A post from Molly: Joy is the first human I’ve owned, but on the whole I’m pleased how quickly she is learning. Just recently I’ve started some new training with her – I’m teaching her to produce a treat when I get in and out of the car. Some tips for anyone else wanting to try this: make sure that your early training sessions always happen when your human is in a hurry or tired and, most importantly, the car is very hot. Shaping appropriate behaviour is not as difficult as it may seem. Your human will try various things to get your bottom off the road (on the way out) or off the car seat (on arrival home) but eventually she will produce a treat and at that point it is very important that you immediately jump in or out of the car, as this is the marker. It’s a good idea to follow this up with a reward – I choose a slurpy kiss (the face is ideal, but legs will do). I’ve managed to get to the stage when my human now reliably produces a piece of kibble in the above situations. My next stage of course is to train her to produce a higher quality treat. I intend to do this by refusing the kibble but also refusing to jump. I’m expecting her to revert to other behaviour at this point, but I won’t be discouraged as I’m sure she’ll eventually realise what she needs to do to get her reward – I’m aiming for prime steak by the end of August.
Re: A post from Molly Sounds like Joy is a fairly fast learner. That is great, but you really should take most of the credit Without patience and good timing training just doesn't get anywhere fast. You are clearly quite skilled.
Re: A post from Molly Molly I'm pleased to see you using positive reinforcement training with your human. I think it's by far the best way. Congratulations on your success, excellent training! Are you planning to compete with her?
Re: A post from Molly Nice training Molly! Making sure your human is in a hurry is key - a very useful human trait that can be used to great effect in training. Charlie says that if you hide under the kitchen table playing "chase me to put a collar on" for 15 minutes you can improve your chances that your human is late.
Re: A post from Molly Seems like you have her under control Molly, well done your training seems to be working
Re: A post from Molly Hey Molly, I had to do with my human. You've got to get them trained properly haven't you. Hard work isn't it? Lots of love megs.
Re: A post from Molly ;D ;D ;D brilliant training. Did you take her to classes to train her this well or is it a natural gift you have to train humans?
Re: A post from Molly Hi Molly. I think we should set up our own forum. We don't want our secrets falling into the hands of our people! Holly
