by Clare Russell | 1st February 2019 | Question we should be asking, Training | 0 Comments

Whether you are an owner looking for help with your dog, a trainer taking your first steps towards helping others or an experienced trainer looking to improve – keep working, keep learning, stay curious.

by Kay Laurence | 21st January 2019 | Klog | 17 Comments

Time is my ninth generation of collies. He lives for being a collie and all that collies have done for generations – work in partnership and assist in what their Person likes to do. This ranges from collecting sheep off the mountain to toddling round the main ring at Crufts.

by Kay Laurence | 21st December 2018 | Training | 0 Comments

Targets are, by essence, pro-active openers. They are not used to associate something to keep away from, but something to seek and respond to. Targets are gateways to rewards and are greeted with enthusiasm and confidence.
Targets are often a lifetime of language or they can be a temporary step to a future cue. What they should always be is thoughtful, pro-active and for the welfare of the learner.

by Kay Laurence | 17th December 2018 | Klog | 1 Comment

The whole collective of rewards, or reinforcers, serves a purpose of ensuring that the tasks just completed keep getting completed. The task may tolerate a lapse of memory, but you will soon find that door smacked in your face if you stop acknowledging the courtesy offered to you by a stranger, friend or acquaintance.

by Robyn Mayle | 17th December 2018 | Learning about dogs | 7 Comments

The moment the alarm sounded, Dolce was nosing the blankets off me and, unless cued otherwise, would nose me until I got up in a fit of laughter. It was a wonderful way to start the day.

by Kay Laurence | 11th December 2018 | Training | 0 Comments

Can we an effective Cease That Behaviour? Absolutely. We can teach that positively, without harm, and we should teach them the skills of stopping that and doing this instead.

by Kay Laurence | 24th November 2018 | Klog | 0 Comments

The puppy that you adored, could do no wrong, is now a living horror story. We want to use positive reinforcement, and our mind focuses on the success of what is not happening. But reinforcement attaches itself to something happening, not an absence and cannot select for a multitude of different things that are being reinforced.

by Kay Laurence | 8th November 2018 | Training | 2 Comments

Nose target is a popular behaviour taught to many dogs, and other animals. It seems easy to teach and have practical application, but it is often not such a pleasant experience for all dogs. There are many other options available that give the same practical benefit, without the unpleasant extremes.

by Kay Laurence | 28th October 2018 | Training | 0 Comments

Clean training is about really clear communication between two different species. Both listening and learning during the interaction. An exchange that leaves no doubts, no confusion and no uncertainty. A check list for clean training.

by Kay Laurence | 28th September 2018 | Training | 4 Comments

Many of us begin with teaching sit or down, and this is one of the earliest experiences of training with reinforcement. From this point forward we are setting a pattern of the delivery of reinforcement. It needs questions to be answered before we embark. Is the sit, or down, going to be a terminal behaviour, or a temporary position?