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Flippin' Out

Fourth of July

Ugh, they're going to do those dang fireworks again. Mom says there are some going to be right over our new back yard! (The Girl is very excited about this.) Last year Mom gave me Melatonin to help but it didn't, even though it helps lots of other dogs. So this year she's going to let me do a sleep-over somewhere else, away from the nasty booms.

If you're worried about the noises, check out my Mom's advice on it here: http://www.wagntrain.com/independence_day.htm

Here's hoping for quiet evenings and lots of dropped hamburgers for all my doggy friends!

Dog Training Secrets, Revealed!

"Behavior B.F. Skinner developed his theory of operant conditioning, animal trainers functioned in a very different fashion. There was a magical quality to it all. The secret to training a difficult trick was as closely guarded as a witch doctor's sacred incantation. Each trick had its own special formula to be followed in order to be trained, and there was little or no connection between the formula for one trick and that of another. And there was even less connection between the way two different trainers trained the same trick, unless of course one trainer taught the other how to do it. Confusing? Just imagine the confusion of the young apprentice when he was told the only way to learn how to train animals was to spend a year or so scooping last night's dinner from its enclosure in the morning.... Then B.F. Skinner developed his theory of operant conditioning, a simple, clear method of analyzing and modifying behavior. It revolutionized the training of [animals]. The theory was simple to understand and it allowed the trainers to apply the same approach to solving any training problem."

Mom just read me this quote, by Timothy J. Desmond. Really, people didn't know that all training was basically done the same way? I found this hard to believe until I found out that there are still trainers who advertise for business saying that they know "secrets" of dog training that other trainers don't want you to know. Sheesh!

Mom likes this quote

Mom just read me this quote (I'm part Border Collie so I just memorized it - it's a skill I don't show off that often):

"As trainer we can still show compassion and feeling for the animals under our care, we can even use anthropomorphic references if we desire, but we can not afford to make reinforcement decisions based on anthropomorphic thinking."

This is by some guy Mom knows named Ken Ramirez, and I think he is spot on. I mean, if Mom based her reward decisions based on how she and most humans think, she would never use freeze-dried liver as a reward! Or, for that matter, the chance to go sniff a pee-soaked bush. I don't know why humans don't care for these things, but it's clear they don't!