Competition Related
The sport of obedience.

Sites & Resources

• The Sport of Obedience, Obedience Regulations & Titles Descriptions (AKC)
• Obedience Advisory Recommendations (AKC)
• American Mixed Breed Obedience Registration (AMBOR)
• Titles/Awards/Certificates - explanation of abbreviations (Golden-Retriever.com)
• Bon-Clyde Obedience Forum - articles by M. Isenhour-Long
• UKC Info on the WWW from P. Kalbaugh.
• Training/Obedience Page (K9NetUK)
• Obedience Trials FAQ by C. T. Moore
• UKC FAQ by C. T. Moore
• What is Get An Obedience Title Really? (alternate, alternate, alternate) by S. Mowery (Front & Finish 7-97)
• AKC Titles & Their Meanings (Sahiela GSDs)
• Dog Obedience & Training from M. J. Sminkey
• Obedience Titles by M. O Thomas & M. Zucconi
• UKC
• MS Word Entry Form Templates by M. F. Vihonsky
• Dog Obedience Web Ring

Articles

• The Steward in Obedience (AKC)
• Stress in Training by J. Byron
• The Dumbbell Retrieve by A. M. Chaffin
• Articles by S. Clothier
  • Reliability & the Retrieve: Justifying the Ear Pinch
  • Dances With Dogs
  • Optimal Jump Height for Dog Obedience?
  • Of Hostages & Relationships
• Building Drive in Obedience by L. Collins
• Keri: An Obedience Boxer by M. Curl
• Hand Signals by J. Decker
• Get Your Dog's Attention! (DogScouts.com)
• Scent Discrimination (DogScouts.com)
• Obedience Command List for Beginners from Ed
• Obedience in Sweden by M. Elmlund
• Eye Contact in 5 Seconds (alternate) by A. Farley with A. Jones
• Shutzhund Obedience (GSD Infoline)
• Why do Border Collies Love Obedience by P. Gutjens
• Novice A Lessons by J. Jackson (who took her Novice A dog all the way to an OTCH)
• Adventures in Obedience Training (Anatolian Shepherds) by P. Kernan
• Obedience Regulation Changes by P. R. Krause
• Romancing The Cookie by L. Koutsky
• Training a Dog for Obedience Trials by R. Lawrence (online book)
• Articles for the Instructor by R. Lawrence
  • Understanding Non Verbal Signals
  • Dealing With Difficult Dogs
  • Dealing With Difficult Handlers
  • Developing a Lesson Plan
  • Making Obedience Fun for Handler & Dog
  • What Makes a Good Instructor
• Fundamentals of Obedience by M. Lerchbaumer
• Tips to Enhance Schutzhund Obedience - compiled by Linda
• Quick Fixes for Obedience Scores by C. May
• Advanced Obedience: Directed Jumping by C. May
• Obedience: For Fun & Profit! by N. McMillan
• Article About Obedience (Mountain View Ed. Center)
• Obedience Q&A from B. J. Oliver, MA
• IMPROV Obedience by L. Olsen (DogScouts.com)
• Practical Obedience Training by D. Panting
• Do You Know the Basic Steps? by G. Patterson
• AKC Pattern Diagrams & Commands for Novice, Open, & Utility (shows the words used by the judge & handler during a trial) from M. Plonsky, Ph.D.
• The Utmost in Willingness & Enjoyment by K. Price
• Heeling Dot Com by I. Quesnoy
• On Your Mark, Get Set Show (Part 2) by I. Quesnoy
• Obedience Articles by L. Richards
• Articles by/from M. J. Sminkey
  • Training Articles gathered from OBED-COMP
  • Training Articles gathered from the Sheltie-L
  • Obedience for Specific Breeds
• Importance of a Good Heeling Hound by C. Wallen (Tally-Ho May/June '96)
• Teach a Basset Hound to Retrieve by C. Wallen (Tally-Ho March/April '97)
• The Sport of Obedience by N. B. Woolf

Clicker Training
An animal training technique (&: for some a philosophy) with some basis in scientific learning theory.

