Training Lessons
July 18, 2008
After watching a bunch of episodes of Dog Whisperer, I’ve been eating up as much information about how to train animals as I can possibly get. It all starts with Karen Pryor: her book, Don’t Shoot the Dog isn’t so much about training dogs as it is about training any animal (humans included) using the principles of operant conditioning and positive 
reinforcement. Pryor pioneered these training methods while working with dolphins in the 1960s, and they’ve spread to everything from dogs to llamas, sea lions, and even cats.
I’ve been working with my cat, Basil, to get her to sit quietly to wait for her dinner instead of following me around, yowling in excitement. So far, so good: she actually sits on command. Interested in trying for yourself? Check out Getting Started: Clicker Training for Cats if you want to give it a try.
-Lynn
(dolphin photo by Just Taken Pics on flickr)
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Amy | July 18, 2008 at 5:50 pm
I love the Dog Whisperer and I have been trying to learn as much as I can about training and dog psychology before I actually get a dog. I definitely want to check out Pryor’s book, too. Thanks for the information!