Welcome to my blog - a diary about living with donkeys, notes about care, my training sessions and the absolute pleasure of donkey companionship.


Leave a comment! Just click on Comments at the bottom of each post and a box will appear. If you have a question, I always respond!


Monday, March 5, 2012

Thoughts about Clicker training

I read these words by Alexandra Kurland on a blog and thought I'd copy and post (I have condensed from the complete posting) - in typical "Alex"  fashion, this is so interesting and I have gained this insight from her.  That's what propels me to investigate the science behind positive reinforcement training and delve deeper than just teaching "behaviours!"

And when you fall through this rabbit hole - it seems there is no bottom - so much to learn, the levels become more layered as you become involved and the rewards for both you and your animals increase also!  It's a joyful and stimulating holistic approach to training and relationship building.  A true marriage of art and science with the continual challenge of invention, since each animal is a unique individual.

here's Alex:

"Lots of people use clicker training.  They use it now and then as a problem solving tool, but that doesn´t make them a clicker trainer.  Being a clicker trainer means so much more.

It means someone who understands the core training principles that are at the heart of clicker training.  And it means someone who knows how to use those principles to give horses a voice in the training.

Lots of people use the clicker to reinforce behavior they like, but they still want to punish unwanted behavior.  Being a clicker trainer means you know how to stay focused on what you want your horse to do.  You don´t get sucked into the drama of the unwanted behavior.  And you know not one or two strategies for getting good behavior, you know dozens.  You don´t need to be a punisher, because you have learned how to break training down into small manageable steps."

Alexandra Kurland

No comments:

Post a Comment