Ziggy learns a trick!

You might not know it, but I'm working toward a diploma of Dog Training from the Companion Animal Sciences Institute.  It might be hard to believe that I, the person who raised Ziggy the incorrigible dog, would claim to know anything about training dogs.  If you met Remi or Noelle, my own two dogs, you would definitely find it hard to believe.  But let's pretend they would be much worse behaved if it weren't for my knowledge and skill.  In fact, if you haven't met them, let's pretend they are all very well behaved dogs!   Thank you.    

For my most recent school assignment, I decided to teach Ziggy how to "gimme four".  It's kind of like "shake", so I think I can claim I taught him two tricks instead of just one.  This was the first time I ever trained a dog using clicker training and shaping.  In the past I have used more traditional methods as well as lure/reward training, but clicker training always seemed too difficult. But it was finally time for me to figure it out, and I must say I was amazed at the results. 

Since Ziggy is deaf, I couldn't use a traditional clicker, so I got a keychain flashlight that would come on whenever a button was held down.  It is the same concept as a clicker but it is a visual sign instead of an auditory sign.  In spite of my poor timing and lack of confidence in what I was doing, Ziggy figured out how to "gimme four" within two 10 minute training sessions.  It's a good thing he's so smart.  Now I'm motivated to teach him some more tricks.  My next assignment with my training class calls for teaching a chained behavior, so I'm going to attempt to teach him to put his toys away in the toy bin.  This will take more than two sessions.  But fortunately he's very smart and very food motivated and we have a lot of opportunity to work on it.    If any of you out there reading this have any advice, I'd love to hear it!  Here is a short video of me working with Ziggy on "gimme four". 

New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year!  Every year I make resolutions for the new year... and every year I fail.  This year I'm trying again.  Here are my resolutions for 2010.

1.  Take the dogs for more walks - totalling at least 100 miles.  That's such a pathetically small number I almost didn't share it with you - only two miles a week, right?  But I know how it'll go... I'll do great for a week or so... then it'll get too cold... then work will get busier and I'll be too tired... then it'll be too rainy and wet.... then I'll have too many foster pets and no time... then I'll have a cold... then I'll get motivated and manage another couple of weeks when the weather starts to warm up... until it gets too hot.  I figure by November I'll be trying to fit in around 20 miles a week just to finish up my resolution by the end of the year!

2. Clicker-train a cat to do a trick. Any trick is fine.  I just want to successfully clicker-train a cat - any cat.  I'm thinking if I could teach a cat how to jump through a hoop on command, it would be a huge help to that cat in finding a home.  Anyone have a cat-sized hoop I can borrow for awhile?  Like...a year? 

3.  Complete at least three classes toward my diploma this year.  I'm enrolled in a work-at-your-own-pace program for a Diploma of Dog Training and a Diploma of Shelter and Rescue Work, and have been given three years to complete it, so it's very easy to put off the classes when something more interesting takes up my time.  Like photography.  Or Farmville.  But those three years will be up before I know it, so I need to get movitated.  I finished my master's degree a few years ago, but I still have a nightmare sometimes that I didn't finish one of my classes, and never graduated.  So I would rather that not become a reality with this program. 

Those are my resolutions for 2010.... did you make any?