Services
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| Clicker Training Starting October 28, 2006 |
Dog Training
Well socialized and obedient pets are a joy to be around... they are trustworthy and companionable and add much to family life. With that in mind, the Randolph Animal Hospital is excited to announce the arrival of "clicker training" dog classes, which will be held at the hospital starting October 28, 2006. Pre-registration is required, so please call us for more details.
What is clicker Training?
Clicker training is a science-based technique of training behavior with positive reinforcement and a marker signal, the sound of a plastic clicker. The trainer picks a desirable behavior and "clicks" it, as it is happening. The click tells the pet exactly what it did to earn the food, praise, petting or toy that follows. Dogs quickly learn to repeat whatever they were doing when they hear the click. By clicking various small actions, the trainer can "build" the final behavior... heeling, retrieving, greeting visitors politely, etc... step by step.
Does clicker training require special skills?
Clicker-training is a bit like playing the children's game "Warmer and Colder" with your pet. It is requires no physical strength or skill beyond the ability to press the clicker tab; and yet, with well-timed clicks, you can communicate exactly what you want your pet to do. Most pet owners "catch on" to clicker training a lot faster than they do to traditional training systems of baiting with food and correcting with a jerk on a leash.
How do pets feel about this method?
Pets just LOVE clicker training. Instead of learning, reluctantly, how to avoid your displeasure by changing their behavior, they learn, happily, how to please you by doing those things that make you click. It doesn't matter what kind of pet you have, or how old it is. Dogs, from old-timers to little puppies, soon start "offering" the behaviors they have learned, as a way of asking you for what they need. It's a thinking game for the pet: "What can I do NEXT, to earn my treats?"
Clicker training is a positive fun and fast way to teach your dog. The clicker is a small plastic noisemaker. It tells your pet what you like. Clicking does not suppress behavior, clicking changes behavior! All breeds and all ages do well, puppies learn faster but you can teach an old dog new tricks. There are no special skills required, every one can do this.
Lessons are held at the Randolph Animal Hospital on Saturday afternoons.
Training done by Stephanie Delaney.
To sign up, please call (781) 963-2298.
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