Author Archives: eileenanddogs

About eileenanddogs

Passionate amateur dog trainer, writer, and learning theory geek. Eileen Anderson on Google+

Stimulus Control, Or Why Are There Seven Shoes on the Table?

Posted on January 31, 2019 by eileenanddogs

This is an update of a post published on December 16, 2013. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not very good at stimulus control. I’ve included in this post a great video from when Clara was younger that demonstrates that embarrassingly … Continue reading →

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Posted in Cues, Dog Training, Terminology | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

The “Invention” of Cues in Training

Posted on October 2, 2018 by eileenanddogs

Once upon a time, there was a girl who decided to teach her dog some tricks. She figured out that if she gave her dog something he liked after he did something she liked, he was liable to do the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Cues, Dog Training, Operant conditioning, Positive Reinforcement | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Herrnstein’s Matching Law and Reinforcement Schedules

Posted on June 14, 2018 by eileenanddogs

  Have you heard trainers talking about the matching law? This post covers a bit of its history and the nuts and bolts of what it is about. I am providing this rather technical article because I want something to link to … Continue reading →

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Posted in Behavior Science, Operant conditioning, Reinforcement, Research | Tagged , | 4 Comments

It’s Not Painful. It’s Not Scary. It Just Gets the Dog’s Attention!

Posted on January 4, 2018 by eileenanddogs

This is the short version of this post. Here is the longer version. Some dog trainers who use tools such as shock, prong, or choke collars, or startle the dog with thrown objects or loud noises, claim that these things are … Continue reading →

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Posted in Cues, Human and dog misunderstandings, Operant conditioning, Punishment culture, Reinforcement, Terminology | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Tricks for Frozen Dog Treats

Posted on October 9, 2015 by eileenanddogs

I am all about efficiency. You could also say I’m lazy. Also, my freezer is usually stuffed full. So rather than freeze whole filled food toys for three dogs, I use several gadgets that let me freeze things separately. Then I … Continue reading →

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Posted in Enrichment, Food reinforcers, Treats | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

What is Summer Saying? Observing a Bark

Posted on January 27, 2015 by eileenanddogs

When I filmed Summer barking using the slow motion function of my video camera, I was mostly curious in an analytical sort of way. What could I see when I slowed everything down? I didn’t realize that I would find the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Aggression, Dog body language | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Fooled by the Foobler? A Review

Posted on December 15, 2014 by eileenanddogs

If you have a small dog with little experience with food toys and who is not prone to chewing hard plastic, the new toy called the Foobler might be the very thing for him. If you have a larger dog, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Review | Tagged , | 35 Comments

How My Dogs Play

Posted on November 26, 2014 by eileenanddogs

Here’s an “Almost Wordless Wednesday” for you. Just a short movie showing Clara and Zani playing. Even wholesome dog playing can be scary to people who aren’t familiar with it. Dogs growl, snarl, and mouth each other so fast and … Continue reading →

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Posted in Dog body language | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

“Testing Through” the Levels

Posted on November 24, 2014 by eileenanddogs

The whole post in three words: Don’t do it. Start at the beginning. I’ve mentioned before that I use Sue Ailsby’s Training Levels as a guide for training my dogs. The Levels comprise an organized method for teaching your dog. The … Continue reading →

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Posted in Dog Training | Tagged | 15 Comments

I’d Like to Thank the Academy

Posted on November 22, 2014 by eileenanddogs

I got wonderful news earlier this week: I was nominated for and won an award from The Academy for Dog Trainers. The Academy has yearly awards that are mostly in-house, but this year they decided to include a category for work … Continue reading →

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Posted in News | Tagged | 49 Comments