Header Image: Re-rendering (through microsoft co-pilot) of the 4 beautiful dogs from the course.
Without a shadow of a doubt this is one of the best courses I’ve been on because I had some quality time with 2 dogs (and 2 more near by!). The downside – half the time I didn’t know when the trainer was training talking to me or the dog! 😉
I don’t come across many dogs through the animal ambulance, and certainly for the 2 or 3 that I have rescued, training them is certainly not my place. My motivation for following this course, which focuses on training dogs already in shelters to make them more placeable, is sheer interest! And who knows, hopefully my future work involves dogs so the lessons learned here will be directly useful.
And I had another sneaky interest too – I was curious whether these dog training techniques would be useful when it comes to my cat…
And so it begins…
This last point was addressed first – the trainer asked each of us why we were here and what we hoped to get from the training so she could tailor it on the fly towards our specific wishes.
Her own introduction informed us she’s trained many animals – dogs, cats, birds, chickens and even fish(!) – so this was good news for me and my cat. She went on to tell us that animals are only as clever as their trainer. Ah. I’ve always thought my cat is a little bit dopey! Asked whether I could blame this on my wife I needed to come clean; no. She says I’m dopey too! (Now I come to think of it…who’s been house training me for the last 17 years?! 😉
The Course
There was good use of a flip chart as there was in the course on recognising stress signals in dogs. I really like this methodology instead of plastering facts onto a slide because it brings dynamic thought into discussions and helps make the message stick.
Clicker Training
I’ve heard of clicker training before but not really known what it is. Now I’m clued up! The idea is simple: desired behaviour gets a “click” which is immediately followed by a reward such as a treat. The dog learns he’ll get a treat when he hears a click and which he’ll get for his good behaviour. In this way he’s guided towards that good behaviour by hearing clicks. In effect, it’s similar to playing “hotter and colder”.
So that’s the theory. Next came the practice. I’m against animal testing, so it’s fair enough we tested clicker training on ourselves first!
The goal was to guide each of us towards a predetermined action. Actions such as moving in the right direction, picking up an object, moving a limb, etc. deserved a click. There was plenty of time for each of us to have a go training and being trained. Examples of our tasks included:
- Removing a cap and placing it on a chair,
- Picking up a pen and putting it into bottle,
- Removing a hair band,
- Picking up a sweet and putting it into a mug (under my ‘training’),
- Untying my shoelaces and tying my shoes together (my task).
Isn’t it incredible what you can lead people to do with just the sound of a click! It was also interesting to experience what it was like to respond to the clicks so the education went in both directions. Actually this was literal – we ‘trained’ the trainer to put on a rucksack!
And now comes the best bit! 🙂
We let the dogs out!
Off we go to the car park where the trainer’s van holds its precious cargo of 4 dogs.
First out were Peta (a beautiful beagle) and Snoop (a snotty Staffordshire). (Not really snotty, but it’s onomatopoeic). I was paired with Peta who was happy to see daylight (and humans?) again! There was lots of excited barking, spinning around in her cage and bringing her paws up to the grill. So the first exercise was rewarding her each time she lay down. Click! and a treat. She stood up, turned around and looked at me for another treat. Nope! It’s tough love here! She lay down. Click! and another treat. And on it went for a minute or 2 until she lay down still – and stayed there.
That made it easy for me to put a lead on her. And off we went!
Now I was going to train her to walk on a loose leash, but for now it was how I’d image flying a power kite skitting around the ground (but heaps more fun!) The same principle held. Peta pulled on the line; I ignored her. She walked towards me and the leash went slack. Click! and a treat. Rinse and repeat. Know the drill? So did Peta, even to the extent I could walk backwards and she came with me to keep the lead slack!
We made our way back to the building where we learned how to teach dogs to wait by a door so that we can go through first. Out into the courtyard now, and it was a matter of rewarding Peta when she moved towards her mat and then again when she lay down. I was having the time of my life!
After lunch (luckily it was still waiting for us on the table – I’d lost control of Peta and inadvertently let her bite a bread roll…) I had the chance to train Snoop. Snoop is not only a different dog with a different character, but also a different breed. (Something I’ve learned recently is dog owners don’t tell you they own a dog; they tell you they own a particular breed of dog.)
And indeed Snoop behaved very differently than Peta; he was distracted much more easily and (in my untrained eye) seemed a lot less responsive then Peta. This was another lesson for me – different dogs respond in different ways to training.
End of the Day
Dogs back into the van, and we went back to the office for a few final words. It was a really long and tiring day and I was shattered! And extra glad I had a lift home so I didn’t need to drive!
And now for my self-imposed homework
I thought I’d put clicker training into practice at home.
First up, my wife. I explained the rules – tap a glass with a spoon and give a reward when she does the right action. And I ‘trained’ her(!) to pick up a book and put it on the table.
But she wasn’t happy; in my enthusiasm for getting her to follow my directions like a remote control car, I’d completely forgotten to give her any rewards! 🫨
Teaching young dogs an old trick
Next up, the kids. It should be easier as they’re younger, right? Nope. They couldn’t be bothered (they’re teenagers…) and disappeared upstairs. On the plus side they’re doing their homework, so I guess I’ve ‘won’ – although not really because apparently I can’t even get them to take their dirty plates to the dishwasher zone after dinner. Desert as a reward, anyone?
Ultimate goal: my cat
I figure I need a ‘proper’ clicker given consistency in training is key. Clickers give identical clicks and dogs (and cats?) can tell if they’re different, so this seems the best way to go. One’s on order and it should be with me in a few days!
Thanks!
A huge thanks to the trainer for training me to train dogs, and of course to Peta and Snoop! 🙂 Stichting Dierenlot Academie, awesome as always for organising and making the workshop available, and Dierenambulance Nederrijn for letting me volunteer there so I’m allowed on the course! 🙂
