Sunday, May 20, 2007
Leydi's first trip to the chicken yard,
Leydi was very calm when I brought her for the first time into the chicken yard.
Here she really wanted to turn around to see all the activity behind her
Here she observes Sophie coming her way, note that Sophie isn't walking directly towards her and busies herself scanning the ground for goodies, it's quite possible the Leydi sees this as a Calming Signal. I clicked Leydi for staying calm.
Then, when the chick looks up and comes towards her, Leydi turns her head, another Calming Signal. I clicked for that also. Clicker training is really helpful when working on this, as I can reinforce every right move. I find that my dogs are trying very hard to figure out how they should act around the chicks, getting constant feedback from me every time they take a calm look, don't get up, show Calming Signals, sitting etc. makes it a lot easier for them to understand what is expected. This is very different from traditional training, where the trainer usually waits until the dog makes a wrong move and then corrects the dog for it. I do hold my dogs back if they try to make a quick move, so they do get feedback on what not to do also, but I don't use any major punishment, I use lots of positive reinforcement, really good treats, to give them lots of timely feedback about behavior that is acceptable. I want them to enjoy their time around the chickens, because I want them to become their guardians. For more info on clicker training see www.clickersolutions.com
Leydi was very calm when I brought her for the first time into the chicken yard.
Here she really wanted to turn around to see all the activity behind herHere she observes Sophie coming her way, note that Sophie isn't walking directly towards her and busies herself scanning the ground for goodies, it's quite possible the Leydi sees this as a Calming Signal. I clicked Leydi for staying calm.
Then, when the chick looks up and comes towards her, Leydi turns her head, another Calming Signal. I clicked for that also. Clicker training is really helpful when working on this, as I can reinforce every right move. I find that my dogs are trying very hard to figure out how they should act around the chicks, getting constant feedback from me every time they take a calm look, don't get up, show Calming Signals, sitting etc. makes it a lot easier for them to understand what is expected. This is very different from traditional training, where the trainer usually waits until the dog makes a wrong move and then corrects the dog for it. I do hold my dogs back if they try to make a quick move, so they do get feedback on what not to do also, but I don't use any major punishment, I use lots of positive reinforcement, really good treats, to give them lots of timely feedback about behavior that is acceptable. I want them to enjoy their time around the chickens, because I want them to become their guardians. For more info on clicker training see www.clickersolutions.com // posted by ZaltanaAnatolians @ 8:43 PM 
