Self-study course! Auditors only! (No premium spots in this course)

  Positive reinforcement training is about setting up for success and making sure desired behaviors are followed by reinforcers, which strengthen the behavior in the future. In this course you get to join the Swedish duo Eva and Emelie as they zoom in on the small but important details that make up a training session, from one reward to the next. What happens right after each reward? What happens within your reward procedure? And why does it matter? In "Seamlessness - from one reward to the next" you will learn learn how to work deliberately with small but significant details, paying attention to all the parts of the training loop and using them to create seamless training sessions. The material in this course will help you develop your own training sessions further.  Your planning will get better, your training will become smoother, and both you and your learner will enjoy the process even more than before! Course syllabus: Week 1 Lesson 1 - Introduction to the course Lesson 2 - The underpinnings Lesson 3 - From one reward to the next - overview Week 2 Lesson 4 - Training session fundamentals Lesson 5 - The reward ends Week 3 Lesson 6 - Criteria Lesson 7 - Mark Week 4 Lesson 8 - The reward appears Lesson 9 - Take the reward Lesson 10 - During the reward Week 5 Lesson 11 - The reward ends (again) Lesson 12 - Criteria not met Week 6 Lesson 13 - Putting behavior together Lesson 14 - Flowcharting your training session Lesson 15 - Summarizing seamlessness This is a 6 week self-study course. New lessons will be presented each week  (a total of 15 lessons) and you will have continued access to the material after the course finishes. We have so much material we wish to share with you on this topic - in this course, we put it together in a comprehensive yet extensive form. Our goal is to provide you with a lot of information and ideas from which you can extrapolate the aspects you currently wish to work with in your own training. The course is auditors only,  allowing you to digest the material at your own pace and consider how it relates to your own training.  There will be follow-up courses with practical training and feedback from us, we just wish to have everyone on the same page first...   There are so many aspects to consider - it literally takes us six weeks to get from one reward to the next!                

Self-study course! Auditors only! (No premium spots in this course)

  Positive reinforcement training is about setting up for success and making sure desired behaviors are followed by reinforcers, which strengthen the behavior in the future. In this course you get to join the Swedish duo Eva and Emelie as they zoom in on the small but important details that make up a training session, from one reward to the next. What happens right after each reward? What happens within your reward procedure? And why does it matter? In "Seamlessness - from one reward to the next" you will learn learn how to work deliberately with small but significant details, paying attention to all the parts of the training loop and using them to create seamless training sessions. The material in this course will help you develop your own training sessions further.  Your planning will get better, your training will become smoother, and both you and your learner will enjoy the process even more than before! Course syllabus: Week 1 Lesson 1 - Introduction to the course Lesson 2 - The underpinnings Lesson 3 - From one reward to the next - overview Week 2 Lesson 4 - Training session fundamentals Lesson 5 - The reward ends Week 3 Lesson 6 - Criteria Lesson 7 - Mark Week 4 Lesson 8 - The reward appears Lesson 9 - Take the reward Lesson 10 - During the reward Week 5 Lesson 11 - The reward ends (again) Lesson 12 - Criteria not met Week 6 Lesson 13 - Putting behavior together Lesson 14 - Flowcharting your training session Lesson 15 - Summarizing seamlessness This is a 6 week self-study course. New lessons will be presented each week  (a total of 15 lessons) and you will have continued access to the material after the course finishes. We have so much material we wish to share with you on this topic - in this course, we put it together in a comprehensive yet extensive form. Our goal is to provide you with a lot of information and ideas from which you can extrapolate the aspects you currently wish to work with in your own training. The course is auditors only,  allowing you to digest the material at your own pace and consider how it relates to your own training.  There will be follow-up courses with practical training and feedback from us, we just wish to have everyone on the same page first...   There are so many aspects to consider - it literally takes us six weeks to get from one reward to the next!                

