This message is from: Gail Russell <g...@zeliga.com>
Congratulations on venturing into the world of clicker training. As you found out, mugging behavior can (and must) be trained away. IT is easy to get them to stop grabbing for treats, and is about the third thing you should teach with the clicker (the first things being to "charge the clicker" and to touch a target). Actually, what you are really doing is teaching the horse that "mugging" by grabbing for the treat or crowding does not work, but that "mugging" by trying out different behaviors to see what earns him a treat is acceptable. It is true that the enthusiasm generated by the clicker and treat can get out of hand and you do have to make sure you are giving the horse tasks that are broken down far enough that he can "get it" without trying all kinds of wild behaviors and just getting frustrated. The treat does not have to be present all the time, but that is a lesson I need more work on myself before I can properly explain it. I believe "variable reinforcement" is the key. If I ever get my accounting finished, I will try to post more on that. OR, maybe someone else can talk about it??? Gail This message is from: Toni <toekn...@verizon.net> Very interesting thread about training. I was dead set against clicker training at one time. I believed if an untrained person used it, that's most of us, the horse would precieve that we were giving away our resources (food) to him Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
