A Survey about Switching Species…

I have two new rats. I’ve had them two weeks. I have a couple of books on rat care and training and I’ve been surfing the web.

But really, I have no idea what I’m doing! It’s like starting all over again. How do I deliver a reinforcer? What’s the best way physically (and temporally) to structure my training sessions? What’s the best trick to start with?

I mostly train horses, but I’ve also worked with dogs, a goldfish, a few birds and a handful of exotic species. Every time I work with a new species I learn a lot of new things. Robert Epstein refers to this as broadening. When we learn something completely new, it can change the way we think about things we already knew.

I have several questions for any readers who have trained (or tried to train!) multiple species. I’m curious about the answers and would LOVE to hear what you have to say.

Survey Questions

(please answer in comments section)

1) What was the first kind of animal you trained?

2) What other species have you trained?

3) What have you learned from one species that has helped you train a different species?

4) What is your favorite kind of animal to train?

5) What animal (or species) has taught you the most?

Thanks! I look forward to reading your answers.

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