You struggle to groom your dog without having him mouth the brush ? You can't cut his nails ? Your dog is running away as soon as you pronounce "shower" ? Your dog stresses out so much at the clinic or at the groomer that he trembles, shuts down or tries to escape ? You have to care for your dog and it's complicated to do it alone at home ? Your dog doesn't like to put the collar, harness, muzzle or cone ? You want your dog to be stressfree and cooperate with him in all sorts of care procedures ? You want to improve the communication with your dog, develop a trusting relationship and give him more choice opportunities and control on his life ? If you see yourself in one of this situations, this class is made for you ! Cooperative husbandry training aims to teach animal to assist in their own care. It's an ethical and pratical choice. It is used in most of zoological parcs to care for wild animals avoiding restrain, anesthesia and reducing stress. Husbandry training is part of daily enrichment programs. Through this training we give the animal the skills and the opportunities to give his consent. Giving them choice and control over their environnement improves their general welfare. If we can draw blood from a girafe or an orca without using force...why not do the same with our pets ? Empowering our dogs in their own care not only make it easier, but also enrich our life together. Some of the topics covered in this course :

• Understanding and using science basics in husbandry training.
• Teaching consent positions.
• Empowerment : Understanding importance of choice and control.
• Behavior, consequences and functions : how to use them to converse with animals.
• Teaching your dog the consent concept.
• How to train your dog through various daily procedures such as : handling, grooming, bathing, nails care, ears and eyes care, teeth brushing, muzzle training...
• What to do when our dog is not ready and you have to do it. Consequences.

A second level course will be focusing on training the dog to third party care such as the vet, the groomer, the osteopath. [embed]https://vimeo.com/327729460/7b15244ecc[/embed]

Dogs' olfactory abilities amaze us and what they manage to do with their noses is truly astounding. Nosework is a sport that uses most natural, amazing dog’s abilities and develops them into perfection. Nosework is one of the greatest dog sports, making its way to the top most popular canine activities. Inspired by working detection dogs searching for narcotics, explosives, nosework makes it available for everyone. Dogs are searching for essential oils hidden in vehicles, interiors, water, exteriors, and containers and they love it! “No limitations” This sport is for everyone! It is a perfect activity for old, retired, or disabled dogs who want to stay in shape but can’t be physically challenged. Aggressive dogs are welcome too! Pure breed, crossbreed, old, young, slow, fast - it doesn’t matter what type your dog is! During the course we focus on:

• what is nosework; rules reading
• classically conditioning odors
• building solid alert behavior using clicker training
• introducing discrimination between hot and cold objects
• introducing various odor holders
• introducing cardboard boxes
• generalization

Course syllabus: Week 1: Lesson 1 – Welcome and Introductions Lesson 2 – What is nosework? Lesson 3 – Nosework International and methods we use Lesson 4 – Samples preparation and handling odor Lesson 5 – Cocktail or not to cocktail? Lesson 6 - Classical conditioning of odor Lesson 7 - Hand touch   Week 2: Lesson 8 – Tic-tac! Lesson 9 – Precision Lesson 10 – Duration   Week 3: Lesson 11 – Cue for alert behavior Lesson 12 – Handler's movement     Week 4: Lesson 13 – Competing stimulus Lesson 14 – Various holders   Week 5: Lesson 15 – Location of the holder - variations Lesson 16 - Discrimination   Week 6: Lesson 17 – New locations Lesson 18 - New locations Lesson 19 - Cue for the search     There are 3 more nosework course stages.   [s3mm type="video" files="videoplayback.mp4" /]  

Self-study course, auditors only (no premium spots in this course), with extensive material including step-by-step exercises for you to practice with your learner!

  Through start button behaviors, we can give our learning partners control over various procedures by having them tell us when to go ahead and when to stop. This course will serve as an introduction to understanding and working with start button contingencies. You will learn how to structure your training sessions to include clear yes and no opportunities, and we will dive into the concepts of choice and control and begin incorporating start button behaviors in various settings. Learn these techniques and you’ll be able to take another giant step towards a place where you and your animal are true partners in the training process! Course syllabus - these are the lessons we'll go through in this six week course:

1. Welcome to the start button course
2. Start button behavior – what and why?
3. Getting started – pairing procedure with a twist
4. Let a start button behavior emerge
5. What if my learner doesn’t say ”yes”?
6. Shaping meets start buttons
7. Adding behavior between the presentation and the reward
8. Working with ongoing stimuli
9. Duration behavior as continuous start button
10. Predictability
11. Further options for starting and stopping
12. Summarizing start button work
13. Some final inspiration
14. Goodbye!

