Long Time No Bark!

Sorry we haven't post in a while my furry four legged friends and two legged ones (some of you are furry too). We have been really busy playing, well Casey and I. My daddy has been busy working on starting his dog training business and mommy just got into graduate school.

Dad has been going to the PSPCA every Saturday to train dogs there. He says they are very good dogs that just need a home, love and some obedience. He has been working with the same dog for like forever. Specs is a male pit bull terrier/dalmation mix. He can sit, stay, come, leave it, down all in a few weeks. Daddy would like to bring someone home but we don't have the room. So if you know someone looking for a dog that needs minimal training, the PSPCA or your local chapter will have the dog for you.

The picture above is from a seminar dad took at Y2K9s sports and obedience club in Wyndmoor PA. Pat Miller author of, "Positive Perspectives" gave a seminar on shaping. We won't bore you with too much, but dad said it was awesome. He has been shaping us ever since. Shaping means breaking a behavior down into tiny increments, and reinforcing each one until you have reached the desired behavior. One small example, going to crate. So you want your pooch to go into their crate but they are scared. You can lure them in with treats sure this works, but they are not really doing on their own. So to shape him into the crate you will have the crate, the dog, the clicker and the treats. Remember small increments! Your pooch looks in the direction of the crate, click treat!. Walks in the direction of the crate, click treat! Touches the crate, click treat! Remember SMALL steps, so this takes time. Finally the dog walks in, click treat! At this stage I might even jackpot with lots of treats. Shaping lets your dog think about what he is doing and what you want.

Got to go someone is barking.