ABOUT
A well mannered dog can:
BUT sometimes dogs behave in (natural doggie) ways that make them less than enjoyable to us humans…..Do any of the following issues cause problems between you and your dog?
We can help! |
Looking for something FUN to do with your dog?We offer:
We can help you get ready for the Canine Good Neighbour test or help your dog become a Therapy Dog and provide comfort to people in facilities. We can help with that too!
Welcome to Love 2 Play Dog Training. Dog training in Nelson, in Castlegar and in the Slocan Valley has never been so much fun! Dog obedience in the West Kootenays is more than just obedience--it's games, laughter and teamwork. We can help you discover the opportunities possible with your canine companion; from basic dog obedience that will give you a well mannered pet, to obedience or agility competition, to plain old fun, we can help you and your dog get the most out of each other! We offer group classes, private training and day training not only in dog obedience for a well mannered pet, but also in agility, tricks, musical freestyle...just about anything you want to train your dog to do, we teach. And always, always in small classes so you get the individual attention you deserve. Lots of choices, lots of possibilities, lots of fun...lots of play, because we Love 2 Play. We Can Help!A well mannered dog can:
BUT sometimes dogs behave in (natural doggie) ways that make them less than enjoyable to us humans…..Do any of the following issues cause problems between you and your dog?
We can help!OR, are you looking for something FUN to do with your dog?We can help with that too......Take a look at our DOG SPORTS section.We offer:
We can help you get ready for the Canine Good Neighbour test or help your dog become a therapy dog and provide comfort to people in facilities. Clicker Training is science based teaching method where we build on success, not failure. It is training that uses positive reinforcement AND a marker signal. The marker is a sound that tells the dog exactly when he is doing the right thing (usually from a small noisemaker called a “clicker” but it could be a whistle, a tongue noise, a verbal 'yes' or anything else that is consistent) . The marker sound is always followed by something the dog wants—usually a treat or a toy, but could be permission to go visit a person or dog. The scientific principle of Operant Conditioning states that since the dog was positively reinforced for his behaviour, he is likely to repeat the action. All animals respond to the science of clicker training, from the smallest spider to the largest whale. It is a force free method of communicating across species. What kinds of behaviours can be clicker trained?This clear form of communication is an effective, safe, and humane way to teach any animal any behaviour – so long as it is physically and mentally capable of performing that behaviour. Jeanne has trained a fish; Glenda has trained her cat. Other clicker trainers have trained lobsters, dolphins, spiders, guinea pigs, etc....any animal can be trained (yes even humans--it's called TAGTeach with humans). With dogs, Clicker Training can be used to teach basic pet manners such as “sit”, “come”, “down”, "wait", and “leave it” but it can also be used to teach the most precise advanced obedience exercises. It can be used just as effectively to teach tricks such as “shake a paw”, “spin” and “bow”. Clicker Training can be used to teach dogs to calmly accept grooming, nail trimming, and veterinary procedures. Many trainers use Clicker Training exclusively when working with ‘problem behaviours’. Clicker Training is about:
The primary goal of Love 2 Play Dog Training is to enhance the relationship between dogs and their human families. We will work together so you can learn the skills needed to positively train your dog. We will help you apply the scientific principles to work with your dog on a wide variety of skills. What are the benefits of Clicker Training?Clicker Trained animals are always ready to learn new behaviors. They come to love the process of learning. They remember behaviours years later because they were ‘aware’ as they learned them, rather than acquiring them without awareness. They develop confidence because they have been successful in the past. They are enthusiastic because they expect the consequences of their success to be pleasurable. As one of our students once said, I love clicker training because my dog and I are both in the learning game together and we are both getting something out of it. I get to watch my dog learn and understand me like no other dog ever has and that is positive reinforcement for me; my dog gets my attention and is an active participant in his learning and THEN gets positively reinforced for having fun learning….this is a blast! Questions people often ask:Will I have to use a clicker forever? No, absolutely not. You don't even have to use a 'clicker', you can use any consistent sound to 'mark' a behaviour. Once a behaviour is on cue (command), you no longer use the marker UNTIL you want to train a NEW behaviour. The marker simply is a clear, common ‘language’ between you and your dog. Do I have to use food forever? No, however, when training a behaviour you have to use a reinforcer. A reinforcer is anything your dog wants including treats, toys, going outside, cuddling with you, sniffing a tree, etc. Our goal is to have our dogs working for us on or off leash, in or out of the house, and whether or not you have a clicker and a treat. The more you reinforce in the beginning, the stronger the behaviour will be. Why can’t I just use food or praise? Isn’t that still positive training? Yes it is, but there are a few special things about the clicker that make it more effective than just a treat or praise: The clicker acts like a tiny camera in the dog’s mind. It takes of picture of the exact moment he did the right thing. When using other positive training methods, treats and praise are usually delivered after the dog has performed the behaviour making it harder to link the reinforcer with the action in his mind. This is why some people call clicker training 'precision training'...it is very precise and fast. When you use a marker signal, your dog will learn desirable behaviour amazingly quickly. The marker provides a consistent, non-emotional marker so your dog always receives the same information. The marker is also distinct from other signals in the environment. My daughter wants to train the dog, can SHE use the clicker? Absolutely, anyone can teach with a clicker. Dogs trained to listen only to a "dominant" voice will often not "listen" to children in the family. With a clicker, everyone can play a part in teaching the dog. Clicker Training is fun for everyone, including the dog! Do I always have to provide a treat after a click? You have to provide a reinforcer each and every time. Click means the dog has earned something he wants—usually a treat or a toy. If I don’t use a command, how will my dog know what we are working on? Your dog is undoubtedly very smart but he is not born knowing your spoken language. In clicker training we add the cue (or command) AFTER the dog has learned to do the behaviour. In effect, we give the behaviour a name once the dog is doing it. This can be a hard concept to get used to but it is extremely effective. There is so much to know and it is all so new. What if I make mistakes? The good thing about clicker training is that it is a very gentle way of training. If we make mistakes, it may take a little longer to train a behaviour, but that doesn’t matter to our dogs. Our dogs are very forgiving creatures. Even if you make mistakes, you will not cause your dog, or your relationship with your dog, any harm with clicker training. . Can a dog that has been trained "traditionally" learn with a clicker? Absolutely. “Crossover” trainers are often amazed at the change that comes over their dogs when they switch to clicker training. Previously hesitant and shy dogs become enthusiastic and creative learners. To try clicker training with a dog previously trained with traditional methods, don't begin with a behavior the dog already knows—try something completely new and fun…preferably a trick. |
