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Day One: Excel-erated Learning!
Saturday April 19, 2008, 9AM-5PM
The principles of how dogs learn and how best to teach them
Training a dog is a complex and fascinating enterprise that becomes even more captivating when you start to question the whys and wherefores of the training process. Grasping how dogs learn makes your training more effective, more efficient, and more fun. Knowing the principles of learning helps you establish more successfully the fundamental skills and solve any problems that might arise. Understanding motivational theory enables you to instill a great work ethic in your dog.
In this workshop, we’ll explore such topics as clicker training, reinforcement schedules, and stimulus control as they apply to a variety of training endeavours: manners, tricks, competitive agility, obedience, and flyball. Learn when and how to add cue words, how to deal with conditioned emotional responses, and why/when you might use reward marks and no reward marks. Understand the nuances of aversive control. Teach discriminations, such as scent articles and left/right directions, with a minimum of confusion for the dog.
The objective of the workshop is to introduce you to the basic principles of learning theory, using various activities as training backdrops. You’ll be encouraged to experiment with new behaviors and new techniques and to hone your problem-solving skills. As time and space permits, this will be accomplished through interactive lecture, video and live demonstrations. The day will be interspersed with training challenges.
+ Acquisition and Maintenance
+ Basic Training Principles
+ The Operant Conditioning Quadrant
+ Positive Reinforcement Training
+ Discrimination Learning
+ Discouraging Unwanted Behavior
a. Extinction
b. Negative punishment
+ Training with Aversive Control
a. Avoidance learning
b. Positive punishment
+ Humane training guidelines
+ Classical conditioning
a. Parameters and applications
Desensitization and counter conditioning
Day Two: Excel-erate & Intensify Your Agility Dog!
Sunday April 20, 2008, 9AM-5PM
The fundamentals of how dogs learn and what drives them to perform
Training a dog for agility performance is a complex and fascinating exercise in learning and motivation. This enterprise becomes even more captivating when you start to question the whys and wherefores of the training process. Grasping how dogs learn makes your training efforts more effective, more efficient, and more fun. Knowing the principles of learning and motivation allows you to solve training problems and get the most out of your dog.
In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore the fundamentals of reward-based conditioning, clicker training, and discrimination learning. Learn when and how to add cues, how to fade prompts like lures and target sticks, and why you should use reward marks, no reward marks, and jackpots. Get first-hand experience with the training methods of targeting, shaping, and chaining. Learn to enhance speed and intensify drive with tricks, games, and other tactics. We’ll explore the merits of different methods of discrimination training, such as obstacle choice and directionals. We’ll highlight saying “no” through such procedures as marking and time out. Watch the myriad of ways we cue our dogs to perform sequences and analyze the significance of a consistent handling strategy from your dog’s perspective.
The objective of this workshop is to introduce agility competitors to the fundamentals of training theory, to encourage experimentation with new techniques, and to hone problem-solving skills. This will be accomplished through interactive lecture, video and live demonstrations (if demo dogs are permitted). Excel-erate your dog’s learning and Intensify your dog’s drive to achieve your utmost performance!
+ Basic Training Principles
+ Reward-based Training
a. Foundational behaviors and body awareness
b. Get the behavior to happen
c. Building drive
d. Reinforcement
e. Clicker training
f. Reliability and reinforcement schedules
g. Handling systems
h. Generalization
i. Distraction, duration, distance
j. Discrimination training
+ Discouraging Unwanted Behavior
a. Extinction
b. Time out
c. No Reward Marks
+ Dealing with stress
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