates me. Why do some individuals bounce back after a bad experience and others don't? What can we do to help our dogs recover quickly after something stressful happens? How can we set ourselves and our dogs up for success? And that is exactly what we talked about during our conversation. For full show notes, visit: www.wonderpupstraining.com/podcast/60

#59: Balance with Alex Kurland Jun 12, 2018

Show notes

This week we talk to Alexandra Kurland about the topic of Balance in training. I asked Alex to talk about this, because the word Balance tend to have a particular usage in dog training circles, and that's not at all what Alex means when she says the word balance. Of course, Alex isn't a dog trainer. She's a phenomenally skilled horse trainer, who is responsible for introducing clicker training concepts to the horse world back in the 1990s with her first book Clicker Training for Your Horse. Even though she works primarily with horses (and sometimes goats) there is a LOT we can learn from her approach to training that is completely applicable to our training with dogs... and of course people, too! For full show notes, visit: www.wonderpupstraining.com/podcast/59

#58: Maximizing Food Drive Jun 06, 2018

Show notes

What exactly is "food drive"? It's a fuzzy term for sure, but what do we mean when we talk about a dog's food drive? Is it a fixed characteristic, or is there something we can do to influence it? (IMHO, there is a lot we can do!) Why do we care so much about food in dog training? Well, mostly because it's convenient! It's easy to dispense. We can carry it around in our collective pockets. And all healthy dogs eat food! (Because living animals eat food or they don't stay living for very long.) But we also know that some dogs eat more food than others, and there are certain circumstances under which the same dog may eat more or less food. For training purposes, we can arrange those circumstances in our favor... get more bang for our buck/hot dog. But there are also ethical concerns. What are some things we should keep in mind when it comes to optimizing our dogs' interest in food without crossing a line into deprivation? There is a lot we can do to make food more valuable as training resource without restricting the dog's caloric intake to the point of starvation. Here are some of the food/treats I use most frequently in training: Fresh pet Happy Howie's rolled food Ziwi Peak For full show notes, visit: www.wonderpupstraining.com/podcast/58

#57: Specific Reinforcement Cues May 17, 2018

Show notes

This week we are going to tackle the topic of multiple event markers or specific reinforcement cues (both names for the same thing). This is a really hot topic on the internet right now, and lots of different trainers have their own recipes and systems. As usual, I want to go deeper than the recipes and look at what is actually happening with the behavior. Because when you understand how a particular system of cues (and they are all cues!) is applying the principles of behavior, then you can decide for yourself which bits you want to use in your own training, and eventually build your own system that meets your unique needs. For full show notes, visit: www.wonderpupstraining.com/podcast/57

#56: The Value of Reinforcement Procedures with Emelie and Eva May 02, 2018

Show notes

This week we are hanging out again with our Swedish dog training buddies, Emelie and Eva, of Carpe Momentum. And we are talking about the importance of defining, building, and maintaining our reinforcement procedures. During our conversation, Eva shares something that gets her a little worked up when she's talking about training. Of course, since these guys are the authors of the book Agility Right From the Start, the initial examples that we discuss are agility-focused but don't worry because the principles are totally applicable to good training in general. And we do get into other examples of these concepts as we dig in. We also talk about: • What we mean by reinforcement procedures, as well as why they are important. • Why it might be a problem if your dog develops a habit of LEAVING your reinforcement procedure (which you might call it a game), but leaving it before you are ready to begin the next rep. • What happens when you interrupt a trained sequence of behaviors, and why that can't be your primary training strategy. Spoiler alert: It all keeps circling back to how important those clean training loops are too efficient and effective learning. But I won't give you any more spoilers, you'll just have to listen for yourself. For full show notes, visit: www.wonderpupstraining.com/podcast/56

#55: Generalization In Dog Training Apr 23, 2018

Show notes

This week's topic is generalization. Before we jump into that, I want to give you a heads up that I am about to open up some spots in my Online Mentorship program: Zero to CD. For the full show notes or more info on Zero to CD, visit: https://wonderpupstraining.com/podcast/55/

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