LIVER CAKE RECIPE.
A highly nutritious training treat made from human quality ingredients.
1 lb Liver [preferably Lambs]
1 lb Flaked oats
2 Eggs
2 Cloves Garlic/ or 2 tsps garlic puree.
2 Cups of water

Put half the ingredients into a blender until the mixture is smooth, repeat procedure and Pour into greased 12-inch square baking tin and place in the oven [Gas Mark 4] for around 30-40 minutes.
Leave to cool and cut into bite size pieces. (1/4-inch Square)
It can be frozen into individual bags [enough for a couple of weeks of training]

Kindly sent in by Pat Elliott who owns missy a Battersea dog.

Tuna flapjack training treat recipe.

Using all human ingredients..
5oz canned tuna
5oz milled oats (rolled oats? What I would eat for breakfast oats)
2 tablespoons cottage cheese.
Half an apple, grated – any red version, green too sharp, usually
Half a large carrot, grated
Spices from the spice rack – ground ginger, ground garlic, Mediterranean herbs – a good sprinkling of each (teaspoon- ish) half pint of water

Instructions: put them all in a big bowl and mix thoroughly, for about a minute.
Then tip the mass onto a 12in square baking sheet, lined with kitchen foil (greased). Use the back of a spoon and spread the mix all over the baking tray. It should cover the whole thing. These will be thin treats, not like big chewy bars! Cook in top of oven for 20 minutes at 392 degrees F. Top should be golden brown.

When cooked leave to cool, then cut into one-quarter inch squares. These treats flex, they are not solid.

I have tried them in the freezer, they do freeze, and once left for a good while to defrost, Missy was just as interested in them!
I have also changed the tuna for minced chicken, and for salmon. The salmon isn’t quite as popular.

www.clickerzoneuk.co.uk    Stephen G King 020 8590 3604

Never miss a click™

Never miss a click™
Unveiled to dog owners and trainers across the globe is a new training tool researched and designed by Stephen G. King.

Cutting edge technology, engineering and construction is behind the new EasyClick™ clicker training device. The ergonomic design combined with the latest research used to TRAIN ‘good’ behaviour means this product is set to find its way into dog owners’ pockets around the world!

Until now, the basic clicker design has remained simple and rather basic. However, times are changing for clicker training. The ‘clicker’ has taken a giant leap forward with the launch of the neat, clever EasyClick™ clicker.
A great deal of research is behind this new product resulting in an ergonomic shape that is compact, easy to use and comfortable to hold.  The raised button on the clicker makes it easy to find and press. It allows you to click every time, with little effort – even with gloves on. There is no need to fumble for that little opening and then finding that it is the wrong end, which so often happened with the old style clicker!
Over the last fifteen years clicker training has made a phenomenal impact, thousands
of dogs are now benefiting from this kind and effective positive reward training. Any practicing trainer will tell you, under correct guidance, a dog will think clicker training is the best thing since sliced bread! And, the introduction of the new EasyClick™ clicker can only enhance clicker training even future.

EasyClicker™ retails at an affordable price of £1.99 and is distributed by Crosskeys Pet Products. The Whizzclick™ also used alongside the company’s simple, durable and easy to read Clicker Cue Cards will help solve the BIG 6 problem behaviours. ‘Pulling on the Lead’, ‘Selective Deafness’, ‘Jumping-Up’, ‘Chewing/Destructive Behaviour’, ‘House Soiling’ and ‘Playbiting’ – the complete workout! Books produced by Stephen G King include Ready Steady Click and the Ready Steady Click Workbook.
Crosskeys distribute a comprehensive range of training aids, books and DVD’S.
Sales enquires should be directed towards Crosskeys Pet Products on 020 8590 3604
Email: steve@crosskeysbooks.com or visit www.crosskeysbooks.com

END

For further information on this release contact either

Stephen G King
Crosskeys Pet Products
Collier Row Road
Romford, Essex
RM5 2BH

phone 020 8590 3604
email :  steve@crosskeysbooks.com

Because the dog offers these behaviours freely and at will, once learned, he will remember and understand them more easily. Using targets such as a target touch stick, your hand, plastic lid or a square piece of card are used just as a means to and end. It is an easy behaviour to teach any age of dog, that by touching your chosen object with his nose he will earn a Click & Treat. To begin teaching targeting you will need your clicker, a target and some treats.

Target Stick

Target Touch Stick
A Target Touch Stick (TTS) can be a piece of dowel rod, wooden spoon, tracking pole (without the spike), or you can buy a target stick steel telescopic rods for easy carrying from: Crosskeys Select Books. Make sure that the end the dog touches has a contrasting colour. This can easily be accomplished by putting some coloured tape around the end of the stick. The length of the stick depends on the size of your dog and the types of behaviours that you want to teach. I use a fold up version of about 2 feet and have also a 4 feet collapsible version. It is best to start practising holding the stick and clicker in the same hand.

