And so my blogging adventure begins… This first post is just to acquaint my readers with the author: ME! I’ve needed a good outlet for my creativity and for my points of view that everyone listens to, but never takes to heart.
I am a stay-at-home mom living in the rural Midwest. I am trying to re-enter the workforce after more than a decade (more about that struggle later). I have a son in middle school and a daughter in elementary school. I have a very intelligent, very stubborn Jack Russell Terrier (or Parson Terrier), a very fat, very motherly cat who vehemently refuses to diet, and a very cool, very mellow corn snake. I also have an awesome husband who has been my rock and sounding board and punching bag and shoulder to cry on and my teammate in the crazy world of parenting. I LOVE to read, HATE to clean, and give more advice than is good for me. That is why I’m starting this blog: I can give all the advice I want, and YOU, my reader, can take it or leave it, and I’ll never know the difference. The beauty in that nearly makes me cry!
The title of this blog, Training the Human, refers to teaching, or training, children, and animals as well. I believe that teaching children and training animals use, or should use, the same techniques. I am a firm proponent of positive reinforcement. There are hundreds of documented cases of animals performing amazing feats that they’ve been trained to do using positive reinforcement. But learning how to teach in that way is training for the human as well. The mom has to learn what signs to watch for in her children, and the right time and way to praise an accomplishment. The trainer has to learn how to interpret his dog’s behavior and when to give the proper cue. And cats… well, cats are the masters of training their humans. But we can train them, too. Cats DO NOT respond to negative reinforcement. The only thing that really works for cats is positive reinforcement. They won’t do much of anything for you unless they get something worthwhile in return.
I am still in the process of my training journey. I’m learning as I go, as a parent, as an animal trainer, and as a human trying to create a better life for herself. I hope you will learn a few things about training the humans and/or animals in your life, and maybe about yourself as well.