By VERA LAWLOR
Contributing Writer
BLAIRSTOWN — Watch out Monty Roberts, here comes
Pamela Dennison the horse clicker.
This isn’t the traditional click-of-the-tongue to get a horse to move forward. This clicker is
the same little device that’s become so popular in the world of positive motivation training
for dogs.
Dennison, owner of the Positive Motivation Dog Training school in Blairstown, recently
added Positive Motivation Horse Training to her repertoire. Her career with dogs began in
1992 when she followed the traditional punishment-based methods. She switched to
positive motivation training in 1996 after watching a documentary on Ted Turner, the
former vice president of Sea World, clicker training killer whales.
“We’re not talking Shamu or Free Willy here, these are predators and yet Ted could get
them to do tricks for the show using a clicker and treats,” said Dennison, author of “The
Complete Idiot’s Guide to Positive Dog Training,” and “Bringing Light to Shadow: A Dog
Trainer’s Diary.”
“It just blew my mind and I thought if they can do that with whales why wouldn’t it work for
dogs?”
It does. Dennison has proved it over and over
again while helping more than 500 owners build
better relationships with their dogs.
She began training horses six months ago at the
request of her dog-owning students who were
having problems with their horses.
Positive methods have been proven to work for
all species under the sun—from dogs to killer
whales, sea lions, birds and even cats, Dennison
said, so why not horses? The end result is a
working relationship between owner and horses
that eliminates rough handling or the use of force
while at the same time fostering a stronger bond
between human and animal. Trainers who use the clicker to work with horses say it’s
amazing to watch the horses start to think for the
mselves. They begin to work for positive reasons
rather than out of fear of punishment.
So, what exactly is clicker training? Simply put it is
positive training that uses a clicker as a signal to tell an animal that he/she is doing
something right. Once the action has been marked with the clicker it is reinforced with a
favorite treat, toy, or activity.
Dennison’s first equine challenge was Svartur, an Icelandic pony from Stillwater who
refused to load onto a trailer. She began the session by giving him what she calls
“freebie” treats to catch his attention and get him used to the clicker. Then as the owner
led the pony closer to the trailer Dennison clicked and treated to mark positive behaviors.
When he actually sniffed the trailer without a negative reaction she clicked and fed him
extra special treats.
As the session progressed Dennison was clicking and treating for each foot that went
onto the ramp. It took about two 30 to 40-minute sessions plus a few shorter classes
before Svartur was loading one hundred percent.
Since then he has not had an issue with the trailer.
At no time, Dennison said, was anyone pulling on the lead line. It’s important in positive
motivation training that it’s the animal’s decision to make whatever move is being
requested, the trainer added.
“If you force a horse to do something you are going to be working on that forever,” said
Dennison, who has had some experience in both western and English styles of riding. “I’
m amazed at how quickly horses catch on to the clicker — I wouldn’t want my dogs to
hear me saying it — but horses pick this up so much faster.”
Romeo, a rescued horse who lives in Blairstown, posed a different challenge. The 2 1/2-
year-old wouldn’t let anyone get near enough to put a halter on him. Again Dennison
started with the freebie treat to get his attention and used the “protected contact”
approach to work with him.
“I stood outside the corral and when he looked in my direction I would click and treat,”
Dennison said.
After 10 minutes of this she held up the halter and when Romeo sniffed it, she clicked
and treated. When he allowed her to put it near his ears he was again rewarded. He hit
the jackpot — carrots and apples — when he allowed her to put the halter over his head.
When Dennison first met the 17-hand-high Dusty, an eight-year-old Westphalian bred in
Germany, she was a little intimidated. Owner Lori Nuzzo of Fredon had asked the trainer
to work on getting Dusty to relax while being saddled.
At first he raised his head in the air and charged Dennison when the saddle was being
placed on his back. She waited for him to lower his head even an inch and immediately
clicked and treated. On one occasion he lowered his nose all the way to the ground
looking for a treat he thought had dropped. Dennison grabbed the opportunity to
immediately click and treat hoping he’d make the connection.
