Cleveland's Source for Dog Training News and Information
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September 2005North Coast Dogs News |
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Updates on Our Move
As stated in the August newsletter, North Coast Dogs will be moving. The plan is to be up and running at the location next to Inn the Doghouse by early October. If you are currently in a class, we will keep you informed as the weeks pass. If you are looking to take a class in the future, the address is 10237 Berea Rd, Unit J, in Cleveland. North Coast Dogs and Inn the Doghouse are both very exited to get set up and work together to create the all in one doggie mall that was envisioned when we first started discussing this as an option.
For review, when in place, NCD will be able to offer training and retail products while Inn the Doghouse will continue to offer boarding, daycare and grooming. We hope you will join us when we get together to cut the ribbon and have a great time celebrating this new location. The date scheduled for this celebration is Thursday evening, October 13th. More exciting details to follow.
Special Seminars
Don't forget about the exciting upcoming weekend event with Pat Miller. Information and registration listed below.
Pat Miller
October 8th and 9th, we are pleased to have Pat Miller coming to Cleveland. Pat's career in dog training has taken her from California across the country to Tennessee and now Maryland. She worked in a variety of capacities at the Marin Humane Society in Marin County, California as well as the Santa Cruz SPCA. She has formed her own training business (and moved it several times) named Peacable Paws, LLC. Pat conducts group training classes as well as conducting training schools for trainers and one on one behavior modification with clients. She has authored two books. The first called "The Power of Positive Dog Training' and the most recent being " Positive Perspectives:Love Your Dog, Train Your Dog".
Pat's two days in Cleveland will be spent talking about clicker training specifically. Saturday October 8th will be a lesson in Operant conditioning and clicker training tricks. Sunday October 9th will be a practical demonstration on clicker training classes. There will be live demonstrations both days and plenty of learning as well! Registration includes the two day seminar and lunch both days.
Dr. Patricia McConnell
We are very pleased to say that our weekend with Dr. Patricia McConnell was a success. Dr. McConnell entertained all in attendance with her knowledge, humor, great stories and very pleasant presentation style. The hands on demonstrations went very well and all dogs and human left knowing more than they did when they first arrived. A big thank you to Patricia for coming to Cleveland. We welcome you back any time!
Dog Events Around Town
There are many dog related events coming up around town. All of these are benefits or fundraisers to raise money for shelters, breed specific organizations or rescue work.
Tuesday September 6th, 2005 6PM-9PM
Lakewood Dog Park's Doggy Swim Party! - Bring your dog for a dip in the pool to raise money for the upkeep of the Lakewood Dog Park. A lifeguard will be on duty and dog owners are asked to bring their own towels. A $5.00 donation for one dog or $8.00 donation for two is asked for entrance into the event. This will be held at the Foster Pool in Lakewood Park. For more information contact Mike at 216-226-5536.
Saturday and Sunday September 10th and 11th 2005
The 12th Annual Canine Fun Days and Greyhound Reunion - Two full days of food, fun, games and races to benefit Greyhound Adoption of Ohio. This event has become a staple of late summer in the dog community. Among the events of the weekend will be a "Fun" dog show, demonstrations of many dog activities, Basset Hound races on Saturday, Weiner Dog races on Sunday, Lure Coursing, Agility and much more. Special guest, Soaring Cindy up from from Miami, Florida will be present to entertain with her amazing jumping ability. Cindy is the Guiness Book of World Records high jump champion. Representives and adoptable animals from many of the local shelters and rescues will be present. Visit the Greyhound Adoption of Ohio information tent to learn more about what they do and how you can help in the process of making the lives of racing Greyhounds a little better.
The event is held at The Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field on the corner of Rt. 87 and Chagrin River Rd in Moreland Hills. Saturday runs from 11:00AM until 5:00PM. Sunday runs from 10:00AM until 5:00PM. Entrance is $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. Each event is between $3.00 and $5.00 per dog to participate. For more information, call 440-543-6256, e-mail rjrjip@aol.com or visit the Greyhound Adoption of Ohio website.
