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Cues and Cueing

The Poisoned Cue: Positive and Negative Discriminative Stimuli

By Karen Pryor on 06/25/2002

Why clicking and correction don't mix.

Behavior analysts refer to a learned stimulus that triggers an operant behavior as a 'discriminative stimulus.' The behaviorists do not, as far as I know, differentiate between a discriminative stimulus that was trained through positive reinforcement and one that was trained through negative reinforcement.

What to Do When Your Dog Loses His Cue: Training Outdoors with Distractions

By Christina Waggoner on 04/01/2012

Please come

“He only does what I ask when he wants to. It’s really hit or miss.”

How to Teach Your Dog Left and Right

By Aidan Bindoff on 03/01/2012

This is a fun exercise that is handier than it seems at first. You'll set up two targets at a distance, and teach your dog to go to either target—left or right—on cue. Later, you will set up similar exercises to bring more general meaning to the cues "left" or "right."

A dog that understands "left" and "right" has a terrific skill for many competition venues including agility, herding, mushing, water dog, and retrieving. This understanding would also be handy walking on trails—and service dog owners could think of a dozen or more applications for "left" and "right."

Teaching "Off" with Positive Reinforcement

By Joan Orr on 11/01/2011

Self control is one of the most critical skills a dog needs to learn, and it is a skill that is required multiple times a day. Dogs are expected to refrain from picking up something forbidden when it appears within reach. Some examples that come to mind include: dropped medication, chicken bones, the hamster, dead birds, Granny's hearing aid, Susie's favorite stuffed toy, the last remaining baby soother...

What Makes a Reward Rewarding?

By Kay Laurence on 10/01/2011

"Reward your dog." We've heard this many, many times in many formats. It takes a lot of experience to get the best from a reward—where the reward delivers everything the dog needs in order to offer the behavior again and again, with passion.