Start button behaviors are behaviors that learners perform, and that functions as cues for the teacher to make the next move. If the learner doesn’t do the start button behavior, the teacher doesn’t progress. Through start button behaviors we as teachers get information about how we are doing in our training.  If the package that we present after the start button behavior is functioning as a reinforcer, then there will be short latency and high persistance in the start button behavior. If, on the other hand, we see latency, or the start button behavior doesn’t occur or is interrupted – then we know that the package we have presented contingent upon that start button behavior isn’t reinforcing enough – which is super valuable information to us, because then we  get the opportunity to instantly make adjustments and improvements in our training. So it’s never about the specific start button behavior as such – that behavior is just a tool for clearer communication!  It is as if the learner is pressing a start button which makes the trainer continue to the next step.  From the trainer’s perspective: In a certain situation, if I see this response (the start button behavior), I present my stimulus (object, movement, noise, cue or whatever it is that you start) which is followed (instantly, or after a sorter or longer sequence) by a reinforcer (treat, toy, belly rub, or what the maintaining reinforcer might be). From the learner’s perspective in turn: In a certain situation, if I do this response (the start button behavior), then that stimulus will occur which in turn is followed by a reinforcer either directly or after I have done some more behavior(s). Having the learner be in control provides us with a good way to be able to listen, making sure that we’re not pushing the pace of the training or moving in the wrong the direction all together. Thus, start button work is a tool for us as trainers to help us become even better partners for our learners! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtDybod284A&feature=youtu.be To learn more about where we're coming from with this subject and find a variety of other resources, please check out www.animalsincontrol.com Welcome to the course! //E&E

Self-study course, auditors only (no premium spots in this course), with extensive material including step-by-step exercises for you to practice with your learner!

  Through start button behaviors, we can give our learning partners control over various procedures by having them tell us when to go ahead and when to stop. This course will serve as an introduction to understanding and working with start button contingencies. You will learn how to structure your training sessions to include clear yes and no opportunities, and we will dive into the concepts of choice and control and begin incorporating start button behaviors in various settings. Learn these techniques and you’ll be able to take another giant step towards a place where you and your animal are true partners in the training process! Course syllabus - these are the lessons we'll go through in this six week course:

1. Welcome to the start button course
2. Start button behavior – what and why?
3. Getting started – pairing procedure with a twist
4. Let a start button behavior emerge
5. What if my learner doesn’t say ”yes”?
6. Shaping meets start buttons
7. Adding behavior between the presentation and the reward
8. Working with ongoing stimuli
9. Duration behavior as continuous start button
10. Predictability
11. Further options for starting and stopping
12. Summarizing start button work
13. Some final inspiration
14. Goodbye!

Start button behaviors are behaviors that learners perform, and that functions as cues for the teacher to make the next move. If the learner doesn’t do the start button behavior, the teacher doesn’t progress. Through start button behaviors we as teachers get information about how we are doing in our training.  If the package that we present after the start button behavior is functioning as a reinforcer, then there will be short latency and high persistance in the start button behavior. If, on the other hand, we see latency, or the start button behavior doesn’t occur or is interrupted – then we know that the package we have presented contingent upon that start button behavior isn’t reinforcing enough – which is super valuable information to us, because then we  get the opportunity to instantly make adjustments and improvements in our training. So it’s never about the specific start button behavior as such – that behavior is just a tool for clearer communication!  It is as if the learner is pressing a start button which makes the trainer continue to the next step.  From the trainer’s perspective: In a certain situation, if I see this response (the start button behavior), I present my stimulus (object, movement, noise, cue or whatever it is that you start) which is followed (instantly, or after a sorter or longer sequence) by a reinforcer (treat, toy, belly rub, or what the maintaining reinforcer might be). From the learner’s perspective in turn: In a certain situation, if I do this response (the start button behavior), then that stimulus will occur which in turn is followed by a reinforcer either directly or after I have done some more behavior(s). Having the learner be in control provides us with a good way to be able to listen, making sure that we’re not pushing the pace of the training or moving in the wrong the direction all together. Thus, start button work is a tool for us as trainers to help us become even better partners for our learners! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtDybod284A&feature=youtu.be To learn more about where we're coming from with this subject and find a variety of other resources, please check out www.animalsincontrol.com Welcome to the course! //E&E

