Discover Top Posts Tagged with #creetchur

the screenshot folder on my phone is a collection of absurd dog faces and I highly recommend starting your own collection it is a gold mine of free endorphins.

#this lives in my phone rent free #creetchur #pokipi

Little gingi :]

#creetchur #phonegingi dialtown #dialtown #phonegingi #my doodle #on lined paper and everything 😭

weird owl bat creetchur thing ft really sloppy Rise Donnie and ferret thing because that spot felt too empty lol

How many creetchurs do I have? A lot. How many have I actually drawn? ...3. Does this thing have back legs? Pfft, I have no idea. Is my handwriting bad? yes.

does anyone care about this? Pfft. No. What do you think I am? Popular?

Harper

#my doodles #creetchur #hollow knight #forest spirit #got nothing to say #found her while doodling stagway masters #looks very hk but is not necessarily hk

#art #my art #polymer clay #polymer sculpture #sculpey #sculpture #fantasy #fantasy creature #dragon #figurine #artists on tumblr #polymerart #polymercreations #I haven’t been drawing but I made this #creetchur

Imma talk about dog training and behavior for a sec. Hope the dogblr bus doesn't run me over.

I wanna talk about NRMs, or, No Reward Markers. For those who do not know what a marker is, it is basically a cue that communicates to a dog the moment they get something right, or wrong. Clickers are the most well known markers. Some people, myself included, use a different marker for different reward placements and also to signify what type of reward the dog can expect. "Yes" is the marker I use when I want the dog to come and collect a food reward from my hand. "Good" is what I use when I am delivering the reward to the dog's mouth. Etcetera and so on.

No Reward Markers can be used to signify to the dog that the behavior they have just offered will not yield any reward. I most often use "Cheater" in agility for missed weave poles and missed contacts. It marks the exact moment the mistake was made and also that the dog should start over. "No" is a word that means the behavior they are doing will not yield any reward and they should stop and try something different. They are different in that "cheater" asks to start the same behavior over again whereas "no" communicates that they should switch tactics because there is opportunity for reward but rewards will not be accessible with that behavior.

Now, with that being said, I do not use them for all dogs or in all contexts. Some argue that they squash drive and motivation and I agree that they can if not carefully considered and used correctly for the dog that you are training. They have their place. Wally has never heard a NRM in agility and he never will. But when we shape behaviors for tricks at home he might hear "no" if he's continually offering the same incorrect behavior. For example, he lives by the assumption that is offered any object he should put all his mantis sticks in or on it. Which is cute, but he gets very frustrated very fast if I just ignore it and wait for him to do something closer to what I'm after. If I give him a "no" he will immediately switch tactics. And in that case, I would argue that it's more humane to give him the information that prevents the frustration in the first place.

Now, using NRMs when teaching a skill is one thing, but it turns into a whole other beast when we start talking about applying it to behavior modification sessions and exercises. This is where we're at a much higher risk of increasing frustration rather than helping the dog understand what is expected. This is because when we're applying any behavior modification tactic the dog is likely already under some stress and we need to hold their hands and help them switch tactics, rather than expecting them to be able to problem solve through their stress. This is especially true when they have not yet mastered the skill expected of them in outside contexts and/or when we move too quickly through a desensitization/remedial exposure& socialization plan.

And, the real reason I started this post. Story time!

Yesterday we realized our furnace died when we tried to turn on the heat and nothing happened. Today we are having a new one installed. Normally, for contractors, I just put all the dogs away somewhere that they won't be in the way. Especially since contractors are often punching holes in the house and doing other things that can be Very Concerning To Dogs. But Poki made it loud and clear that she was not happy to be excluded and because we're hoping she's with potatoes, I decided the least stressful thing for her would be a settle session with high value rewards. We put the TV on for some background noise and grabbed her leash. At first, contractors leaving/coming through the front door earned a BROOOOF ( as they should ) and I was luring her with the treats back into her down. I decided this was not too difficult for her because she was easily redirected and it never progressed beyond one boof. After the first hour or so, she would hear a contractor going up/down the stairs and they earned a broof only 50-60% of the time. At that point, I decided to try the NRM "no" since she wasn't showing significant signs of stress. And within 20 minutes (or about 4 contractors passes) contractors appearing on stairs only earned a glance and then a look to me. We are now sitting on the sofa, definitely had her dinner for brunch in my lap 🤣 and watching as they go up and down to and from the front door, earning tidbits for keeping quiet, holding her down, and checking in with me instead of broofing.

In summary, we started by spelling out what we wanted her to do and started off with a ridiculously high rate of reinforcement. Every little noise was cookie city and broofs were redirected. When it was clear she wasn't committed to the broofs, we let her know that those would not work and waited for her to offer the down and look instead. And now we're here, about a snack every 5 minutes, watching ocean documentaries and very satisfied with the amount of chicken and beef nibs we had for brunch.

Would this work for every dog? No. Do I think everyone should go try it right now? Also no. But I think its important to always work on expanding your toolbox and most importantly, to understand what every tool is for.