Have you heard of this? It’s sometimes called the Hungarian Clicker Method. Yesterday, I received a YouTube link from someone in our therapy dog group. The video blew me away for both its cuteness and the incredible tricks the dogs performed.
Absolutely amazing! (Sorry about the song, though… shudder…) I had never heard of the Mirror Method, so I did a little googling and found an article done by the Animal Training Examiner. In her article and the additional videos included with her post, the basic method boils down to establishing a leadership role, teaching your dog clearly and concisely with only positive (they use the clicker) methods, and, lastly, allow your dog to be a dog!
That last part is what really fascinated me. The method encourages owners to allow their dogs to swim, run off-leash in the woods, even do bite training – whatever behaviors are instinctive for your particular dog. The concept behind that is that it will make for very happy dogs. Very happy dogs who are strongly bonded to their owners can be taught to do amazing things. I think they prove it in the video above!
Have you heard of this method or ever seen it in action? I’m going to look into it further, but was wondering if anyone had first-hand experience!
Rebecca says
05•04•10 at 12:46 pmWow, that looks really interesting. I think I may consider doing that with my dog, as it looks to be very motivating for the dog. I love your blog and please take a look at mine!
Maggie says
05•04•10 at 1:07 pmI agree, Rebecca! If you watch the videos about the program, the dogs look like they’re genuinely have fun, which makes a huge difference! I’ll definitely check out your blog; thanks for the kind words!
Rod@GoPetFriendly says
05•05•10 at 7:12 pmHey! I love that song! The original 1980s-era hit was by Katrina and the Waves. And the tricks the dogs performed were amazing.
Maggie says
05•06•10 at 1:30 pmHaha! I have no idea why that song makes me shudder… maybe too much radio play when it first debuted?