This course is very sentimental for me. My dog didn’t tug at all. He didn’t like to take things into his mouth but I really wanted to play Frisbee so we started learning how to tug. At that time I knew very little and our journey was full of frustration. That wasn’t a fun experience for any of us. We were working hard (I’m pretty stubborn so I kept trying) and after a year we managed to bring tugging to the level where I can call that a reinforcement. Was it hard? Definitely… Would it be easier to do if I had known as much as I know now? It would! So what is “Iron Jaws”? It’s a compendium of knowledge which I hope I have known when I started. I know that I am not the only one who struggled with this behavior. It’s harder than most people think and that’s why I wrote this course. The goal is to teach you to tug and give you a clear view on what to do BUT “what” is not enough for me. With a little help of science I will show you why does it work. Tugging is not magic. It’s a behavior like a sit or lie down and shares the same principles of learning. It’s also one of the best ways for creating strong and happy relationship with your dog AND it’s so fun to do! Lessons you can expect can be divided into three major categories:

1. Basics of learning- We will introduce simple concepts like ABC’s, primary and secondary reinforcer, motivation and operationalising behaviors we want to teach. It will be our scientific core for understanding why we teach the way we do.
2. Myths- common knowledge and misunderstandings about tugging. We will dig deep into why things happen and we will question what we know.
3. Tugging- Pure practice and mechanics of the game. How to do it right. Meaning what to do to be safe and have a blast together.

  If your dog doesn’t “like” to tug this course is for you!

Are you a right fit for this course? Is your dog willing to play? Your session might be messy and unorganized but if the willingness for interaction is there it’s definitely enough! If you answered “no” and you want to learn how to teach to enjoy toy play please check out my other course “Iron Jaws”.   What will you learn? In short we “teach rewards”. It’s a collection of tug based games that teach a dog all those minor things that we don’t appreciate when they are there but we can get very frustrated when they aren’t. This is a core for the effectiveness of any future toy based training session. Exercises with a dog:

1. Quality tug- how to do is right? How to make a great reinforcer and strength exercise out of it.
2. Catch the rat- introduction to chasing. Teaches a dog how to execute effective catch on moving target. How to control its body and judging the distance between him/her and a toy.
3. Drop – if you teach your dog to drop by grabbing its color you are doing it wrong. You will learn four different dropping games. Your dog will think “how can I make this human monkey to ask me to drop”.
4. Exchange work- swiftly switching from playing with one toy to another. Imagine cool looking freestyle routine. Would it be equally cool if a dog had no idea when to refocus from one frisbee to another. It’s also often used reinforcement procedure.
5. Follow me- base for fetch is a dog that wants to come back and share a toy with you. That’s what we are teaching here.
6. Tossing toys- it’s combined catch a rat with following.

You will receive one exercise per week. On top of that additional lectures covering more specific aspects and topics.   “Preparation for Frisbee” series Preparation for Frisbee is a series of four courses  that are meant to turn newbie dogfrisbee adept into a team with good foundations that allow them to have fun with flying plastic safely. This course contains references to this sport and how all we do apply to our future play. Remember that Frisbee is just another toy so the foundation for effective interaction and understanding between you and your dog are the key for further success. It’s a first step to getting great at my beloved sport Dogfrisbee! Don’t worry if you are not interested in dogfrisbee. All skills and lessons apply to any toy based training.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cLLrqljIk4&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3eNDULC8gf3hySiQtcf1ollFMx9DdBrk8IEo_xGPj0bJiRfa_YViYEan4[/embed]

