I mentioned in a recent post that I should share again the story of my learning to ski. It’s a great example of contrasting traditional instruction versus TAGteach and the resulting… results. It’s also kinda humorous, because it features me tumbling tail over teakettle down a snowy slope more than a few times, and that’s never not funny. Enjoy! Continue reading
I am continuing to find more help in my professional life for my personal life, such as for increasing my physical fitness. There are all kinds of behavioral principles at work here! What’s working for me right now? Continue reading
Today’s riddle: How is a 5-year-old human like a spotted hyena? (Aside from eating habits and destructive potential!) Continue reading
One of the toughest things about being a behavior professional is that one doesn’t have many excuses. When I do something stupid, I can easily identify it and the triggers (if any) and a way to avoid it the next time by choosing an alternate behavior instead. That doesn’t mean I will, but it means I can, and then I can feel a bit stupid again for failing to choose the better behavior.
It also means I know better than to feel bad about a past decision instead of simply focusing on new behavior. But, y’know, the cycle repeats.
Right now, though, I’m applying my professional knowledge with good results, and I’m blogging here to keep up my motivation and, maybe, help someone else do something similar!
Part 1 covered Inky’s uncertain backstory and roller coaster of health issues. Today, we’ll talk about how we’ve trained through blindness, and what we’ve learned about obedience, perception, trust, and control. Continue reading
Inky, my husband’s dog, is blind. She wasn’t born this way; in fact, this is a fairly recent development for her, thanks to a very rare and unusual autoimmune disorder. We noticed her holding her head oddly one night, but thought it was just the light. By the time we realized she was having trouble seeing, it was progressing very fast. We estimate she lost most of her vision within two weeks.
I’d been gone for a solid week, talking training in two states and running 16+ hour days. This afternoon I walked in from the airport, hadn’t even gotten my shoes off yet, and my phone chimed. “Have you been flooded with the new OK Go video yet?” asked a friend. Continue reading
I happened across this video a couple of months ago and bookmarked it. I enjoyed it at the time, but even as I was watching, I was thinking of clicker training.
I really like shaping, and I love the results I get with a dog who has learned to offer and vary behavior. I hear frequently from clients or trainer friends who don’t enjoy shaping or don’t get satisfactory results, and while it’s true that not every dog adores it, I think that most of the time their failure to love it isn’t that they have the wrong dog — it’s that they, or their dogs, are diligently following this checklist.
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I’ve just returned from Clicker Expo, and every year it’s the same — I come away feeling excited, energized, and full of the recognition that I’m really a slacker. Continue reading