I never met Karen Pryor or had the opportunity to attend one of her classes or seminars, but her work shaped the way I worked with dogs of all ages — and how millions of people approach teaching and training humans and non-humans alike.
Her best-known book might well be Don’t Shoot the Dog (1984), which introduced shaping, clicker training, and reward-based training to generations of puppies and their humans. She launched a transformation of animal training, whose principles have influenced human education as well, moving many educators/trainers from a focus on punishing mistakes to recognizing and rewarding success.
Clicker training uses principles of behaviorism to shape behavior incrementally, as the trainer works with the trainee toward a goal. When the trainee is a dog (or a dolphin, chicken, etc.), the trainee might not fully understand the goal at first. What they DO understand is the marker — Pryor used a clicker; others use a word like Yes! — that indicates that the trainee did something right. The marker is quickly followed by a reward. This positive approach encourages the trainee to keep doing what they think is needed to get more clicks/treats.
For instance, you want your puppy to sit before getting her dinner. You can manually push her into a sit before each meal, only to have her pop up the instant you move your hands. You can yell at her, but she’s a puppy who probably doesn’t know what “sit” means yet. Or you can teach her the click-and-treat approach, then wait for her to sit. Click, give her a treat. Puppies sit a lot, so if you are paying attention, you can catch her sitting — and reward it — a lot. You can also do short (2 minute) practice sessions, where you specifically watch for her to sit. Then click, give a treat.
You’ll be amazed at how soon your puppy is sitting “at you” — planting herself in front of you in hopes of getting that magic click. Soon, you introduce the word, “sit.” Within a few practice sessions, your puppy will learn to sit on cue. But even in the interim, you can wait for her to sit, capture it with a click, then put down her bowl. It’s a much nicer approach than getting annoyed and frustrated as your hungry pup jumps and barks at you, day after day.
Skilled trainers can accomplish amazing things with clicker training (I am not in that esteemed group).
But while it might be what she’s best-known for, clicker training is just an example. The real message is the postive, reward-based approach. And Pryor’s focus on the science underlying behavior (and attempts to change behavior). The clicker helps the trainer communicate what is wanted while ignoring what is not. It builds communication, which builds a relationship between the person and the dog.
When the trainee learns that trying new things is often rewarded — and never experiences the confusion of being punished for guessing wrong — that dog (kid, dolphin, spouse, chicken …) will be willing to try new things. And love learning. And enjoy spending time learning with you, the trainer (parent, teacher, spouse). They might not even realize that you are training them …
Derided early-on as “cookie pushers” by old-school, force- and punishment-focused trainers, clicker trainers pioneered many new ways of communicating and teaching, across species. While some trainers still use horrific methods to compel dogs and others to do what they want, Pryor’s work has had tremendous, far-reaching impact. When she was training dolphins in the 1960s, she probably never dreamed that one day, there would be centers at major universities around the world devoted to the study of canine cognition or that millions of people worldwide would be using clickers in innovative ways.
Karen Pryor passed away on January 4. Her legacy of positive, science-based training lives on.
A couple of weeks ago, I heard that DOGE had cut funding to my favorite federal employees — the dogs.
