As many cats live their entire lives indoors, clicker training can provide valuable mental and physical stimulation. But where to begin? Training a cat to touch a target is not only fun and easy, but it can serve as the foundation for more complicated behaviors.
Bringing a new cat into a home with other cats? Let’s face it: cats are territorial, so you will want to be sure to introduce your cats slowly to minimize fearful or aggressive interactions. In the beginning, you will want to confine the new cat to a separate room to encourage them to get used to one another’s scent. Eventually, you will be able to progress to a controlled face-to-face meeting, allowing visual contact through a barrier, such as a pet gate, baby gate, or screen door. But how do you progress to visual contact while avoiding a stare down or confrontation? Try training!
Socializing is more than introducing your puppy to lots of people and animals—it’s also about exposing your puppy to everyday objects and experiences. Teaching your puppy to be comfortable in confined spaces, such as a crate, explores an everyday experience and results in a valuable tool for house training and management.
Many cats are just as frightened of nail trims as their humans are of giving them. However, by taking a cooperative approach, nail trimming sessions do need to be a nail-biting experience!
An umbrella snapping open during a rainstorm. A walker rolling along a sidewalk. These are a few of the many common situations a dog might find scary if s/he hasn’t been exposed to them at an early age. By exposing puppies to new and creative stimuli gradually, puppy classes offer an invaluable service to clients looking to provide these vital experiences for their puppies and give them the best start.
Thinking about training your cat? Why not teach your cat to go to a mat? This behavior has many applications: preventing counter-surfing or door-dashing or putting your cat in a carrier for transport. It is also useful for training multiple cats at the same time, as each will have a “parking spot.” In Part 1 of this video series, Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) Associate Director Gretchen Carey is shaping her cat Frankie to interact with a mat.
