Utah Collie Rescue, Inc.

What is PR you may ask? PR is short for Positive Reinforcement. Positive Reinforcement training is sweeping the country, and it’s been a long time in coming, too. Instead of painful leash pops, ear pinches, hitting or slapping, Positive Reinforcement is focused entirely on getting a dog to do what you what in a positive, happy, playful way.

This type of training is much more pleasant for both the dog and the trainer. One excellent way to do this type of training is to incorporate clicker training into your repertoire of training skills. Clicker training is very precise, and it marks exactly what you want to do, when the dog does it. Dogs sometimes get confused when you reward a behavior if you are not very precise as to what you are rewarding. Clicker training allows you to ‘mark’, with the clicker, the exact thing the dog is doing. And that click signals the dog that the behavior is what is desired, and that they will get a treat only a second or two thereafter.

Marking doesn’t only work with dogs. It also works with dolphins and other sea mammal training. As well as horses and cats. Yes, cats! Clicker training is a great way to train cats because they, well, they can be a bit stubborn and they only do what they know gets them what they want.

Collies are a very sensitive breed of dog. Using correction training on a collie will only get you a very sad, very scared collie. They need a soft hand and a soft voice, and a lot of encouragement, praise, and reward.

If you are interested in Clicker Training, please visit www.clickertraining.com/ for more information!