Saturday September 17th, 2005 10AM-2PM
A Dog Wash to benefit the Lakewood Animal Shelter - This yearly fundraiser is normally held at The Nature's Bin on Sloan Ave. in Lakewood. Due to construction, it has been moved this year to the Lakewood Masonic Temple located at 15300 Detroit Ave. Come clean up your dog and help raise funds for Lakewood's Animal Shelter. $7.00 for small dogs, $10.00 for medium dogs, $15.00 for large dogs and $5.00 to trim nails. Owners are asked to bring your own towels. All other supplies will be provided.
Sunday September 18th, 2005
Bikers for Senior Barkers - The Sanctuary for Senior Dogs has organized a motorcycle run. The money raised from this event will go towards care of the senior dogs that are fostered by them until permament homes are found. Registration begins for this event at 9:00AM at the City of Cleveland Kennels. Last bike out will be at 11:00AM. The ride route will conclude at Punderson State Park. At the park, food, raffles, prizes, and entermainment will be available. For more information, call 216-485-9233 or e-mail seniordogs@aol.com or wolf51@cox.net.
Sunday October 9th, 2005
11th Annual Lake County Humane Society Mutt Strut - The Lake County Humane Society will be holding it's 11th annual Mutt Strut at Penitentiary Glen. Registration begins at 9:30AM, the walk begins at 11:00AM. All proceeds to benefit the animals at the Lake County Humane Society. For more information, call 440-951-6122.
Do It Yourself
We are pleased to introduce a new section to our newsletter called Do It Yourself. In this section, a different member of the North Coast Dogs team will be introducing a favorite homemade treat or dog product like leashes or chew toys. We would love to hear your feedback if you try any of these items. We hope you enjoy and have fun making them! This month's comes from Julie Weir.
A Favorite Treat!
Providing a reward, commonly a treat, as reinforcement for a particular behavior performed is an essential part of training your dog. It has been my experience that our dogs do not realize how big a treat they receive. They are well aware of how many treats they receive. Also, the value of that treat is an important factor to your dog. Having special, tasty treats can be very important. Specifically when working in an environment with higher distraction like out on the sidewalk or in a class. Here is a recipe that is sure to be met with smiles and wags from your pup:
Liver Brownies
1 lb liver (ground up in a blender or food processor)
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 egg
Flour, add enough to make a moderately stiff batter
Spread batter in a greased 8X8 pan. Bake in 350-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into squares and store in the refrigerator or freezer.
Variations: You can spread batter in a larger pan and cook for a shorter period of time. Use the toothpick test to determine if they are ready. Stick the tooth pick in and if it comes out clean, you're ready to go!
Add fresh garlic or garlic powder. Dogs love it and it's good for them.
Good luck and happy baking!
Julie
Terminology
Another new addition to the newsletter will be a monthly section to define certain dog training lingo that we feel comes up on a regular basis. We will try to tie this in also with a specific behavior to see if you can give it a try and make it work for you. The terms chosen for this month have been done to get you prepared to take the shaping challenge which will also be included monthly in the newsletter. Let us know how this goes for you. The shaping challenge will get more difficult as the month's go on. We hope you're up to the task!
This months definitions:
C/T - Abbreviation for Click and Treat (the delivery of reinforcement to the dog when the dog's behavior has met the established criteria during a training session).
Criteria - As used in shaping, we define criteria as the precise aspect of behavior that we have decided we want to see the dog perform in a specfic training session. For example, if you want to teach your dog to stand with all four feet on a chair, one step in shaping this behavior may be to have the dog stand partly on the chair with it's two front feet. You would define the criteria for that training session as "two front feet on chair seat, back legs on floor but fully extended". Using the established criteria, every time you see your dog meet the criteria during the training session, you would click and treat. The click should be sounded at exactly the time the dog meets the criteria. It's very important to maintain the same criteria throughout a training session so that you don't confuse the dog (or yourself!).
