FF145: Food Cues and Markers: Powerful Reinforcement for Clean Training

A sampling of what prior students have said about this course...

I absolutely loved the class and firmly believe that everyone should take it! Marker cues completely changed Zorro's perspective on our training and significantly improved his engagement and our relationship. Zorro has never been motivated by food, so using a single marker and just delivering treats must have seemed like the most boring way to interact with me. However, different methods of collecting food sparked his interest and engagement. Once I became clearer on what I was marking and how he was supposed to receive his reinforcement, he enjoyed it even more. He started to get excited when he saw me picking up the food bag, something I never thought was possible. I now understand how important clarity about his rewards is for Zorro, especially when I ask him to perform tasks he isn't naturally motivated to do. In addition to clarity, the variety of reinforcers also makes a huge difference for Zorro. He likes to be surprised, and it keeps him engaged. I can see that he really enjoys learning new marker cues. Having several marker cues keeps me focused and adds fun to our sessions. I'm no longer just standing in the middle of the room as a food dispenser :) Dedicating 6 weeks to work on clarity and delivery of reinforcers was absolutely worth the time and is already paying off in our training! Shade did an amazing job developing the class material, making it very clear and easy to follow. She also provided fantastic personalized feedback!           

Shade's class was super fun and packed with insightful lecture materials. I am excited to take more of Shade's classes!     

Awesome class! I had hearing a lot about LSM - the timing of this class was perfect! Shade's class material and feedback is just what is needed to understand and apply the concepts! Going into the class I was not aware of the value of LSM, but after taking the class the value is very clear. The increased clarity in communication with dog using LSMs has increased his engagement level and enjoyment when we learn new skills together. Great class - highly recomment it!       

Having done some training on Marker Cues before and seeing the positive impact it had on my dogs I was keen learn more. This course did not disappoint. Shade Whitesel has a special gift when it comes to marker cues and her positive, easy teaching style encourages you to believe that you can train just like her. The lectures are clear and detailed giving great instructions. Shade's responses to submitted homework are swift and concise. Her ability to break down training in to small steps is very helpful and enables you to achieve more than you thought you could. The format of this course ran beautifully, with each new skill being a great foundation for the next. I felt empowered to improve my training skills leading to clear communication with both my dogs. I see this reflected in their calmness and understanding in our training sessions. I felt that this course was a bit like when you take driving lessons and you're beginning to learn to maneuver a car and do all the things that you need to do to drive. It seems a lot a first but soon becomes second nature. I have learnt so much about myself as a trainer and my dogs during this course. Everyone with a dog should take this course. It's packed with fundamental skills.     

It has improved the clarity of my training for my dogs and they show it with their enthusiasm. When planning my training sessions I now add the LSM cues to affect the arousal I want and add clarity for my dogs.       

These markers are a very clear enhancement of training for any sport or just everyday life. For people who really want to improve their training method it is essential.

For me (and because I'm relatively new to the dog training world - I'm just now addicted to FDSA and learning everything that I can), I think about how we first started rewarding Suki as a pup (using yes) versus now with LSM for more clarity. For Suki, I think one word gave her comfort in that she had completed her task well (sit, yes, ooo treat!) but it also made things harder when trying to teach her for example the relaxation protocol when it was we said yes and there was that uncertainty from her aspect as to whether it was can I move, should I stay. This has helped a lot in terms of giving her clarity where to expect the treat and where to go for her treat. Another thing that we have learnt on our training journey is that Suki really appreciates clarity which this gives her and she is more engaged and her returns to engagement are better than using a single marker. (Her face lights up when she hears superbowl and she's like oooo yay chase and food!) I'm also loving that she acknowledges them easier on walks and out and about. (Fine example, when we were waiting for hubby, and someone coming past, cue a go sniff, treats down, it took the pressure off of her needing to people watch at close distance and gave her a bit of space which is super useful for her). We are still working on impulse control with the dish marker but she is getting better at her own impulse control too From my perspective, it gives me more confidence that as she has clarity, if we cue a specific marker that she is more likely to be able to respond and find it a useful to help her regulate herself. Also that I can see what's too hard at a given point helps so we can lower arousal or keep moving as required. Absolutely loving ground for shaping her down stay which hasn't been super easy :)                

Shade put so much effort into designing the class material the way that all the steps were super clear and very easy to follow and make progress at my dog pace.