What are Markers Part 1

Marker Training with dogs 


Part 1
Many of you may have heard of the term Clicker Training but what is a clicker?

Well its quite simple. A Clicker is a non verbal Marker which is used in a motivational way to communicate with your dog, the instant he does something we like,  that we like it.

It also provides us with a non physical punishment method of communicating with our dog, the instant he does something we do not like, that we do not like it.

So is it correct to say that clicker training and marker training are the same thing?

Yes, however with Marker training we use a verbal Marker and with Clicker training a small mechanical Clicker is used to communicate with the dog.

So what is Marker Training?
For the technically minded of you it is Operant Conditioning. (this is how Dolphins are trained)

Operant Conditioning simply forms an association between behaviour and consequences. 

When your dog performs a behaviour we like, the consequences are, a high value reward like a food treat or toy. This is called a positive reinforcer.

If your dog does not perform the correct behaviour, the consequences are NO REWARD!. This is called  a negative reinforcer.  When a negative reinforcer is used the dog must repeat the exercise correctly if it wants to gain the high value reward.

(In years gone by the consequence of a negative behaviour was a physical correction)

How many times have you heard people say about their dog "oh he loves me so much he just wants to please me all the time"

Well have I got some news for you!

Dogs DO NOT do things to make you feel good.  They ONLY do things to make themselves feel good!!!!

In  Marker Training there are only two consequences REWARD or NO REWARD.

In Part 2 we will look at verbal markers, timings, treats and lures and how to use them.

Dog food news from Autarky

In light of the recent press coverage that the Campaign for Real Pet Food has attracted, Autarky would like to reassure its customers that there is nothing but high quality raw ingredients, with no hidden harmful synthetic additives or chemicals, in its range.

The feedinstuffs regulations, a part of the legislation controlling the marketing and safety of pet food, states that we must use the phrase with antioxidants and then list those used. Further the law states that we may only use those permitted by the regulations, hence our statement to comply with the law is that we use with EC permitted antioxidants.

The only antioxidants added by Autarky feeds are: Mixed tocopherols, vitamin C and rosemary extract.

We are as passionate about your pets health and well-being as you are and because what they eat plays a major role in this, all of our diets contain beneficial ingredients that are of the highest possible quality we can get.

We are investing significant time and resources in to local suppliers so that the cereals they grow, harvest, store and deliver into our mill are of the highest possible quality.

The same high standards apply to our protein sources, for example chicken meat meal.

People often fear the word meat meal when really they have no cause for alarm. It’s not about unhygienic or unsafe materials. The Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA) has a policy in the UK, which we are signed up to, about only using animals normally consumed by humans in pet foods.

The meat meal we use comes from farm animals passed fit for human consumption at the time of slaughter. We simply use the bits that we humans tend not to eat these days but which taste delicious to our animals.

With open declaration on the Autarky packaging, we can honestly say that what you see is what you get and this will be reflected in how your dog looks, feels and performs.

Dog food the truth!

There has been a lot of controversy and confusion lately regarding dog food nutrition and the ingredients that they contain.

No doubt you have either read Facebook posts or listened to the dog show on italkFM on Saturday mornings in which there was an attempt to discredit certain dried dog foods and especially Chudleys which was actually mentioned on air.

The controversy seems to revolve around the term "EC Permitted Antioxidants" or "EC Permitted Additives", a term which is said to allow pet food manufacturers to add certain preservatives and additives to their food without actually having to list them.

The concern seems to be that some of these preservatives and additives are actually linked to cancer and other health problems.

The term "EC Permitted Antioxidants" can be found on dog food manufactured by Dodson & Horrell because it has been required by law. However, new regulations that came in to effect September 2011 has allowed this term to be removed to make the ingredients more user friendly to read and avoid confusion.

Because Dodson & Horrell are committed to using only the best ingredients in the manufacture of their pet foods, the antioxidants and preservatives used in production are actually: mixed tocopherols (also known as vitamin E), vitamin C and rosemary extract which are natural antioxidants helping to maintain the stability of the food.

These antioxidants are declared on the bag as follows: “EC permitted antioxidants: mixed tocopherols, vitamin C and rosemary extract”. Translated into laymen’s terms this actually means: “The antioxidants being used in this product are permitted for use in pet food by the EC and they are as follows: mixed tocopherols, vitamin C and rosemary extract” and nothing more sinister than that.

Both Chudleys and Autarky products are manufactured using a fixed recipe, which ensures quality and consistency in every batch. They only contain raw materials, which are sourced from non-genetically modified origins, using locally sourced ingredients wherever possible.

In addition, they contain the parts of the chicken carcass, which are nutritionally beneficial to the animal; for instance, no feathers or undesirable parts are included.

All chicken used in Chudleys and Autarky recipes is of human grade. Chudleys and Autarky products are made in the UK in a dedicated medication-free pet food plant, controlled under ISO and HACCP systems.

All products are manufactured in accordance with the rules of the quality assurance scheme ISO 9001:2000.

The procedures followed ensure traceability of each ingredient, in some cases back to the field in which it was grown, essential when requiring the highest quality ingredients.

In addition to this, ISO 9001:2000 ensures all daily routines have the strictest of quality control systems, from the delivery of raw ingredients through the computer controlled blending of those raw ingredients; the extrusion process which cooks the raw ingredients, to the laboratory that tests every cooked batch, before giving authorisation for the food to be bagged and palletised.

So in conclusion, all of our products use only the best ingredients which contain no harmful additives, chemicals or anti-oxidants. All the ingredients are listed and nothing is hidden.