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Powerful distractions, such as squirrels, cats, garbage and other things often seen as “more valuable” than the cookies trainers have in their hands. It’s not true that some chow hounds are more suited to food as a reinforcer than other dogs.
Learn how to harness the power of behavioural momentum - the ability to create strong, powerful behaviours that persist despite distractions and even when reinforcements are not present. It’s the holy grail, the magic tipping point of dog training. Once you learn how to create it at will, you’ll be chasing momentum in every skill you teach. You can stop trying to chase the magic high value cookie in favour of creating behaviours that your dog loves to do, despite distractions.
Recorded August 21, 2019
Most professionals know that scared dogs turn off of food. But what about the other dogs that snub food? Do you find that some dogs are better “shapers” than others. That they are more “food motivated”? Do you ever notice that some dogs are snubbing food when they are excited to go out the door? Do dogs suddenly turn off food during training sessions or middle of classes? What about the “toy motivated” dogs or the ones that simple would rather be reinforced with something other than the treats in your hand?
There are many reasons why dogs lose their foodie nature. Not all involve fear or illness. Learn when and why dogs loose the food motivation so you can help the clients who think their dog isn’t motivated by food. Bring back the foodie in the dogs you work with by addressing the issues that are impacting their focus and performance.
Recorded July 29, 2019
Learn the steps that you can use to teach a dog to go to their bed, not because you say so, but because the dog hears someone at the door. Have the dog stay there until released! Imagine life with a dog that runs away from the door, not towards it!
Recorded June 20, 2019
Dog training of course is simple, but not always easy. But there are strategies and techniques that can make what looks like a challenging problem much easier to address. Avoid the common stumbling blocks to make this a problem you look forward to fixing!
Recorded May 15, 2019
In this presentation we will be looking at the various concepts studied in cognition, as well as the historical research involving various species of animals and the clever ways in which we ask animals how they perceive the world. We will also take a look at how different abilities play a role in how we train our dogs.
Recorded November 8, 2017
Many strategies in dog training involve creating a positive association. The absence of reacting or fleeing does not mean that a dog likes something. Knowing if you have successfully created a positive association is a critical question. There are ways in which we can ask an animal “do you like this?" Failing to do so risks putting people and trainers in situations where the dog is pushed too early, triggering a fearful or aggressive response that could have been avoided.
Classical conditioning may be a simple process but there are many variations and combinations of factors that impact what a positive association looks like.
Recorded October 18, 2017
Clearly technology can make our lives easier. It can also help us to train better - to reflect on our training mechanics to achieve better results. The effective use of technology can also help us to reflect on our training sessions and assist us in spotting harmful patterns that can slow down our progress.
Technology can also help clients to reflect on their training habits and to set goals in terms of their training sessions. It allows them to create clear and measured goals. The biggest asset of the cell phone in one's pocket is that it offers an unbiased and numerical reflection of what did actually happen and not what we thought we did. Best of all, it's free.
Recorded December 1, 2016
This presentation will define the roles of various pet care professionals, what they bring to the table and the importance of working together with clients as a team to meet the needs of the dog, family and community. It will investigate the detrimental effects a "mixed message" can bring in terms of a dog's behavior, how mixing methods can lead to frustration, aggression, anxiety and learned helplessness, how to deal with conflicts, and when to know when to walk away. It will also discuss the benefits to clients of working with professional trainers, and how working with trainers can make your job easier in terms of management, long-term client care and creating happy clients for life.
Recorded November 29, 2016
As dog trainers become more adept at finding studies, it's important that we move beyond reading the abstract. We need to learn how to read the nuts and bolts of a study. The overwhelming amount of jargon can make reading a study seem like it's written in a foreign language.
This webinar's purpose is to de-code the jargon. It's to help us understand what claims we can make, and which ones are premature. It's about having the confidence to know what a study actually might be saying. It's also about having the confidence in knowing that when someone says, "You can't apply that to the real world!", you'll know when that might be true, and when it might not be true.
Recorded April 17, 2016
This webinar that delves into creating stimulus control over learned behaviors in dog training is a planned process - a distinct element in the training plan. Not all cues are the same. Not all behaviors respond similarly to different types of cues. How we choose and present our cues (commands) can lead to blocking, overshadowing, peak shift and suppression - things that stand in the way of achieving that stimulus control.
Learn how to offer clarity to the dog, to help them better see and understand when to perform certain behaviors. Equally important, teach them when not to perform certain behaviors. Whether you want a dog that only shakes a paw when asked (instead of scraping your arm in repeated pestering attempts to get a cookie), or whether you want to create an environmental cue that applies across many situations (see someone approaching - move to heel) - a better understanding of how learning factors into stimulus control can give greater control over reinforced behaviors.
Recorded January 10, 2016
Join Yvette for this webinar that delves into some of the more complex uses for targeting. Learn what targeting is. Make use of criteria increases wisely. Achieve the elusive and often difficult to achieve "hold"/duration. Using position of feed to lead into duration quickly and easily. Learn about the problems with pointing at targets can lead to unnecessary "clean up."
Learn how playing to the dog's anatomy and movement can help the training process. Build or decrease intensity based on what one requires. (for example, you might want a offered gently or you might want a gentle nudge to close a door. In other situations, you might want a hard push.)
Recorded November 29, 2015
The art of pure shaping involves breaking behaviours down into small steps or approximations. Many people find that dogs becomes hyper, offer too many behaviours and show signs of stress such as yawning or walking out of pure shaping sessions entirely. If your dog is walking out of training or cycling through a plethora of behaviours hoping to "guess" right, then learn how to turn frustrated students into superstars when you realize that the click does not end the behaviour.
Frantic, frustrated behaviour in the dog is predictable and avoidable. One important adjustment is addressing the position in which the reinforcement is given. Take a more thoughtful approach as to where to give food - creating calm, precise behaviours very quickly.
Recorded October 13, 2015
Owners often struggle to develop skills to help their dogs overcome reactivity. Set ups and decoy dogs can help owners as they develop skills. This can create safer training sessions and increase productivity. However, many dogs do well in set ups, yet fail in real life. This webinar will look at the details that can undermine a dog's progress and show how to remove walls and obstacles to success.
Learn how to create effective set ups that mimic real life. Avoid common pitfalls of blocking and overshadowing. Set up your set ups for long-term gains. Learn how and when to use decoy dogs, including advanced set ups to address problems such as sudden environmental contrast.
Recorded September 13, 2015
In this webinar you will learn what is a feral and roaming dog? Yvette will speak about how all feral dogs are domesticated because species are domesticated, not individuals.
The webinar will look at what does a feral or roaming dog behave like? What does it look like? How extreme are the variations.
There is a difference between appearance and behaviour. Just because a dog looks like a lab, it doesn't mean it behaves like one. As trainers, we work with behaviour, not so much with appearance.
Recorded April 6, 2015
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