Shaping - Building a new behavior by dividing the finished behavior into incremental steps. Each step has a defined criteria which will be reinforced and the successive training steps will build towards the final behavior.
Rate of Reinforcement - The number of times that your dog meets criteria and is reinforced within a certain time frame. For example, if your dog is practicing a behavior that they know well, they may meet criteria ten times within 30 seconds (with 10 C/T's delivered for each time the dog meets criteria). A low rate of reinforcement indicates that the criteria has been set too high for the dog. To promote learning, criteria for reinforcement should challenge the dog while maintaining realistic expectations so the rate of reinforcement is kept relatively high.
Now lets use these terms to........
Take the Shaping Challenge
Shaping a behavior with operant conditioning is the process of dividing
a behavior into incremental steps and then reinforcing each step as it is
performed successfully. Shaping differs from other training techniques
such as luring in that the dog is allowed to freely offer behaviors without
any signals from the trainer. The correct behavior is learned by the
dog because only the correct behavior received a Click and Treat (reinforcement).
Any behavior that does not meet the defined criteria is simply ignored and
as the dog learns, it will begin to offer the right behavior more consistently.
This basic process of clicking and treating the behavior that meets criteria and ignoring the behavior that does not meet criteria is applied to each successive approximation (step) towards the final behavior.
You can use shaping to train behaviors for serious competition or for doing silly tricks. You can even use shaping to change problem behaviors into desirable behaviors. As a result, you will teach your dog to think for itself and become a great problem solver.
Considerations for Successful Shaping:
1. Plan ahead! The first thing to do is to clearly define what the finished behavior will look like. Imagine that the whole behavior, from start to finish, has been captured on film and you can look at each frame individually. Decide which frames from the film will make up your successive training steps.
2. Make a list of all of the incremental steps that you think will be needed to shape the whole behavior. This list will help you track your progress and can be used to remind yourself where you left off after your last training session with your dog.
3. Establish the criteria for each step on your list. Criteria should be clearly defined so that you know exactly when to C/T during the training session.
4. How will you know when to move to the next training step? You will want to see that your dog is offering the correct behavior at least 80% of the time before moving to the next step. If you start a training session and your dog gives you the right behavior five times and the wrong behavior five times, you will repeat the same step in the next training session. If you are able to C/T your dog for meeting the established criteria eight times out of ten for offered behaviors, you will be ready to move to the next step during your next training session.
5. Use small soft treats that your dog can eat quickly. Decide if you are going to toss the treats to the dog or hand deliver them to the dog's mouth. Consider how the delivery of the treat will effect the training session.
6. Location, location, location! Where will you start shaping the new behavior? New behaviors require concentration, so set your dog up for success by training new behaviors in a familiar environment with minimal distractions.
7. Keep your training sessions short! One or two minutes is enough time to work on a single step. Short sessions keep your dog fresh and help to prevent frustration.
8. If the rate of reinforcement is too low or your dog's success rate is not increasing, step back and take a look at the situation. Is the criteria too advanced? Can you manipulate the environment to make it easier for the dog to meet the current criteria? Remember, you want your dog to be successful! Maybe there was too big of a change in criteria between steps. If necessary, in between training sessions, add in additional steps to help your dog.
9. Have fun! Play games with your dog between training sessions. If you or your dog is frustrated, take a break!
10. End each training session after a successful performance of the criteria. Ending on a positive note promotes progressive learning.
Take the First Shaping Challenge!
Extended Eye Contact
How long will your dog give you eye contact? One second? Five seconds?
This shaping challenge will help you build your dog up to ten seconds of eye contact with you. If you can already get ten seconds of reliable eye contact with your dog, then double the time period and set that as the length of time for this challenge.
Duration behaviors are easy to shape because the incremental steps towards the final behavior are easy to determine. Use the shaping guidelines listed above to determine where to start and how to determine if you and your dog are ready to move to the next step.
Shaping Steps for Ten Seconds of Eye Contact.