Send us a text Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs and Sue McGuire of Sue McGuire Teaches Dogs join forces for the fourth season of the hugely successful, Learning About Dogs podcast. Season four features short, one subject podcast no longer than 10 minutes. Although try as we might, we are shooting for not much over five minutes. But one salient thought. In this episode, we ask, "What to learn, for both dog and person? " Courses: Self-directed, online with unlimited lifetime access. Build the L...
May 10, 2021•6 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Send us a text Learning. Is it a construct? An idea? We cannot do the learning for the dogs, we can only set up situations where learning happens. Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs and Sue McGuire of Sue McGuire Teaching Dogs , join forces for the fourth season of the hugely successful, Learning About Dogs podcast. Season four features short, one subject podcast no longer than 10 minutes. Although try as we might, we are shooting for not much over five minutes. But one salient thought. In this...
May 06, 2021•12 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Send us a text It's time to flip another concept on its head--the whole idea that the dog MUST pay attention when you say their name before you start training. Nagging? Or would you rather consider reward approach a better plan? Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs and Sue McGuire of Sue McGuire Teaching Dogs, join forces for the fourth season of the hugely successful, Learning About Dogs podcast. Season four features short, one subject podcast no longer than 10 minutes. Although try as we might,...
May 03, 2021•6 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Send us a text Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs and Sue McGuire of Plays with Dogs , join forces for the fourth season of the hugely successful, Learning About Dogs podcast. Season four features short, one subject podcast no longer than 10 minutes. Although try as we might, we are shooting for not much over five minutes. But one salient thought. In this episode, we ask, "What is this obsession over the term-proofing? " Courses: Self-directed, online with unlimited lifetime access. Build the L...
Apr 29, 2021•12 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Send us a text The Learning About Dogs podcast is your main source for all these dogs, teaching dogs, understanding dogs, and living with dogs. Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs and Sue McGuire of Sue McGuire Teaching Dogs , join together to continue the promotion of teaching that which benefits dogs. But how and when, methods, concepts and plans to teach dogs and guide their learning, is what these podcasts are all about. Season 4 introduces the concept of one thought per podcast. Short and t...
Apr 26, 2021•7 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Send us a text Markers are an integral part of the communication process when we are interacting with our learners. Whether you choose to use a clicker or not, the whole process behind "marker training" needs a close examination. Hanging your training psyche on the use of a clicker may not be the best use of your time. Especially if you are just starting out. On this, the final episode of Season 3 of the Learning about Dogs podcast, Kay Laurence and Sue McGuire challenge the use of a single tool...
Oct 07, 2020•39 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Send us a text Do we want habits or active learning? Probably both but there is a clear distinction between them which is dependent on the value of the reward, to the dog of course. On this episode of podcast, Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs and TAKL graduate and host Sue McGuire talk about the advantages and drawbacks of teaching behaviors to the habit level and when do you want active learning. Season 3 of the " Learning about Dogs " podcast is about rewards and reward skill. Article: Shap...
Sep 23, 2020•40 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Send us a text On this episode of the podcast, we do a little introduction of a new term that is so much BIGGER than a cue. What are cues anyway? Sue McGuire and Kay Laurence of " Learning About Dogs ," introduce you to our new friend--REWARD PREDICTING STIMULUS. Season 3 of the " Learning about Dogs " podcast is about rewards and reward skill. Article: Shaping by Rewards Reward Skills Course The more we explore and blend the theory, biology and application it is clear that this is not a simple ...
Sep 09, 2020•45 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Send us a text What is the point of learning? "When that brand new brain gets into motion it is going to have to find out how to secure the rewards needed for life, and once that is achieved set about finding the very best rewards, and lots of them. On a daily, minute by minute basis." In this episode of the "Learning About Dogs," Sue McGuire and Kay Laurence of " Learning About Dogs ," talk about how the mind-blowing experience of having a peak of the season peach from California cemented under...
Aug 26, 2020•41 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Send us a text In the early days of using positive reinforcement and clicker training, the delivery of that reinforcer, (reward), was not part of the consideration. The format of the research experiments favoured a mechanical magazine to deliberately remove any variables that human delivery would include. When people become the mechanism of delivery we have to consider the variable elements that effect of the reinforcer, or reward. Sadly “mechanical delivery” and the mechanical skills are still ...
