With SIT, we hope to shorten their stays

Sheila and I got to meet Reese during clicker-training orientation last Saturday. Kevin Simpson, our Director of Animal Behavior and Training, came across Reese through a Lab rescue group a couple of years ago. She had been an over-aggressive problem child, but thanks to Kevin, she's become the sweetest dog ever - not to mention a great teaching assistant for our Shelter In-House Training Program (SIT).

Kevin started SIT back in 2004. Over the past 3 years, a growing group of volunteers have learned to clicker-train rescued dogs for obedience, agility and other skills. The goal is to make them better candidates for adoption, as well as reduce stress by providing much-needed stimulation.

Clicker-training is a three-step method for human-animal communication. It works on not just dogs, but also elephants, cats (or so Kevin claims) and... goldfish. (The photo above is from Fish-School.com, a fish-training academy once featured in Wired Magazine.)

During the click-and-treat stage, the student learns to associate the clicker sound with a high-value reward. (Our shelter trainers use freshly microwaved hot dogs.) The instructor then begins marking the desired behavior (sitting down, for instance, or lifting a paw) with clicks. Verbal commands are introduced last, once the student starts soliciting clicks by performing the new skill.

The process sounds straightforward, but does take practice. Kevin explained that if "sit" isn't click-marked exactly when the student shifts her pose, she might associate the reward with a previous or subsequent movement, such as twitching her ears.

Another interesting challenge is guiding the student towards the desired behavior by breaking it down into tiny steps. For instance, "go upstairs" might start with a reward for glancing accidentally in the right direction. In fact, many impressive tricks start with the instructor click-marking starting points that weren't part of a planned lesson. (Here's Kevin at Walk for the Animals, where everyone loved his agility course!)

Michael (pictured at right with Lucy), a SIT trainer who's been in the program since early 2007, says all the shelter dogs he's worked with have been super fast learners. He's especially impressed with the way kennel neighbors pick up good behaviors from each other. This Wednesday will be my first day with SIT. I'll let you know how it goes!

PS - If you're interested in more info on SIT, please contact Kevin.

Comments

[Michelle Edmonson]

Why can't Eastern Oregon pick up alot of stray/loose dogs or cats?