Sites & Resources

• ClickerTrain.Com from C. Burmaster
• Clicker Animal Obedience Training - collection of links from K. Fowkes
• Clicker Trainers - list provided by M. Morgan
• Ask K. Pryor About Dogs (Nova)
• Clicker Training Webring

Articles

• From M. Alexander
  • Why I Clicker Train
  • Using the Clicker Correctly
  • Diary of a Chicken Trainer
  • Introductory Chicken Camp Class Notes
  • Five Myths of Clicker Training
  • Keys to Successful Clicker Training
  • Tips for Success
  • Two-fers & Three-fers
  • Clicking in a Traditional Class
• Who Uses Clicker Training from S. Braslau-Schneck, MA
• Clicker Training from S. Braslau-Schneck, MA
• How I Clicker Trained a Retrieve by V. Bregman
• From M. Breland-Bailey et al.
  • Behavior by M. Breland-Bailey & B. Bailey
  • The Misbehavior of Organisms by K. Breland & M. Breland (American Psychologist 1961)
• New Age Animal Training (Innovation or Marketing Strategy?) by D. Guerrero
• Clicker Lessons (Part 1), (Part 2) by M. S. Chong
• Keeper Pages from M. S. Chong
• What is Clicker Training? from ClickTrain.Com
• Clicker Training, Operant Conditioning, and Shaping (Dog Scouts.com)
• ClickTrain Keepers courtesy of H. Fairweather
• Stay Right There & Don't Move a Muscle by M. W. Ferentino's
• Clicker Training - Part 1 by S. Foley (Part 2)
• Click-L & ClickTrainer Abbreviations from D. M. Hrynkiw
• Dani Weinberg's Five Steps to Train a Behavior by D. Johnson
• Clicker Training: The Basicsby L. Michaels
• Clickin, Chickens by P. Miller
• From L. Mitchell (Click For Success)
  • Clicker FAQ & Q&A
  • Clicker Training: A Thinking Game For Dogs (alternate)
  • Clicker Training: As Easy As 1-2-3
• Clicker FAQ (Academy for Obedient Paws)
• Shaping your Dog's Reliable Retrieve with Clicker Training by L. Olson
• From K. Pryor (Don't Shoot the Dog)
  • Clicker Training for Dogs FAQ
  • The Magic Signal: Training Dogs Without Punishment
  • Clicking Miracles
• Clicker Training Tips by D. Richardson
• Click and Treat: A Softer, Gentler Way to a Well-behaved Dog or Cat or Bird or by E. Riley
• Clicker Training Basics by B. Rushman
• Clicker Training by J. K. Shaw
• Click-Teach Gems
• Intro to Clicker Training by E. TeSelle & J. Harrison
• Clicker Training for the Engineer by M. I. Tromp (draws an analogy between clicker training & engineering)
• Clickertraining by B. Uittenbogaard (in Dutch)
• Teaching the Retrieve by D. Weinberg
• From G. Wilkes (Click and Treat)
  • Click Start
  • Bare Bones Basics Clicker Tips
  • On Good Behavior
  • Clicker Training Frequently Questioned Answers
  • Target Stick Basics
  • Generalization & Discrimination: Fraternal Twins
  • Dancing (Teaching the Behavior Before Adding the Cue)
  • Articles in Front & Finish
    • Introduction to Clicker Training: What It Isn't
    • Information vs. Motivation: The Essence of the Clicker
    • Targeting: Your Second Most Important Tool
    • From "A" to "B": Clicker-Style "Go-Outs"
    • Targeting Continued: A Practical Application
    • Commands vs. Cues & Signals
    • Variable Reinforcement (Pt. 1)
    • R.E.A.L. Variable Reinforcement
    • A Logical Order of Training (Pt.1) & (Pt. 2)
    • Clicker Training & Aversive Control
    • Down/Stay: The Full Monte (Pt. 1)
• From Dolphins to Dogs: Click & Treat Training (a review) by N. B. Woolf

Learning Theory
Application of scientific theories to training.

