There are A LOT of myths about fish being dumb and untrainable. As I found out a couple of years ago with my goldfish Blaze, fish are actually very trainable! (You can see some of his training here or here.) Recently, scientists have discovered that fish use tools. Scientists use to think that only humans [...]
Training with Urchins and Sea Stars!
What animals can’t be trained?? I had a lot of surprised friends several years ago when I did some clicker training and trick training with my goldfish Blaze. Many species are much more capable of learning than we give them credit for. A woman named Barbara Ray recently posted on one of the discussion groups [...]
I smell a rat…
I’ve been busy busy busy the past several weeks. This semester I officially started the Master’s program in behavior analysis at the University of North Texas. Classes are great so far, but I’m having to get back in the swing of going to classes and getting all of my work and reading done. I hope [...]
Shaping behaviors in a goldfish using clicker training
Blaze is my star fish who I’ve been clicker training. (Actually, err, he’s a goldfish, but he is a star pupil!) I trained him a bit at first using the R2 fish training kit (see a video of his first few tricks HERE). He proved to be a smart fish and a fast learner for [...]
Fish Training Resumes
One of the most common arguments I often hear against clicker training for horses is that we “can’t use dog training methods for horses.” However, clicker training wasn’t originally invented for dogs (or dolphins either, as many people falsely claim). The principle of reinforcement, on which clicker training is based, was originally described and researched [...]
What animals can’t we train?
A smart trainer can theoretically train any behavior that an animal is physically able to perform and mentally able to understand. The folks at the New England Aquarium are taking this task seriously, and they’ve been training all sorts of behaviors to some of the most unlikely species! They’ve recently been working on target training [...]
wait, you mean you didn’t know a goldfish could play a set of handbells?
A fellow fish blogger has made a video of her goldfish Jor Jor learning to play a set of handbells. It just proves that good training is really only limited by the creativity of the trainer! She attached strings to the handbells, then taught the fish to pull on the strings. Currently, she’s working with [...]
What’s the best way to train an animal?
Stale Cheerios will help you learn new knowledge and techniques to take your training skills to the next level. So stick around, your animals will be grateful!
I'm a graduate student studying the science of behavior and training. On this blog I share stories of my animal training adventures, as well as tips, techniques and tricks to help you improve your training. Although most of this blog centers around training rescue horses, the ideas discussed apply equally to all species. The other animals I work with, including dogs and rats, also appear occasionally on the blog.
Mary Hunter
cheeriotrainer@gmail.com
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