I am right handed so I hold the clicker between my thumb and forefinger of that hand, then place the TTS in between my remaining three fingers. It feels a little bit awkward at first but it is not impossible and allows me to use my left hand to deliver the treat. Now rotate your wrist so that the TTS is pointing straight down, as if you where stirring a pot of porridge.

Our target behaviour is to shape your dog to touch the TTS with his nose. Hold the TTS slightly above the dog?s nose and a little to one side, a few inches away. Now keep perfectly still and wait, if he glances at it C/T. Many dogs will naturally investigate new objects and sniff them, so as your dog investigates by sniffing the TTS, or as his nose touches or nearly touches the tip of the TTS, C/T. Make sure you capture this just as it happens. If your dog totally ignores it, put some peanut butter on the tip, and as your dog goes to sniff/lick it, C/T. The peanut butter serves as a treat. Once your dogs interest in the TTS has increased move the TTS to the other side of your dogs nose and repeat procedure at least five times. When raising criteria, always wait for something more to happen, such as the dog moving a step or two to touch the TTS. Now move the TTS a little further away and as your dog moves towards it C/T. Have the dog following the TTS from left to right for a C/T. Repeat behaviour from right to left, C/T. Now move the TTS from left to right, back to left for a C/T.

Place the TTS close to the dog again and C/T touches to the left, to the right, above his nose and then to the floor. Settle for small movements and try to make it easy for the dog at first.

When the dog is eagerly touching and following the TTS, Do NOT C/T every touch, C/T only every second, third or fourth touch. Omit reinforcement for touches that are grabs with open mouth or bites, C/T only the behaviour that is on target, faster touches and longer follow through. Every shaping session is a unique experience, what you do depends on the response from your dog.

Work on shaping the touch behaviour at least two sessions a day (5 minutes at most) within a week the dog should understand the concept. It is most important that the dog is able to reliably touch the TTS every time he sees it.

Once this has been achieved you are ready to add the cue word “touch” right before he touches. Repeat shaping procedure using the cue word “touch”. Teach “touch” 30 to 50 times until you are getting a reliable response when giving the cue. Then increase the criteria by only reinforcing the better touches and longer follow through, using the cue. Remember that to get true reliability we need to teach that in the absence of the cue the behaviour must be extinguished, i.e. only reinforce the behaviour when you have given the cue. Now your dog has mastered this learning you are able to see how useful just this small behaviour could be. If the dog is reliably following your target we have a way of manipulating, or getting the dog to move without even having to touch him.

Practical – Prompting, transferring the stimulus control?
An easy behaviour: SPIN.
When training any behaviour it is always a good idea to visualise the whole behaviour and try and break it down into small pieces. I always think of an orange with all those juicy segments. Just think of shaping, as an orange and train one segment at a time.

Start with the dog standing in front of you. Hold the TTS at nose height (if you hold the TTS at nose level and gently move the TTS just above and behind your dog?s head, nice and slowly, he will probably follow the TTS and sit). Move the TTS very slowly to one side (1 segment) and give the cue “touch”. C/T any head movement in that direction.

Repeat instructions and over time increase the level of movement to (2 segments). Increase very slowly to a left of a spin, C/T, then a right of the behaviour. C/T. Gradually increasing the behaviour until you have used the TTS to lead your dog into a tight circle, C/T. Once you can establish that the behaviour will occur when you say “touch” we are then now ready to change the cue, to “SPIN”.

Changing or adding cues is a fairly simple process. Just remember that you need to give the NEW cue first then add the old cue. Over time your dog will perform the behaviour on just the new cue alone. So we need to change the cue from “TOUCH” to “SPIN”. Remind your dog shaping the behaviour a couple of times with the cue “touch” = behaviour = C/T. Now we are ready to give the new cue, the sequence goes:
Spin’ = touch = behaviour = C/T. Over time you can fade out the touch cue as the dog now performs on the spin cue.

Now teach the reverse spin, you shape the behaviour in the opposite direction. Most dogs have a preferred direction to turn, you may find this a little bit harder for your dog if this is his non-preferred side. How do you test which is the preferred side? Easy just throw a ball 10 times and watches how the dog turns counting the times it happens on each side.

I will leave you to decide on a cue when the behaviour is reliable and consistent

Training notes:
In this process of learning we used continuous reinforcement (no cue), Variable reinforcement (no cue), continuous reinforcement (cue added), variable reinforcement (cue added), continuous reinforcement (new cue, old cue) and variable reinforcement (new cue, old cue faded).

Copyright Stephen G King 2001-2010

Want to know more about clicker training and targeting?……….

