A Michael Broad Blog
There is an understandable desire by many cat owners to keep their cat companion off the kitchen counter. If this troubles you then the best way forward is through positive reinforcement training. You might be aware of that. The short Infographic on this page explains what I mean and is one example of how …
There is a shocking (to me) story in The Times today about parents who refuse to toilet train their children. Apparently, half of parents in UK believe that they should not have full responsibility for toilet training a child. It’s according to a survey conducted by the early years charity Kindred. Some parents don’t …
It’s actually incorrect to say that cats do not obey commands although in comparison to dogs they are less ready to do so. I think that’s a better way of putting it. And the reason is because dogs are descended from gray wolves and gray wolves are pack animals and pack animals look to …
You will read the phrase that in clicker training a cat or dog, the sound of the clicker, acts as a “bridge” and therefore makes the training more efficient. What does a “bridge” mean in this instance? That’s the question. And the answer is in the illustration below. In other words, when you are …
Although we know that cats can be trained to do things, in this video you will see a charming cat copying their owner carrying out some relatively complex movements. The owner demonstrates the movement that she wants her cat to do and then asked her cat to do it. The cat carried out the …
There are different views on this and some websites actively recommend it as a cat trainig method. Apparently in a proportion of US homes there are spray bottles in every room! These are, in effect, water pistols used to squirt water at domestic cats who are on surfaces which are forbidden by the owner. …
I’ll rephrase the question: ‘Do domestic cats respond to words of praise?’ I say ‘good boy’ to my cat when he does something that I have informally trained him to do which benefits both of us. The words alone are not enough. You have to accompany the words with a reward of sorts. I …
I am not saying that cats are as easy to train as dogs. Of course not, but looking at this video it is undeniable that cats can be trained like dogs, to do the same tricks. I won’t comment whether it is good or bad cat guardianship to teach your cat tricks. Some …