“He really got that she was clicking him for putting his head down,” Nuzzo said. “We could
tell because he kept lowering it to exactly the same spot and then waiting for a treat.”
At the end of the 30-minute session Dusty had stopped charging and his body was more
relaxed even when the saddle was placed on his back.
“It’s pretty amazing, I’ve worked the clicker with my dogs but I never thought of doing it
with horses,” Nuzzo said. “They are so much bigger and I guess you just feel like you
have to be tougher with them.”
Nuzzo plans to have a few more clicker sessions with Dusty.
When working the clicker with horses, Dennison said, it’s extremely important to get
away from rewarding only with treats because “horses can become very food
aggressive.” Even with dogs she alternates reinforcements between treats, favorite toys
or balls and games of chase.
“That’s a little harder with horses because, number one, they aren’t predators, but also
you don’t really want your horse chasing you,” the trainer said.
There are other incentives that can be used as rewards for these larger animals. Dusty,
for example, loves to have his withers massaged.
What’s the biggest mistake Dennison finds owners are making with their horses?
“Trying to get too many behaviors in one step,” she said. “People need to have patience
and give animals the choice to do the right thing, then reward them for it. They learn much
faster that way.”
Dennison will travel up to two hours to work with horses and charges $100 per hour plus
the cost of travel. Currently she’s using positive motivation training to work on handling
issues including accepting grooming, blanketing, clipping, standing quietly for the
veterinarian or farrier, overcoming food aggression, and quitting the need to bully owners
or other horses.
Dennison lives with three dogs: Cody a 12-year-old Sheltie, Beau a six-year-old Border
Collie, and Shadow, a five-year-old Border Collie. All three were rescues.
First published Feb. 5, 2005 in The Animal Companion.
Contributing Writer
BLAIRSTOWN — Watch out Monty Roberts, here comes
Pamela Dennison the horse clicker.
This isn’t the traditional click-of-the-tongue to get a horse to move forward. This clicker is
the same little device that’s become so popular in the world of positive motivation training
for dogs.
Dennison, owner of the Positive Motivation Dog Training school in Blairstown, recently
added Positive Motivation Horse Training to her repertoire. Her career with dogs began in
1992 when she followed the traditional punishment-based methods. She switched to
positive motivation training in 1996 after watching a documentary on Ted Turner, the
former vice president of Sea World, clicker training killer whales.
“We’re not talking Shamu or Free Willy here, these are predators and yet Ted could get
them to do tricks for the show using a clicker and treats,” said Dennison, author of “The
Complete Idiot’s Guide to Positive Dog Training,” and “Bringing Light to Shadow: A Dog
Trainer’s Diary.”
“It just blew my mind and I thought if they can do that with whales why wouldn’t it work for
dogs?”
It does. Dennison has proved it over and over
again while helping more than 500 owners build
better relationships with their dogs.
She began training horses six months ago at the
request of her dog-owning students who were
having problems with their horses.
Positive methods have been proven to work for
all species under the sun—from dogs to killer
whales, sea lions, birds and even cats, Dennison
said, so why not horses? The end result is a
working relationship between owner and horses
that eliminates rough handling or the use of force
while at the same time fostering a stronger bond
between human and animal. Trainers who use the clicker to work with horses say it’s
amazing to watch the horses start to think for the
mselves. They begin to work for positive reasons
rather than out of fear of punishment.
So, what exactly is clicker training? Simply put it is
positive training that uses a clicker as a signal to tell an animal that he/she is doing
something right. Once the action has been marked with the clicker it is reinforced with a
favorite treat, toy, or activity.
Dennison’s first equine challenge was Svartur, an Icelandic pony from Stillwater who
refused to load onto a trailer. She began the session by giving him what she calls
“freebie” treats to catch his attention and get him used to the clicker. Then as the owner
led the pony closer to the trailer Dennison clicked and treated to mark positive behaviors.
