Animal training has been around for ages, but it’s only recently that we’ve begun to describe it in scientific terms.

One of the biggest advantages of clicker training that I see is that it improves the timing of the trainer and makes the trainer more aware of their actions. Leads to quicker learning and less frustration on the part of the animal! A skilled trainer, though, can often get the behavior they want with or without a clicker.

As for positive, training, I think positive reinforcement is the fastest and most humane way to get most of the behaviors we want. Novice and intermediate trainers are often not skilled enough to use punishment and negative reinforcement and often jump to these procedures too quickly.

I think the goal should be positive training, but we should recognize that some animals and some training situations might benefit from carefully applied punishment or negative reinforcement procedures.
For instance, negative reinforcement can be a great way to shape friendly behavior in fearful or aggressive animals, such as approaching and retreating from a fearful horse and retreating whenever the horse offers calm or friendly behavior.

Mary

I think in many instances, a click is much clearer and distinct as a marker signal. However, I do know some people who have been very successful with a verbal marker.

The key, I think, is that the marker must be easy for the animal to see/hear and be an accurate predictor of food delivery. For some dogs (and horses), I think they totally ignore the click and instead are attending to the hand reaching for the treat. So, reaching for a treat becomes a visual marker, rather than the click.

Mary

If you have the principles of behavior modification–which I would not label as positive training (because both + and – are used in the process beyond the basics) you can train just about anything.

What is new in the current animal training world is not new at all. In fact, I’ve traced it back to the Hagenbeck zoo in the late 1800s when they used food rewards with their captive animals.

However, the scientific world tested and quantified the process which has morphed into “clicker training” aka “positive training.”

I’ll be focusing more on training on my blog in 2010.