The Zoom Room Dog Agility Training Center and exclusive sponsor West Paw Design announce the “America’s Best Dog Trick” Contest, the first nationwide dog trick contest to feature only positive-reinforcement dog training methods. Entrants will submit their best dog trick videos before the Jan. 15 deadline, and the winner will receive $1,000 plus a collection of Zogoflex toys.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) November 20, 2009 — The Zoom Room Dog Agility Training Center and exclusive sponsor West Paw Design announce the “America’s Best Dog Trick” Contest – the first nationwide dog trick contest to celebrate positive-reinforcement dog training methods. Dog owners are invited to submit their videos before the January 15 deadline. The winner will receive $1,000 plus a collection of Zogoflex toys.

Positive dog training methods include positive praise, clicker training and the use of treats. Positive-reinforcement dog training is now widely-regarded as the most effective and scientifically-researched training method. Contest entrants must affirm that they used only positive training to craft their dog tricks, and that no coercive, punitive, restraint, or other forms of dominance training were used in shaping the trick.

Open to any American resident, dog owners will submit a short video of their best dog trick via the Zoom Room Fan Page on Facebook. Initially, anyone may vote for the Best Dog Trick. The top five dog tricks will then face a panel of judges from the Zoom Room and West Paw to determine the winner.

The first place winner will receive $1,000 plus a collection of Zogoflex toys, including a Hurley, a Huck, a Bumi, a Zisc and a Tux. Second place will receive $250 plus the collection of Zogoflex toys from West Paw. The other three finalists will each receive Honorable Mention, as well as a Bumi, a Hurley and a Zisc.

Only freshly-recorded dog trick videos are eligible; in other words, nothing rehashed from YouTube or elsewhere. In order to demonstrate that the video is fresh, all entrants are required to begin the video by addressing the camera and saying something to the effect of, “Hello, Zoom Room, my name is _______, this is my dog _________, and we made this trick using only positive training.”

The contest begins on November 20, 2009. The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2010. Voting for favorite dog tricks will close on January 31, 2010. The winners will be announced on February 8, 2010.

Details can be found on the America’s Best Dog Trick page of the Zoom Room web site.

About the Zoom Room

The Zoom Room Dog Agility Training Center & Canine Social Club is an eco-friendly, active lifestyle dog training center that practices only positive-reinforcement dog training methods. The Zoom Room is the only brick-and-mortar dog training franchise in America and the first dog agility franchise in the world.

In addition to dog agility, the Zoom Room offers obedience, puppy preschool, dog tricks training, therapy dog classes, and much more. As a Canine Social Club, the Zoom Room is the perfect place to host an unforgettable dog birthday party, Bark Mitzvah, Doggy Disco Night, or a charity fund-raiser. The Zoom Room carries only the finest and most Earth-friendly stuff for dogs, including many of West Paw’s great products.

About West Paw Design

West Paw Design believes in providing the best for pets while balancing what is right for the environment. They search high and low for the best, most sustainable material there is to offer and use recyclable and organic material in their bedding and toys.

Their commitment to the environment has guided them to continually strive to reduce the already minimized waste in the manufacturing process, and to offer more environmentally-friendly organic and sustainable products. Using recyclable material in the Zogoflex® line of dog toys permits the incorporation of old products back into new ones, without sacrificing any quality. Discover their unique, world-class pet products at westpawdesign.com.

Source:  PR Web

© 2009 – 2010, Dog Service Network. All rights reserved. Republished articles have been reprinted with permission. For permission to reprint these articles, please contact the author.

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Clicker training is a form of dog training that uses positive reinforcement.  “The clicker is a metal strip inside a small plastic box that makes a distinct clicking sound when pressed”.  The benefit of using the clicker is that you can click faster than if you were to say “good” or going to get a treat to give your dog after he/she does what’s correct.  Also, by using the clicker, you won’t need to use as many treats for training.

Here’s an overview of how clicker training works and also what’s referred to as “loading the clicker”:

1. Practice in a quiet area with your dog
2. Do it when your dog is hungry
3. Bring a handful of treats with you
4. Press the clicker, then give your dog a treat.  Do this 5 – 10 times.
5. Then when your dog isn’t paying attention to you, try clicking, and if your dog looks at you, give him/her a treat.
6. When you move on to teaching your dog other commands, rather than giving your dog a treat, click the clicker.

Source: “Clicker Training”, About.com.  Retrieved on November 24, 2008 from http://dogs.about.com/od/dogtraining/qt/clickertraining.htm

© 2008, Dog Service Network. All rights reserved. Republished articles have been reprinted with permission. For permission to reprint these articles, please contact the author.

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