When he actually sniffed the trailer without a negative reaction she clicked and fed him
extra special treats.
As the session progressed Dennison was clicking and treating for each foot that went
onto the ramp. It took about two 30 to 40-minute sessions plus a few shorter classes
before Svartur was loading one hundred percent.
Since then he has not had an issue with the trailer.
At no time, Dennison said, was anyone pulling on the lead line. It’s important in positive
motivation training that it’s the animal’s decision to make whatever move is being
requested, the trainer added.
“If you force a horse to do something you are going to be working on that forever,” said
Dennison, who has had some experience in both western and English styles of riding. “I’
m amazed at how quickly horses catch on to the clicker — I wouldn’t want my dogs to
hear me saying it — but horses pick this up so much faster.”
Romeo, a rescued horse who lives in Blairstown, posed a different challenge. The 2 1/2-
year-old wouldn’t let anyone get near enough to put a halter on him. Again Dennison
started with the freebie treat to get his attention and used the “protected contact”
approach to work with him.
“I stood outside the corral and when he looked in my direction I would click and treat,”
Dennison said.
After 10 minutes of this she held up the halter and when Romeo sniffed it, she clicked
and treated. When he allowed her to put it near his ears he was again rewarded. He hit
the jackpot — carrots and apples — when he allowed her to put the halter over his head.
When Dennison first met the 17-hand-high Dusty, an eight-year-old Westphalian bred in
Germany, she was a little intimidated. Owner Lori Nuzzo of Fredon had asked the trainer
to work on getting Dusty to relax while being saddled.
At first he raised his head in the air and charged Dennison when the saddle was being
placed on his back. She waited for him to lower his head even an inch and immediately
clicked and treated. On one occasion he lowered his nose all the way to the ground
looking for a treat he thought had dropped. Dennison grabbed the opportunity to
immediately click and treat hoping he’d make the connection.
“He really got that she was clicking him for putting his head down,” Nuzzo said. “We could
tell because he kept lowering it to exactly the same spot and then waiting for a treat.”
At the end of the 30-minute session Dusty had stopped charging and his body was more
relaxed even when the saddle was placed on his back.
“It’s pretty amazing, I’ve worked the clicker with my dogs but I never thought of doing it
with horses,” Nuzzo said. “They are so much bigger and I guess you just feel like you
have to be tougher with them.”
Nuzzo plans to have a few more clicker sessions with Dusty.
When working the clicker with horses, Dennison said, it’s extremely important to get
away from rewarding only with treats because “horses can become very food
aggressive.” Even with dogs she alternates reinforcements between treats, favorite toys
or balls and games of chase.
“That’s a little harder with horses because, number one, they aren’t predators, but also
you don’t really want your horse chasing you,” the trainer said.
There are other incentives that can be used as rewards for these larger animals. Dusty,
for example, loves to have his withers massaged.
What’s the biggest mistake Dennison finds owners are making with their horses?
“Trying to get too many behaviors in one step,” she said. “People need to have patience
and give animals the choice to do the right thing, then reward them for it. They learn much
faster that way.”
Dennison will travel up to two hours to work with horses and charges $100 per hour plus
the cost of travel. Currently she’s using positive motivation training to work on handling
issues including accepting grooming, blanketing, clipping, standing quietly for the
veterinarian or farrier, overcoming food aggression, and quitting the need to bully owners
or other horses.
Dennison lives with three dogs: Cody a 12-year-old Sheltie, Beau a six-year-old Border
Collie, and Shadow, a five-year-old Border Collie. All three were rescues.
First published Feb. 5, 2005 in The Animal Companion.
| Click Click - How The Power Of Positive Motivation Helps Horses |
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For more information about positive motivation for horses, visit www.positivedogs.com. |