‘Sense of smell?’ he says. ‘I never gave it a thought. You don’t normally give it a thought. But when I lost it — it was like being struck blind. Life lost a good deal of its savor — one doesn’t realize how much ‘savor’ is smell. You smell people, you  smell books, you smell the city, you smell the spring — maybe not consciously, but as a rich unconscious background to everything else. My whole world was suddenly radically poorer … ("The man who mistook his wife for an hat” Oliver Sacks) Although they share a thousand-year-old coexistence, men and dogs orient their interests in the world in a substantially different way. We as humans are sight-oriented animals this means that sight is our dominant sense. Dogs are, above all, smelling oriented animal. Sense of smell is the dominant one, followed by hearing and then sight. This is a self-learn course aimed to cover the main topics related to the dog's sense of smell. The first problem that is faced by anyone who decides to train a dog to search for people or detection is the difficulty in defining what they are working on. In recent years science has focused on many areas that may be useful to those who work with the dog's nose. Today we have more knowledge about the physiology of smell, scent perception, theory of learning, and how odours behaves. During the course we will try to combine theoretical knowledge with dog training.   What to expect 

• Self learn course
• Forum and Facebook group where you can discuss and interact
• Six weeks of lesson

Topic 1: scent and scenting dogs

• Scent and scenting dogs
• Dog cognition: drives and motivation
• Theory of learning
• Memory
• Odours: an overview
• How the nose works
• Perception

Topic 2: dogs that works with human scent

• Human scent
• Theory of scent
• Dogs that works with human scent (mantrailing, tracking, scent ID, air scent, rubble, detection)

Topic 3: dogs that works with other smells

• Detection dogs
• Tracking and trailing dogs

Topic 4: A bridge between theory and practice 

• Learning theory and scent training
• Training phases

 

Welcome to Positive Puppy Preschool.  The course is aimed at the new puppy owner and is about the early learning for your puppy, from 8 – 16 weeks that forms a crucial part of the socialisation period. For those of you who have had dogs before, you may notice some changes in the early learning encouraged for young puppies.  These changes have been developed through research by several prominent universities and uses applied behaviour analysis (ABA) to underpin the learning.

What to expect

• Six weekly lessons with written information and video(s)
• Homework tasks both written, online and videoed practical training
• Daily feedback (6 days per week) for Premium Members

What is covered

• Socialisation & habituation
• Introduction to the science of learning
• The mechanics of clicker training
• Capturing, shaping & luring
• Adding cues
• Introduction to canine body language
• Exploring the environment
• Handling with consent
• Creative feeding
• Puppy play
• Planning effective training sessions
• Foundation training
  • Settle
  • Managing puppy mouthing
  • Walking on a lead
  • Coming back when called
  • Leave
  • Drop/give up items
  • Four paws on the floor (an alternative to jumping up)

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0ii-KJf5m8&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

Building upon skills we covered in stage one, we will continue our preparation for exams. ORTs and first trials. Our primary focus will always be precise and clear training loop and clarity in search criteria. We will start where we left with stage 1 and focus on:

• start line routine
• introducing search patterns
• duration of search behavior
• handling
• building clarity in cues during search pattern
• generalization of locations
• task analysis of searches
• basics of scent theory
• increasing complexity of puzzles
• planning your own training

Course syllabus: Week 1 Lesson 1 - Welcome and Introductions Lesson 2 - Baseline Lesson 3 - Chains in nosework Lesson 4 - ABCs of the search Lesson 5 - Start line routine Lesson 6 - Our variables Lesson 7 - Aging Lesson 8 - Introducing search   Week 2 Lesson 9 - Introduction to scent theory Lesson 10 - Inaccessible v. accessible Lesson 11 - Introducing exteriors - boxes on the road  Lesson 12 - Introducing exteriors - single hides Lesson 13 - Duration of the search   Week 3 Lesson 14 - Handler's job Lesson 15 - Vehicles - introduction Lesson 16 - Adding complexity to the search Lesson 17 - Change of behavior Lesson 18 - No visual cues   Week 4 Lesson 19 - Vehicles - cold vehicle Lesson 20 - Exterior Progression Lesson 21 - Vehicles - handling Lesson 22 - Cues in nosework   Week 5 Lesson 23 - Duration of the search part 2 Lesson 24 - Crazy handler Lesson 25 - Adding complexity to the search part 2   Week 6 Lesson 26 - Reducing the strength of the odor Lesson 27 - Panning Lesson 28 - What if?   https://youtu.be/h4P0nELgnE4