Typist: Bethany
As the students filed into a competitive obedience class Brychwyn, Wilhelm and I were taking at a local dog training studio, the teacher watched the humans haul in massive bags of training tools and joked "because if we didn't have all this stuff, we'd be terrible dog trainers." While it is true that some training tools are necessary to make training fun and successful, we don't really need all that much stuff. I admit that I jump to purchase every fabulous new positive reinforcement training tool available but in the end there is a lot of fun to be had with the boxes those tools are shipped in. That's right. One of the most fun and versatile training tools is a plain old cardboard box.
As the students filed into a competitive obedience class Brychwyn, Wilhelm and I were taking at a local dog training studio, the teacher watched the humans haul in massive bags of training tools and joked "because if we didn't have all this stuff, we'd be terrible dog trainers." While it is true that some training tools are necessary to make training fun and successful, we don't really need all that much stuff. I admit that I jump to purchase every fabulous new positive reinforcement training tool available but in the end there is a lot of fun to be had with the boxes those tools are shipped in. That's right. One of the most fun and versatile training tools is a plain old cardboard box.
Each dog shows off a box skill.
Eye-Click Coordination
When playing any training games, the trainer gets to work on improving their skills while having fun with the dog. Clicking on any interest in the cardboard box sounds easy but the trainer must time the click to be while the desired behavior is happening and not after. This is easier said than done. Yet games like 101 Things To Do With A Box improve trainer attention on the dog and clicker timing, otherwise known as eye-click coordination, without necessarily spoiling the dog learning a specific skill. It's a game! Have fun with it, allow mistakes to be made, by trainer and trainee, and learn from each error as well as every tiny triumph.
Shaping Patience
I am not a patient person by nature. I love the shaping* method of training. I believe the studies that have proven it is the most effective dog training method but I am not a patient person by nature. And shaping takes patience. A lot of patience. So any dog training game that improves my shaping patience is my favorite. There is something about the fun that my dogs and I have with a box that makes me more patient. Maybe it is that I don't usually have a specific skill we are trying to learn or goal to reach. Perhaps is that I didn't spend a lot of money on the box so I don't have any ego attached to making the prop work for us. Mostly I think it is that whenever I get out a box, the pets start to offer fun things that make me smile. When we are relaxed, having fun and being creative, the patience is just suddenly there.
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All of the pets have fun playing training games with cardboard boxes. The dogs, cat and cockatoo all offer their favorite tricks and I can easily shape new ones. The very best part is that I improve my clicker skills and gain patience in shaping. What's better than training games where humans learn new tricks or improve on old ones? Training games where the only prop needed is portable and free: a plain old cardboard box,
*The shaping method of training put simply is when a pet offers a desired behavior, the trainer marks, or clicks, and rewards, hence shaping the behavior wanted through positive reinforcement.This method allows pets to more completely learn a behavior because they learn it themselves through critical thinking as opposed to be shown how to do it.
How's your eye-clicker coordination? Have you ever tried shaping or do you have good patience while shaping? Please share in the comments.
| Have you ever played 101 Things To Do With A Box or used a box as a training tool? What are your favorite training games with a box? Next Monday, October 6th, for the Positive Pet Training Blog Hop, we'd like you to share your plain old cardboard box training stories. Of course, Any and all positive reinforcement based training posts and stories are always welcome. Join us! |  |
Just after completing this post I learned that the positive dog training community lost an amazing pioneer, Dr. Sophia Yin. I am at a bit of a loss of words over this so I'll just send you to her post on 101 Things To Do With A Box and shaping here, a lovely tribute by our friend Lauren at The Adventures of Zoe & Phoenix here and to Dr. Yin, a heart felt thank for all you did to better the lives of our magnificently intelligent best friends. May you rest in peace.
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