clicker training

Zak is one of my clients. He’s developed a skin condition on his legs. It’s very itchy.   Zak thanks me for my care.   Animals do express gratitude, but we humans are often dull to what they are telling us. One reason that my animals talk to me is that […]

Zak Thanks Me

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working trot
I’m a writer. I believe that the words that I choose to use – and not use – matter. As someone who has had her manuscripts marked up with red ink by editors, I know that the words that I have in my head, when put down on paper, aren’t always as clear as I intended. […]

Words Matter

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Clicker training is the term used to describe working with animals using positive reinforcement. The basic idea is that you mark the behavior that you want (often with a noise maker called a , hence the terminology) and then you immediately reward. The animal learns to work for desired consequences (as opposed […]

Believe the Ears

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Not quite twenty years ago, I had a dog that needed something to do. The sport of agility was beginning to gain popularity, and so I took classes and joined a club. I’d been a horsewoman, but found the change to a dog sport difficult. I wasn’t sitting on the dog […]

Before You Use a Clicker

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This whip holder is at the entrance to the indoor arena where I board Tonka. There’s nothing unusual in this. In my sport of dressage, a rider carries a whip.   We’re taught that if the horse ignores the leg aids (a squeeze, perhaps a jab or a kick) that the next […]

Cue, Threat or Punishment?

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Note this article (in slightly different form) is also available at Karen Pryor Clicker Training.   Horse people are also often dog people. Barn dogs have to greet animals and people with good manners, come when called, and remain still when necessary. But, for some reason, equestrians don’t think to […]

Teaching a Horse to Stay

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I think that Scooter has been sending Tonka ESP lessons on napping. Or, maybe it was the January thaw with temperatures in the 40s, and the pasture, finally clear of snow and ice, that induced him to lie down and doze. Yesterday afternoon, I brought a friend to the barn […]

Nap Time

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