• Ratios, Schedules: Why & When by B. & M. Bailey
• To Shape or Break Your Dog by Dr. E. Bailey
• An Animal Trainer's Introduction To Operant & Classical Conditioning by S. Braslau-Schneck, MA
• Operant Cnnditioning by J. Decker
• Positive About Punishment by M. Deeley
• A Beginner's Guide to Operant Conditioning by D. Johnson
• Reliability: Traditional vs. OC Training by D. Johnson
• Redirection vs. Desensitization by D. Johnson & M. Alexander
• Learning About Learning: The Great Box Experiment by D. Jones
• The Elimination of Confusion by D. Helm
• Behavioral Terminology by A. Kurland (presented in the context of horse training).
• Training Theory by R. Lawrence
• Use of Operant Conditioning in Dog Training (articles gathered from CLICK-L by K. Leung)
• Correcting Dogs: Punishment with Shake Cans & Squirt Guns by B. J. Oliver, MA
• Case for Motivational Methods by D. Palman (Dog Sports Magazine)
• Confusing Consequences: A Brief Introduction to Operant Conditioning by M. Plonsky, Ph.D.
• Punishment: Problems & Principles for Effective Use by M. Plonsky, Ph.D.
• Science & Dog Training (alternate) by M. Plonsky, Ph.D. (Malinois Handler '98)
• Why Not Use Punishment or Correction by B. Rushman
• When to Correct Your Dog in Training by G. E. G. Sharman
• Using Treats in Training Your Dog by M. Smith, DVM
• Positively Reinforcing! by E. TeSelle
• Sweet Rewards: Be Careful What you Reinforce by E. TeSelle
• Teaching a Retrieve Using Positive Reinforcement by E. TeSelle
• Reinforcement: The Key to Successful Dog Training by R. Tholen
• List of 40 +Rs that Can be Paired with the CR by S. White
• 101 Reinforcers (etc) by S. White
• You may also wish to examine Scientific Info which contains more general info about learning theories.

Electronic Collars
Electricity as a training aid?
This is a "hot" topic and thus I would like to make a few brief comments:

• I have found the e-collar to be a useful tool for training. I am particularly excited by recent advances in e-collar technology that permit greater flexibility in, as well as control over, the levels of stimulation used. Modern collars permit levels of stimulation that are below the threshold of what dogs (and people) can perceive. Thus, they also permit levels of stimulation that are perceptible, but not painful.
• While I am an advocate of e-collars, I see the use of food, play, verbal cues and praise, as well as the more traditional collars and leashes as more primary tools.
• Since e-collars can be easily misused and can quickly create serious problems, I highly recommend that anyone interested in their use seek a more experienced mentor before preceding (or, at a minimum, do a careful study of the subject).
• Lastly, e-collars can be used in different ways. Even though some of these ways may be effective, I find them morally unacceptable. Thus, I recommend that the mentor be chosen very carefully.

• Shock Collars: The Shocking Truth (APBC Press Release)
• Debunking Myths about Remote Training Collars by J. Arterburn with K. Benson (Innotek)
• Solving Common Behavior Problems by J. Arterburn with K. Benson (Innotek)
• The Electronic Collar by Sgt. L. Castle
• A series of articles first appearing in Front & Finish by J. Dobbs, P. Dobbs, & A. Woodyard.
  
  • Introduction To Remote Training
  • Fitting the Collar & Selecting the Intensity
  • The Correct Timing of Stimulation: Getting Started on Come to the Handler (the 1st Action)
  • Preventing Lagging; Adding Momentum to the Recall
  • Correcting During Exercises"Problem-Solving" with the First Action
  • More Problem-Solving Using the "First Action"
  • The "Second Action" - Leaving the Handler
  • The "Remote Send" Exercise
  • More on the Second Action: Directed Jumping Signals
  • Beginning the "Third Action" - the "Sit" Command
  • Correcting During the Sit-Stay
  • Proofing Against Moving During the "Stand"
  • Standing Up on Command
  • Using the Training Platform for "Down"
  • Using "Environmental Corrections" & Teaching a Dog Not to Run Around a Jump
  • Giving the Dual-Purpose Dog Unambiguous Signals
  • The Chronic Forger
  • Stopping on the "Fast"
  • Adding Speed to the Finish
  • More Platform Work: Reshaping the Finish Motion
• Basic Training by J. Arterburn with R. Dunn (Innotek)
• Electronic Training: Doing it the Right Way by G. Hickox
• Understanding The Rules of Punishment (Innotek)
• Comparison of Two Antibarking Collars by S. V. Juarbe-Diaz, DVM & K. A. Houpt, VMD
• Tri-Tronics Three-Action Intro. from Leerburg Video
• Remote Training & the Obedience Dog (Tritronics)
• Dealing with Canine Aggression by K. Walton with K. Benson (Innotek)
• Training Your Dog to Come with 'The Companion' by A. Woodyard