Aug 12, 2020•45 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Send us a text ALWAYS REMEMBER: REWARDS ARE DEFINED BY THE BEHAVIOURAL REACTIONS THEY INDUCE. It is the individual that decides if it is rewarding or not. What are rewards? We are in Season 3 of the " Learning about Dogs " podcast. Kay Laurence of " Learning About Dogs ," and Sue McGuire, host/producer, are calling this our "A Season of Rewards," because that is exactly what we are diving into this year. Living a reward centered life with our dogs. But first we must explore, "What are rewards?" ...
Jul 29, 2020•51 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Send us a text “ REWARDS ARE NOT DEFINED BY THEIR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES BUT BY THE BEHAVIOURAL REACTION THEY INDUCE.” Welcome to our "Season of Rewards" on the Learning about Dogs podcast with Kay Laurence and Sue McGuire. This third season of the podcast is all about living a "reward centered life" with our dogs. What do we mean by that? Take a read of Kay's blog Shaping by Rewards. Reward Skills Course The more we explore and blend the theory, biology and application it is clear that this is not...
Jul 15, 2020•42 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Send us a text " Having discovered this world of rewards and reinforcement I protectively wrap my dogs’ learning with an envelope of reward probabilities. This is where I begin," says Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs . And this is where we begin this season's journey. We are dog trainers, who must make the conscious and scientifically appropriate decision, to lead a reward-centered life with our dogs. Sue McGuire, producer of the podcast, a TAKL graduate, and Kay Laurence of Learning about Do...
Jul 01, 2020•34 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Send us a text Living with multiple dogs can be fun and challenging. It comes with a demand to develop a great deal of observation skills to make sure your group is working for the dogs as individuals, and their life with you. How many is too many dogs? What breeds and what sex combinations? It depends. Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs and Sue McGuire a TAKL graduate and manager of a canine behavior program at an animal shelter near San Francisco talk not about one dog but multiple dogs. Lear...
Jun 10, 2020•31 min
Send us a text Menomics can be handy when it comes to finding a quick and simple way to remember a spelling or phrase. But using these devices does require us to decide if they actually help learning or hinder it. In dog training, we have a few of these devices that require much more consideration before accepting them as valid. The three Ds. Duration-distance-distraction. There are some who even add a fourth "D," difficulty. On this episode of Learning About Dogs, Kay Laurence and Sue McGuire d...
May 27, 2020•38 min
Send us a text When a dog "generalizes" a behavior, it means they can do the behavior under a wide variety of conditions. But a dog being able to do that has very much to do with how we originally taught the behavior. On this episode of Learning About Dogs, Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs, and Sue McGuire, a canine behavior program manager at a humane society near San Francisco discuss the concept of generalization. For more information: Learning About Dogs website. Become a member and gain ...
May 13, 2020•36 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Send us a text One must be careful about using terminology we hear at seminars or read in books and apply to our training. Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs and co-host Sue McGuire love tackling these habits of trainers applying a label to something they think they are seeing, when what might be happening, is not really happening. What? We chat about the concept of learned helplessness. We're not saying this does not exit in certain histories. Might this actually be a lack of having taught the...
Apr 29, 2020•41 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Send us a text Not all online learning is created equal. The sudden move to online learning for many disciplines, not just dog training, has been astounding. On this special bonus episode of the "Learning About Dogs" podcast, Kay Laurence and Sue McGuire attempt to provide a bit of a tutorial for students who want to know how to separate the good, from the not so good, to the downright hucksters out there. Kay Laurence Blogpost: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff Online courses of good quality:...
Apr 20, 2020•37 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Send us a text Errors are feedback. Set the dog up for success. Develop the skill to know what to change in a teaching set up, and when. Teach the prerequisite skills--even the rats and pigeons in the boxes were provided that information. Emotions underly all learning. There is much to chat about on the concept of "errorless learning" in dog training. On this episode of the Learning About Dogs podcast, Kay Laurence of " Learning About Dogs ," and Sue McGuire, a TAKL (Trainer Accredited by Kay La...
Apr 15, 2020•43 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Send us a text Dogs are aware of our every move and have decided which ones are relevant to them and which are of little consequences. This is so apparent when we use our hands, be it, living our daily lives with them, or participating in a training sessions. When puppies come to us, this is when we should be teaching what hands mean. Hands are always a sign of welcome.... In this episode of Learning About Dogs Podcast, Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs and Sue McGuire, a TAKL graduate and man...