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‘Nothing moved on the terrace in the afternoon sun, except the quick  flick of lizards in the rough dry stone walls.  Suddenly, there was a frantic scrabbling from behind the wall itself. A black nose and a ginger and white face appeared, followed by the rest of a small dog, who made a giant leap for me.’
So began Belinda Harley’s association with Goofy, a ragamuffin of a dog, who adopted her on the Greek island of Paxos.  Once Goofy had come into her life and laid his heart at her feet there was no escape.  Before she knew it, she was moving heaven and earth to save him from his fate and was introducing him to high life in London.  MAD ABOUT THE DOG is the story of how Goofy came into Belinda’s world and taught her a lesson in love.

‘As I stepped into the boat, Goofy suddenly saw that I was leaving.  He began to strain frantically against the leash.  With a desperate effort he broke free – and hurled himself off the jetty towards my boat.  It was too far; he fell into the water.  The last thing I saw as the boat pulled away was the dog, swimming desperately and hopelessly in the water towards me, until he was pulled out by a fisherman, sorry and bedraggled…..’

We’ve all done it…..
We have all seen a bedraggled, thin cat or dog looking pitifully at us, when we’re on holiday, and wondered for a moment if it would be possible to effect a rescue.  Is it a mad thing to do? Yes, but it can change your life, as Belinda Harley shows in this very poignant book.  For those who really cannot turn their back on an animal that seems to need help, this little tale provides some timely advice:  the difficulty of bringing animals into the UK; the impact on your otherwise settled life…

It’s the grief that cuts deeper than many people acknowledge…
The loss of a pet is one of the loneliest bereavements of all.  As Belinda Harley shows, it affects many thousands of people in this country very deeply:  “I think that just as the losses in an earthquake, or a war, are too big for us to comprehend, so this small finality of death is on a scale that we can feel truthfully… The death of a dog cuts open a vein: we bleed.  We have little idea of how to staunch it, without the props and comforts, the morning rituals and beliefs that may support us in human bereavement”. And, of course, your pet was very, very special indeed….Amidst the joy and the laughter of this little tale, there are some important insights into euthanasia, the most difficult decision you could ever make for an animal you love.

MAD ABOUT THE DOG is the intensely moving true story of  Goofy’s extraordinary journey to be permanently united with Belinda.  From the Greek friends who helped them to the authorities who didn’t, and the horrors of the flight home, she describes their ordeal…Once in England, Goofy quickly made the streets of Mayfair
his patch; when he attended an ambassadors’ reception at St James’s Palace to highlight the Passports for Pets scheme, the transformation from island scamp to top dog was complete.

Then, when Goofy’s early ill-treatment caught up with him and his injuries caused him pain, Belinda was faced with the toughest decision of all.  It’s a story that will tug at the heartstrings of anyone who knows dogs, and loves them.

About the author:  Belinda Harley works in publishing as a food writer and literary agent. She lives in London and Wiltshire.  She is available to be interviewed about her life with Goofy; pet travel; and pet bereavement.

Buy Mad About The Dog….

Ready, Steady, Click! by Stephen G. King is an excellent introduction to dog training based on positive reinforcement.  The author clearly and concisely describes the science that underlies learning in all species, and applies it well to the training of pet dogs.  The twenty Training Tips for Success at the end of the book are great guidelines for all trainers.

Deborah Jones, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Kent State University Stark Campus
Planet Canine / Akron, OH
APDT Member #1663

Buy Ready, Steady, Click!

A Special Offer, Ready Steady Click! & Workbook Set Save £5.00

By Claire L. Davies and Stephen G. King
What I like about Ready, Steady Click! is that it is readable and concise but also accurate. It explains the principles of learning in such a way that makes it fun. Dog guardians will find in this book everything they need to get started in dog training and problem solving. A terrific job of providing extensive information on learning, training and problem solving in 88 pages. Ready, Steady, Click! starts with a discussion of the science of behavior in order to put the topic in context. It proceeds to outline the basic procedures of clicker training and the principles of behavior. The resources at the back of the book include a glossary of terms bibliography and other resources, and a handout on successful training tips.

The workbook is a welcome companion for those wishing to maximize the benefit they derive from Ready, Steady, Click! More authors should provide a workbook to help readers work through the primary text, monitoring their success, identifying areas in need of improvement and providing further support for the learning process. Training is a hands-on practice and while the knowledge is a necessary prerequisite, there needs to be hands on skill practice and the workbook helps to guide the reader through this process. Good strategy and good books.
James O’Heare, CABC. Certified Animal Behavior Consultant. Doctoral Post Graduate Certificate in Comparative Psychology

Save £5: Buy Ready, Steady, Click! and Workbook..

 ”Karen Pryor has been at the forefront of humane and science-based training for decades, and this book shows us why. With compelling stories and accessible science, Reaching the Animal Mind is an inspiration for everyone who loves animals and wants to train them with compassion and respect. Whether you’re an experienced clicker trainer or someone who just wants their dog to stop barking without having to yell, you really, truly want this book!” -
Dr. Patricia McConnell, author of The Other End of the Leash and Tales of Two Species

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