Category: Getting Started ¤
  Author: Sidney Boardman ¤
   Title: Training Multiple Animals ¤

Margy,
You wrote:
> I wish I had a clearer picture..... 

I have three dogs, and often work with two at once (the other is scared of
any sharp noise) and I usually have several cats joining the crowd. 

Usually I'm cutting the burnt parts off the chicken, or whatever, and
somebody (feline) is up on the counter helping. I start clicking him for
doing something cute I want him to show Daddy later. As soon as they hear
the clicker, two dogs and a cat or three come flying into the kitchen.

My boy Snow sits and waves - that's his standard "click ME" behavior - and
Toby barks at me. The cats land on the counter. I wave the clicker at all
of them, and the first one who does something I like gets a click and a
piece of chicken. This goes on for awhile, and I look for things to click
for so everybody gets something. Toby is a crossover with a lot of fear of
doing anything she isn't sure she won't get yelled at for doing (rescue)
We're working on down, and I have to lure her. I lure her in front of
everybody. She gets clicked when her rear goes down, but by that time I
have Snow in a down for 3 or 4 seconds (duration!) and a cat down too.
Everybody who's down gets treated. 

Two or three downs, and I look at Snow, who's working on targeting. I
ignore his down and point out his target (Toby goes down, I glance at her,
click & treat only her. And a cat who's down.) He tries something else. I
point out his target, and he bumps it. C/T. Toby's down again, she gets a
treat too. Snow bumps the target again while I have my back turned and
barks at me. Bumps it again (2-fer) and gets C/T. 

Toby backs up. New behavior. I look at her and C/T. The kitten has the rest
of the chicken leg in the sink and is growling over it and the potatoes
aren't done, so we change gears to corn chex and gravy. (I have no
financial interest in Purina. I just have a bowl of corn chex on the
counter for some reason.) The older cats get C/T for not slapping the
kitten and taking his chicken leg, even if it is only because they were
still discussing
strategy. 

Toby is barking again, and Snow is upside down, which is down, so Snow gets
C/T, and I lure Toby into a down, C/T. I point out Snow's target again, he
huffs a cat, and Toby backs up. C/T her. She backs some more, C/T. She
backs into the living room, and gets a jackpot because I have to go
retrieve the chicken leg before Stroker takes it downstairs behind the
washing machine and eats the bones. 

The kitten has a wing now. I take the meat off the leg and go get old Oz to
come out from under the bed with it. (He's scared of the clicker.) Daddy's
home; if the potatoes aren't done now they never will be. Snow
ostentatiously bumps his target, but I left the clicker somewhere, tongue
cluck & mashed potatoes for a treat. 

Besides circus, I mean dinner, time, I try to work with each animal
separately, but I have 17 animals, and can't work with everybody every day.
 Dogs usually get two or three private sessions a week, and I keep a
clicker and some of those 1/2" "puppy biscuits" and a can of Pounce in the
bathroom. 

Clearer? <VBG>

Sidney Boardman

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