Apr 01, 2020•38 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Send us a text Almost 20 years ago, Kay Laurence developed a game to teach communication skills and learning concepts to students. Over the years, Gen Abacab has been used in universities, schools and seminars for human and dog training, and on ships in the middle of the Caribbean. Just as doing a task is not the same as learning a task, experiencing the learning process is not the same as observing the learning process. Experiencing and learning skills of puzzle solving are unique to each indiv...
Mar 18, 2020•45 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Send us a text What is the best way to learn about dog training? In person working seminars or auditing one? How about a webinar, a conference, or a lecture? How about online courses? There are many ways to add to your knowledge base about dogs and training, but not all are created equal. On this episode of the Learning About Dogs podcast, Kay Laurence and Sue McGuire debate the good and the not so great about different ways to learn. We want you know of some new courses coming up from Learning ...
Mar 04, 2020•43 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Send us a text What are we to our dogs? Teacher? Trainer? Instructor? Coach? Parent? On this episode of Learning About Dogs , Kay Laurence and Sue McGuire go through the labels we give ourselves and what others apply to those of us who work with dogs. If you share your life with a dog, then you are a dog trainer. “ What is a Trainer? ” “Extremely fine skills in a very specific specialty.” Is that maybe the correct description for a trainer? We want you know of some new courses coming up from Lea...
Feb 19, 2020•40 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Send us a text On this episode of the Learning About Dogs podcast, we questions from listeners We have a Facebook group, " Whilst I was listening to your podcast, " where listeners can pose questions and ask for clarification on discussion topics heard on the podcast. We pulled some of these inquiries and are answering them in this episode. Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs and Sue McGuire, teacher of "The Art of Teaching Dogs," always have questions after an educational adventure. One should ...
Feb 12, 2020•47 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Send us a text We're not quite sure why dog training turned into an exercise of "must be fun" or "must be entertaining" in order to be of "value." In this first episode of season two of the " Learning About Dogs" podcast , Kay Laurence of " Learning About Dogs ," and Sue McGuire discuss what is a behavior and what is a trick? Is there a difference? We have all seen the marketing. Tricks for fun! Agility for fun! How is the dog to know if what is being taught is for fun? The labels we use for hum...
Jan 29, 2020•55 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Send us a text Giving a cue and responding to a cue is a conversation where questions are asked answered. We give cues and the dog can answer, dog will also give us cues and we need to listen. This edited BONUS version of the Cue Technology episode is a must listen. Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs , as usual, has a unique and fascinating approach to the technology of cues. Not to be missed is a course on Cue Technology that she is offering through Learning About Dogs. The six-week, online co...
Aug 27, 2019•10 min
Send us a text Connection is about being aware of each other. There is a way to find comfort and pleasure in walks for both parties. To become a Master Dog Walker, you will need to develop skills to achieve success. Every Dog Every Day from Learning About Dogs. You can assess the right environment. Respond to changes in the environment. Walk at the right speed for you and your dog. Alter the length of the lead according to demands the situation. Set boundaries--gently. Know what reconnection loo...
Jul 24, 2019•45 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Send us a text "Too often the focus of luring is about 'getting the behavior' and not enough about the process of teaching or the learning process.If we focus on the process of learning, that will have an impact on every behavior the dog learns," says Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs. Read the full article here. In this episode, Kay Laurence and Sue McGuire discuss what skills the handlers should have and understand as part of the process of teaching. Teach the skills of teaching. Are you int...
Jul 17, 2019•43 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Send us a text Connection is our base behavior. It is where learning begins. What are base behaviors and why go through the process of teaching them? "It’s about teaching the dog to move to the platform as a choice, or to move the foot as a choice, or to lower their head as a choice, not necessarily about where they just got the reinforcer. The base position becomes a place where the dog chooses to go to, when they are not sure what to do," says Kay Laurence of Learning About Dogs. In this episo...
Jul 10, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Send us a text Click - shove Click - shove Click - shove How many of us have heard that in order for understanding to happen when clicking and reinforcing behavior, the “treat” must be delivered within three seconds of the click? That training protocol was to prevent any other behavior from sneaking in between the click and the reinforcer. Boy is that looking at the process too narrowly. Learning fast does not mean learning well. In this episode Kay Laurence and Sue McGuire dive into the three s...
Jul 03, 2019•17 min•Season 1Ep. 18
