Touchscreen devices can be used to teach a nose touch, which is a basic, building-block behavior that School For The Dogs' trainers teach almost every dog they work with. A nose touch can be taught with a person's hands and a dog's nose; the person clicks when the dog's nose touches the screen, and then the dog receives a reward. Using a touchscreen device and one of a handful of apps, you can take the clicker out of the equation and your dog's nose will register a sound when it makes contact with the screen, essentially doing the job of any good marker signal.
Annie discusses the origins of her use of touchscreens with dogs and talks about some of the more advanced work that can be done with screens, such as teaching a dog to read, teaching cue differentiation, and more.
Episode on teaching touch:
https://www.schoolforthedogs.com/podcasts/episode-60-the-most-important-behavior-youll-ever-train/
More on using touch screens
https://anniegrossman.com/2013/11/training/dogs-take-selfies-too-48370/8225/
https://anniegrossman.com/2014/03/training/school-for-the-dogs-studies-abroad-teaching-dogs-to-use-ipads-in-london-80528/8330/
https://anniegrossman.com/2013/08/training/idog-teaching-pets-to-use-ipads-in-nyc-56551/8127/
https://anniegrossman.com/2013/09/science/app-for-dog-the-first-app-made-specifically-for-canines-79647/8190/
https://anniegrossman.com/2013/12/training/3-apps-your-dog-can-use-to-make-art-35313/8246/
Apps mentioned:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/doodle-buddy-paint-draw-app/id313232441
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/app-for-dog-free-puppy-painting-button-clicker-training/id968928583
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yes-no-from-i-can-do-apps/id635649909
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