The Thinking Dog

Book excerpt: It is such a joy to work with a dog who proactively engages in behaviors while you build a relationship that will surprise you in its depth and versatility. Clicker training has proven to be the most effective means of developing a "Thinking Dog," one who offers behaviors in anticipation of a reward rather than a dog who has been trained only to wait for his owner's commands. One of the biggest obstacles the new clicker trainer faces, however, is his or her own history of training and habits of working with a dog. But you can make the transition once you understand how dogs learn and the mechanisms of operant conditioning. Learn from author Gail Fisher's crossover experiences as well as those of the hundreds of students she has helped make the change over the past thirteen years. You will learn:How dog training has evolved over the past 100 years, the strengths and weaknesses of various training styles, and to what extent you can intergrate your previous methods with clicker training. The particular challenges you will face as you crossover from whatever style of training you have used in the past (compulsion, luring, etc.) to clicker training. The detailed nuts and bolts of clicker training0́4from getting a behavior started, to methods of rewarding, to reducing the need to click and treat over time while still getting the results you want. How to work with dogs trained with force or harsh methods and change them into behavior-offering dynamos. What reviewers are saying ... MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW"Written by Gail Tamases Fisher, a professional dog trainer of over thirty years' experience, The Thinking Dog: Crossover to Clicker Training is a guide to using clicker training to develop a "thinking dog" who offers behaviors in anticipation of a reward, rather than a passive dog trained simply to wait for its owner's commands. Someone new to clicker training may find it difficult to break out of familiar routines; The Thinking Dog: Crossover to Clicker Training teaches one how to surpass one's own ingrained habits while learning the nuts and bolts of operant conditioning. "By definition, LLW [loose-leash walking] means there is no tension in the leash. This rule is absolute: Your dog may not pull and be successful. Any time your dog pulls and gets to move forward, pulling is reinforced. So from the moment you start training LLW, any time your dog is on leash, you are either in training, or using equipment that prevents pulling, such as a front-connection harness or head halter. Do not use a Flexi- or bungi-lead as they reward pulling." An excellent, easy-to-use manual for amateur and professional dog trainers alike, handily illustrated with black-and-white photographs." James A. CoxDOG WORLDWhen Gail Tamases Fisher attended her first clicker-training seminar in 1996, she was already a skilled trainer and the author of two books. She had built a successful career on the Volhard motivational method."I was happy with how I trained for the 20-plus years that I had used and taught this approach, believing it was by far the best way to train for both dogs and people," Fisher writes. As her skepticism vanished, she began incorporating clicker training into her methodology. She explains her decision in a balanced manner: "Nothing in this book is intended to denigrate any approach or diminish your success with whatever training method you have used."