I’m very privileged to be attending a four day Chicken Camp with the famous Terry Ryan at Legacy Canine in Washington. So I guess your next question will be “what??” or “what does chicken training have to do with dog training?”
The following article by my fellow chicken camper Terrie Hayward from PAW (from Puerto Rico) – is condensed from the full article “Chicken Camp: What it is, Why I went and what I learned! by Mary Lynch Barbera, PhD, RN, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, 11 June 2012”
Seven simple statements as to how awesome chicken camp is for folks who work with dogs (& people & other animals)!
Chicken Camp helps with…
1) fine tuning reinforcement skills (esp. important with new/difficult behaviors)
2) illuminating the idea of not “luring” or “baiting” but rather reinforcing & rewarding successful approxim
ations
3) recognition re: skill level too high or reinforcement level too low
4) reminding re: length & timing of sessions in order to maximize & plan work appropriately
5) being mindful of physiological issues which may affect performance
6) keeping in mind extraneous/multiple variables when reinforcing & planning training
7) managing time re: content & breaks in order to provide a relaxed & productive training environment