How to master your animal training skills - [practising mechanics]
We are hoping that you [the reader of this post] are doing great and that the content we are putting out from Animal Training Academy is assisting you with your personal Animal Training & Behaviour skills.
This post is about the value of practising your mechanics before you are in front of your animal.
Mechanics = all the physical movements you require during a training session [see the examples below].
I feel like watching someone do something [i.e. the mechanical behaviours involved in training an animal] &/or having it explained to you with words – is very different from actually doing it yourself. So consequently, practising mechanics by oneself [or with a human peer] is something I do a lot!
To help demonstrate how you might practice mechanics, I have included some video examples below:
In these videos, we had been training Finn-dog to have his face groomed. We had been practising with two people. But it came time to fade me out and have Helen [Finn’s owner] do the training on her own [Video 1]…
Next, I practised how it would feel to do this by myself before pretending to be Finn and having Helen practice the mechanics first with me & then with Finn. See below [Video 2]:
We then added the grooming tools and added this to Helen’s mechanical repertoire [Video 3]:
The next step/approximation after this will be for Helen to consider what to do if Finn offers something other than a chin rest? And then, we will also get Helen to practice the mechanical skills required in this situation!
What about you? – Are you looking to boost your training skills and get help when you hit a rough spot in your training [i.e. when you are not sure how to get the behaviour you want and/or if you are up for your challenging training task ahead]?
We appreciate these rough spots can sometimes make us feel alone and lost! And we don’t want anyone feeling like this because we need positive reinforcement trainers [like you] so much! Therefore back in 2015, we created the Animal Training Academy to help trainers build their skills, give them confidence and build a community full of positive reinforcement change makers! And our members are LOVING it, for example, Josefin Linderstrom;
We are super excited to be able to answer all of your questions soon as well!
You can be the first to know when we re-open our membership doors [during our limited enrolment periods] by following the instructions below;
- Click the following link >>> www.atamember.com
- Add your email address to join the waitlist
- Check your email for confirmation!
We look forward to seeing you on the inside Soon!
Best Regards
Ryan Cartlidge
Animal Training Academy